Two major interstate highways are located in Iowa. Interstate 80 goes east and west. If you went on I-80 east you would wind up in New York City. If you went west you could end up in San Francisco.
Interstate 35 goes from Minnesota to the tip of Texas. Des Moines, the capitol city, is located at the intersection if I-35 and I-80.
Iowa was settled by the French. The state flag is very similar to the French flag. However, the Iowa flag has a wider field of white than red and blue. The French flag has equal fields of red, white and blue.
Iowa is known as a state that grows a lot of corn.
And pigs. In reality you don't see many pigs in Iowa since they are mostly raised in confinement facilities.
Iowa's most famous artist is Grant Wood. He painted American Gothic. You can still visit the house with that distinctive window.
In a few days Iowa will host the first in the nation caucuses. The Republican candidates for President are in the state right now along with media from across the country and world.
The national news media picks spots that provide a nice back drop for their news. The state law library located inside the capitol building is perhaps the nicest venue.
Iowa has a little more than 3 million people. It is about in the middle of the nation in terms of size and population.
If you have never been to Iowa you might be surprised. Like any place it has good points and bad points. On balance it is a nice place to live.
Thanks for stopping by.
7 comments:
Russell,
Thanks for providing the link. Your site has brought back a lot of memories for me. I grew up in the southwest corner (the hill country) of Iowa where the bluffs meet the Missouri River. It is there where if you hike to a particular point in Waubonsie Park, you can see the states of Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska. I was born in Hamburg, lived my early years in Riverton (nearby the Nishna Botna Rivers) and grew up and attended school in Sidney. Sidney was at that time one of the outstanding rodeos in the U.S. I still miss the wonderful people, the beautiful country and the smell of the earth. Your blog is wonderful, thanks for sharing.
hmm interesting.
I love the library and you must have a lot of french speaking people living there.
I never knew they grew corn and raised pigs either
So is the corn for people or for ethanol?
I love going to the gas stations and read the sign that says ethanol. It even smells different.
I have always imagined Iowa to be very pretty. There are so many places with French-sounding names, DesMoines, Dubuque, etc., and I have always imagined it to be very green, with lots of trees.
I love the law library. That's beautiful!
The corn raised in Iowa is field corn. People do not eat it.
Iowa corn is used to make a variety of additives for food.
And, yes, much of it is fed to pigs or beef. A lot of the corn is also used to make ethanol fuel which is 10% to 15% alcohol (made from corn).
Good to see you around again, Russell. I've missed you! Thanks for the lovely pictures. That law library is so beautiful. The first famous artist I knew about was Grant Wood. And of course, we always sang songs about the tall corn and the pretty girls.
I love Iowa! I guess I consider myself an Iowegian.....raised for 13 years in Iowa, and of Norwegian descent. So it was easy to move north across the border to Minnesota! Seems that every trip we take leads us down some highway in Iowa. Often 35W which we can catch about 35 miles from here. Will be heading south in February, and will wave!
Russell,
You make Iowa sound appealing.
My regret is that I never followed through on being accepted at the creative writing course at the University of Iowa.
It is reputed to be the best writing course in the country.
Looks like a beautiful place to live.
I think I would miss the mountains though.
We always grow where we are planted....and thrive too. MB
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