Iowa Info
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Capital
City: Des Moines
Economy: Agriculture-related
manufacturing, agriculture and tourism.
Population: 2,862,447
Time Zone: 6 hours behind
Greenwich Mean Time (-6 GMT). Daylight Saving Time is observed from the
last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October
Iowa's Flag:
Having three vertical stripes blue, white and red the Iowa flag resembles
the flag of France. On the white stripe is a bald eagle carrying a blue
streamer in its beak. The state motto " Our Liberties We Prize, and
Our Rights We will Maintain" is written on the streamer. The name of
the state is emblazoned in red letters.
History of Iowa: The first
Europeans to visit the area were the French explorers Father Jacques Marquette
and Louis Joliet in 1673. The U.S. obtained control of the area in 1803
as part of the Louisiana Purchase. During the first half of the 19th century,
there was heavy fighting between white settlers and Indians. Lands were
taken from the Indians after the Black Hawk War in 1832 and again in 1836
and 1837. When Iowa became a state in 1846, its capital was Iowa City; the
more centrally located Des Moines became the new capital in 1857. At that
time, the state's present boundaries were also drawn. Although Iowa produces
a tenth of the nation's food supply, the value of Iowa's manufactured products
is twice that of its agriculture. Major industries are food and associated
products, non-electrical machinery, electrical equipment, printing and publishing,
and fabricated products. Iowa stands in a class by itself as an agricultural
state. Its farms sell over $10 billion worth of crops and livestock annually.
Iowa leads the nation in all corn, soybean, livestock, and hog marketings,
with about 25% of the pork supply and 6% of the grain-fed cattle. Iowa's
forests produce hardwood lumber, particularly walnut, and its mineral products
include cement, limestone, sand, gravel, gypsum, and coal. Tourist attractions
include the Herbert Hoover birthplace and library near West Branch; the
Amana Colonies; Fort Dodge Historical Museum, Fort, and Stockade; the Iowa
State Fair at Des Moines in August; and the Effigy Mounds National Monument,
a prehistoric Indian burial site at Marquette.
Other Iowa Links:
Iowa Association of
Business and Industry
Iowa Department of Education
Iowa Division of Tourism
Iowa League of Cities
Iowa State Library |
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