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Iowa

Iowa


(In Detail)	(Full size)

State nickname: "The Hawkeye State"

Largest City

Area
- Total
- % water

Ranked 26th
145,743 km²
0.71%

Population
- Total (2000)
- Density

Ranked 30th
2,926,324
20/km²

Admittance into Union
- Order
- Date

29th
December 28, 1846

Time zone

Central: UTC-6/-5

Latitude
Longitude

40°36'N to 43°30'N
89°5'W to 96°31'W

Width
Length
Elevation
-Highest
-Mean
-Lowest

320 km
500 km

509 meters
335 meters
146 meters

ISO 3166-2:

US-IA

Iowa is the 29th state of the United States, having joined the union on December 28, 1846. The U.S. Post Office abbreviation for the state is IA.
The official (long) name of the state: "State of Iowa".

The state is named for the Native American Iowa people.

The battleship USS Iowa was named in honor of this state.

The state gets considerable attention every four years because of its presidential caucus, a gathering of voters which, along with the New Hampshire primary a week later, has become the starting gun for choosing the two major-party candidates for U.S. president. The caucus, held in January of the election year, involves people gathering in homes or public places and choosing their candidate, rather than casting secret ballots, as in done in a primary or election.

History

history prior to joining the United States
First came under U.S. control as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Made part of Territory of Michigan in 1834, then the Territory of Wisconsin in 1837. Territory of Iowa established June 12, 1838, including all of present Iowa and most of Minnesota and the Dakotas.
Attained statehood in December 28, 1846 (the 29th state).
major historical events that occurred in state

Law and Government

The state capital is Des Moines. The current Governor is Tom Vilsack (Democrat) and the two U.S. senators are Chuck Grassley (Republican) and Tom Harkin (Democrat).

[Note that all the U.S. states have similar legal and political systems, so maybe we only need to mention anything that makes the state distinct]

Governors of Iowa List.
legislature -- bicameral: Senate and House
structure of state judicary
information on state constitution
does it have referenda?

Geography

See: List of Iowa counties

Iowa is bordered by Minnesota on the north, Nebraska and South Dakota on the west, Missouri on the south, and Wisconsin and Illinois on the east.

Physical geography (mountains, rivers, plains, elevation, that sort of thing)
- Located between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.
- See: List of Iowa rivers
National parks, etc.
- Effigy Mounds National Monument
- Herbert Hoover National Historical Site

Economy

The state's total gross state product for 1999 was $85 billion placing Iowa 30^th in the nation. Its Per Capita Income for 2000 was $26,723. Iowa's main agricultural outputs are hogs, corn, soybeans, oats, cattle and dairy products. Its industrial outputs are food processing, machinery, electric equipment, chemical products, publishing and primary metals.