Portal:Iowa
The Iowa Portal

Iowa (/ˈaɪ.əwə/ ⓘ EYE-ə-wə) is a state in the upper Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the east and southeast, Missouri to the south, Nebraska to the west, South Dakota to the northwest, and Minnesota to the north.
Iowa is the 26th largest in total area and the 31st most populous of the 50 U.S. states, with a population of 3.19 million. The state's capital, most populous city, and largest metropolitan area fully located within the state is Des Moines. A portion of the larger Omaha, Nebraska, metropolitan area extends into three counties of southwest Iowa. Other metropolitan statistical areas in Iowa include Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Ames, Dubuque, Sioux City, and the Iowa portion of the Quad Cities. Iowa is home to 940 small towns, though its population is increasingly urbanized as small communities and rural areas decline in population.
During the 18th and early 19th centuries, Iowa was a part of French Louisiana and Spanish Louisiana; its state flag is patterned after the flag of France. After the Louisiana Purchase, pioneers laid the foundation for an agriculture-based economy in the heart of the Corn Belt. In the latter half of the 20th century, Iowa's agricultural economy began to transition to a diversified economy of advanced manufacturing, processing, financial services, information technology, biotechnology, and green energy production.
Politically, Iowa is notable for the Iowa Caucuses, an influential event in national politics, as well as its high levels of voter turnout and foundational leadership in civil rights including early adoption or support of black suffrage, women's rights, and same-sex marriage. Iowa's standard of living is ranked among the best states and it performs highly on metrics such as governance, education, infrastructure, and safety. (Full article...)
Selected article -

Berkley Warren Bedell (March 5, 1921 – December 7, 2019) was an American Democratic Party politician and businessman who served as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 6th congressional district from 1975 to 1987. After starting a successful business in his youth, Berkley Fly Co., he ran for Congress in 1972, but was defeated by incumbent Wiley Mayne. In 1974 however, Bedell beat Mayne and was elected to the U.S. House.
He was known for his support of representative democracy and his populist style. For example, he would hold town halls and let constituents vote on motions to decide what he would do in Congress on their behalf and these meetings helped Bedell understand the problems of his constituents; as a result, he backed issues that were important to his farming constituency, such as waterway usage fees and production constraints. (Full article...)
Did you know? -
- ... that Robert Spencer Finkbine spent 13 years as the superintendent of construction of the Iowa State Capitol?
- ... that an Iowa TV station was paid for by surplus Manhattan Project funds?
- ... that S. H. M. Byers not only coined the phrase "Sherman's March to the Sea", but also wrote Iowa's state song?
- ... that Iowa government social worker Catherine G. Williams started out as a tap dancer?
- ... that the Iowa Cow War started due to bovine tuberculosis testing?
- ... that because Larrabee County was not established, Iowa remains a state with 99 counties?
Related Portals
Subcategories
Related WikiProjects
Things you can do
![]() |
Here are some tasks awaiting attention:
|
General images
State Facts
- Date admitted to Union: December 28, 1846 (29th State)
- Demonym: Iowan
- Capital: Des Moines
- Elected state officers:
- U.S. Senators:
- Chuck Grassley (R)
- Joni Ernst (R)
- U.S. Representatives:
- Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R)
- Ashley Hinson (R)
- Zach Nunn (R)
- Randy Feenstra (R)
- Total area: 56,272 square miles (145,744 km2) (23rd most extensive state)
- Highest elevation: Hawkeye Point 1,670 feet (509 m) (42nd highest state)
- Mean elevation: 1,100 feet (335 m) (22nd highest state)
- Lowest elevation: Mississippi River 480 feet (146 m) (37th lowest state)
- Population (2022 estimate): 3,200,517 (32nd most populous state)
- Number of counties: 99 counties
- Number of municipalities: 947 municipalities
- Time zone: CST=UTC-06, CDT=UTC-05
- USPS code: IA
- ISO 3166 code: US-IA
- Adjacent states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota
- State government website: Iowa.gov
State Symbols
State flag: | ![]() |
State seal: | ![]() |
State motto: | Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain |
State nickname: | The Hawkeye State |
State bird: | Eastern Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) |
State flower: | Wild Prairie Rose (Rosa pratincola) |
State grass: | Bluebunch Wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata) |
State tree: | Oak (Quercus macrocarpa) |
State rock: | Geode |
State soil: | Tama |
State song: | The Song of Iowa |
State tartan: | Iowa State Tartan |
Commemorative U.S. coin: |
![]() |
Topics
New articles
Rules | Match log | Results page (for watching) | Last updated: 2025-04-21 20:59 (UTC)
Note: The list display can now be customized by each user. See List display personalization for details.
- Madison Wilson (soccer) (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by RedPatch (talk · contribs · new pages (34)) started on 2025-04-17, score: 38
- Lelah Pekachuk (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Pasokolv (talk · contribs · new pages (1)) started on 2025-04-10, score: 27
- Anindita Dutta (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Donkey50 (talk · contribs · new pages (2)) started on 2025-04-17, score: 20
- Jay Gallentine (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Cabrils (talk · contribs · new pages (1)) started on 2025-04-16, score: 26
- Vice presidency of George Clinton (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Plumber (talk · contribs · new pages (12)) started on 2025-04-16, score: 20
- Kenneth Marlowe (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Setwardo (talk · contribs · new pages (2)) started on 2025-04-15, score: 34
- Colleen Murphy (swim coach) (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Dcw2003 (talk · contribs · new pages (7)) started on 2025-04-14, score: 38
- Ava Jones (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Abaj312713 (talk · contribs · new pages (2)) started on 2025-04-11, score: 36
- George Manker Watters (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by 4meter4 (talk · contribs · new pages (5)) started on 2025-04-12, score: 26
- Carlos Sepúlveda (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Cocu15 (talk · contribs · new pages (10)) started on 2025-04-12, score: 30
- Jonathan Hassler (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Cavanaughs (talk · contribs · new pages (4)) started on 2025-04-12, score: 20
- Adam Moss (serial killer) (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Stud22 (talk · contribs · new pages (1)) started on 2025-04-12, score: 20
- Senate File 418 (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Gengeros (talk · contribs · new pages (15)) started on 2025-04-11, score: 41
- The Tree (American play) (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Britfilm (talk · contribs · new pages (9)) started on 2025-04-10, score: 20
- Eldon Tharp (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Thetreesarespeakingtome (talk · contribs · new pages (7)) started on 2025-04-10, score: 40
- Rich Kacmarynski (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Thetreesarespeakingtome (talk · contribs · new pages (7)) started on 2025-04-09, score: 40
- Sidominadota (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by MaroonOwl (talk · contribs · new pages (0)) started on 2025-03-28, score: 34
- Long Branch (Platte River tributary) (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by SamuelNelsonGISP (talk · contribs · new pages (39)) started on 2025-04-07, score: 20
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus