George W. Clarke, the 21st Governor of Iowa and grandfather of Nile Kinnick
Eric Cutler, opera tenor
Nile Kinnick, Iowa Hawkeyes football player, winner of 1939 Heisman Trophy, United States Naval Aviator in World War II.
Charles R. Scott, lawyer and judge
Ralph Watts, member of the Iowa House of Representatives
Van Harden, talk radio host
Afton
Notable People
J.B. West, Chief Usher of the White House
Agency
It is the historic site of an Indian trading post and the grave of Chief Wapello
Albia
Notable People
George Bennard - Composer of The Old Rugged Cross
Nathan E. Kendall - Former Governor of Iowa
Patty Judge - Current Lieutenant Governor of Iowa
Alden
Alden is the smallest town in the United States to have an endowed Carnegie Library
Notable People
Gordon Jones, actor
Alexander
Alexander is the hometown of Iowa Congressman Tom Latham.
Algona
Algona was the site of a German prisoner of war camp during World War II. From 1943 to 1946 Camp Algona housed nearly 10,000 prisoners, many of whom were put to work on farms owned by Americans who were fighting overseas. A museum now commemorates the camp's history and features a nativity scene built by the POWs.[2]
In 2003, Algona drew national attention when it announced the purchase of the world's largest Cheeto. It was meant as a plan to bring tourism to the town to see the Cheeto by a local radio DJ
Notable People
Paul Bell - politician
Dick Dale — former singer on the Lawrence Welk show
Lester Dickinson — U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Iowa
Brad Nelson — infielder for the Seattle Mariners
Kyle Orton, NFL quarterback for the Denver Broncos
Neal Smith, former United States Congressman
Jamie Solinger, 1992 Miss Teen USA
Terry McCarl, sprint car driver
National Motorcycle Musuem
Anamosa
Anamosa is home to the Anamosa State Penitentiary, formerly known as the Iowa Men's Reformatory, a medium/maximum security prison that is the largest in Iowa, housing over 1,200 male inmates. It was established in 1872 and constructed from locally quarried white limestone in the style of a castle, inspiring its nickname as "The White Palace of the West". The prison grounds also house the Anamosa State Penitenitiary Museum, which contains artifacts and exhibits on prison life from throughout its history.
Anamosa is also home to the National Motorcycle Museum, which features many vintage motorcycles, including the only original Captain America bike from the movie Easy Rider
Anamosa was the birthplace of the regionalist artist Grant Wood; he is buried there as well, in Riverside Cemetery, under a large monument of a recumbent lion. Customers can purchase reproductions of his work or view a collection of satirical interpretations of his most famous work American Gothic at the Grant Wood Art Gallery on Main Street.
Notable residents
Grant Wood, artist
William Shaw, Civil War veteran
Lawrence Schoonover, American novelist
Sarah Corpstein, Miss Iowa USA 2006
Marshal Yanda, Baltimore Ravens starting lineman
Andrew
Andrew is the birthplace of the first American military casualty of World War II, Captain Robert M. Losey[1], who was killed during a German Luftwaffe bombing of Dombås, Norway
Andrew was home to the first governor of Iowa, Ansel Briggs. On September 22, 1909 the citizens of Andrew erected a granite monument in the city cemetery in his honor. Although Briggs was originally buried in Omaha, Nebraska he was re-interred in 1909 in the Andrew Cemetery
Bernard Coyne
Anthon
It was also home to eunuchoidal giant Bernard Coyne, who was over 8 feet (243 cm) tall
Anthon was home to Charles Osborne, who had the hiccups continuously for 68 years, and was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records [1].
Arispe
Notable People
Harold R. Gross, member of the United States House of Representatives in the 20th century
Arnolds Park
It is home to an historic amusement park, also called Arnolds Park, which features Legend, An ACE Coaster Landmark Iowa Great Lakes Maritime Museum and the Iowa Rock'N'Roll Hall of Fame
Also located in Arnolds Park is the Abbie Gardner Sharp Cabin Museum, a site of the 1857 "Spirit Lake Massacre", a violent conflict between European settlers and Native Americans
Auburn
Notable People
Roy Reiman, magazine publisher
Albert the Bull
Audubon
Audubon is home to a gigantic bull statue, Albert the Bull.
Notable natives
C. W. McCall, musician
Charles Taylor Manatt, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee
Avoca
Notable People
Richard Beymer, actor Edwin Meredith, Secretary of Agriculture under president Woodrow Wilson
Ayrshire
In 1972, the town drew national attention for having the youngest mayor in America. Jody Smith was nineteen when he was elected mayor
Bagley
Notable People
Jordan Carstens, American football player for the NFL's Carolina Panthers
Bancroft
Notable People
Denis Menke, Major League Baseball player (two-time National League All-Star).
Joe Hatten, Major League Baseball pitcher
Bankston
Notable People
Mike Elgin, offensive lineman for the Indianapolis Colts
Bedford
Bedford won the Iowa Class A State Football Championship in 1992
Belle Plaine
Notable People
Earl Moran, 20th Century pin-up and glamour artist was born in Belle Plaine in 1893.
Hap Moran, New York Giants football star, was born in Belle Plaine in 1901.
Lonnie Nielsen, professional golfer, was born in Belle Plaine in 1953.
Bellevue
On July 4, 2010 during the town's annual Fourth of July parade, a woman was killed and 23 others injured when runaway horses trampled through the crowd
Belmond
Notable People
Sean McLaughlin: former MSNBC meteorologist and "Today Show" weather anchor
Bernard
Notable People
Paul Vincent Donovan, Roman Catholic bishop
Blairstown
Sauerkraut Days - Blairstown Iowa holds an annual "Sauerkraut Days" celebration. 2006 marked its 33rd official year
Bloomfield
Notable People
Curt Bader- member of the 1988 and 1996 Olympic Kayak teams
Clem Beauchamp- early motion picture actor, assistant director, production manger; Academy Award winner
Smith Wildman Brookhart- U.S. Senator
Cyrus Bussey- Civil War Major General (Breveted); Assistant Secretary of the Interior
Beryl F. Carroll- Governor of Iowa
George W. Clarke- Governor of Iowa
Samuel O. Dunn- journalist; transportation specialist
Edward E. Good- Associate Justice Nebraska Supreme Court
L.D. Hotchkiss- former editor-in-chief, The Los Angeles Times
John A. Hull- Major General; Judge Advocate General of the Army (1924–1928); Associate Justice Supreme Court of the Philippines (1934–1936)
John A.T. Hull- editor Davis County Republican; Iowa Secretary of State, Lt. Governor of Iowa, U.S. Representative
Augustin Reed Humphrey- U.S. Representative from Nebraska
John Kyl- U.S. Representative
Jon Kyl- U.S. Senator from Arizona and the Senate Minority Whip
Irvin S. Pepper- U.S. Representative
Bertha Eaton Raffetto- composer of Home Means Nevada, the state song of Nevada
C. William Ramseyer- U.S. Representative
Johnny Rawlings- major league baseball player (1914–1926); later coach for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
Jack Reno- American country singer, song writer and disc jockey
Kevin Ritz- former major league pitcher, Detroit Tigers and Colorado Rockies
Walter A. Sheaffer- founder of the Sheaffer Pen Company
Erastus J. Turner- U.S. Representative from Kansas
William C. Van Benthuysen- former managing editor of the Chicago Tribune and editorial manager for the New York World
James Weaver- U.S. Representative; twice third-party presidential candidate, 1880 Greenback Party and 1892 Populist Party
Bonaparte
In the news On October 14, 2006, five Bonaparte natives were murdered in their home. Michael Bentler, 53, his wife Sandra, 47, and their three daughters: Sheena, 17, Shelby, 15 and Shayne, 14, were pronounced dead at the scene. The family's oldest and surviving child, Shawn Michael Bentler, 22, was arrested in Illinois on unrelated drug charges. The following Sunday afternoon, he was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, in what has been characterized by the media as one of the worst mass murders in Iowa history. Shawn was found guilty on May 24, 2007
Boone
Notable People
Mamie Geneva Doud, wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Hap Moran, an All American basketball player from Boone High School and New York Giants football star
Kate Shelley, who averted a terrible train accident.
Chad Rinehart, an offensive lineman for the Washington Redskins. In college he was an all-American for the University of Northern Iowa.
Jerry McNertney, MLB player for the Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Norman Arthur Erbe, was a Republican Governor of Iowa from 1961 to 1963. He was born and resided in Boone.
Ray Lyman Wilbur, United States Secretary of the Interior
Brandon
Iowa's Largest Frying Pan is located in the town. Constructed in 2001, the frying pan promotes the Brandon Community Club's semi-annual Cowboy Breakfast. The pan weighs over 1,000 pounds
Brighton
Notable People
William Ward Johnson, U.S. Representative from California
Francis W. Cushman, U.S. Representative from Washington
Britt
Hobos have convened in Britt since 1900 for the National Hobo Convention, which celebrates the history of hobos and their way of life through contests, craft shows, communal eating, and a parade.
Brooklyn
Near the center of town Brooklyn boasts a large display of flags from each of the fifty states, the four branches of the military, and a smattering of others. The city bills itself as "Brooklyn: Community of Flags."
Carroll
Notable People
Mary Lundby, Iowa State Senator
Adam Haluska, professional basketball player
Everett Rogers communication scholar
Lance Cade, Professional Wrestler
Cascade
Notable People
Red Faber, Chicago White Sox pitcher
Jeremie Miller, founder of the Jabber project
Greg McDermott, head men's basketball coach at Creighton University
Centerville
Notable People
John Bushemi, photographer
Francis M. Drake, Governor of Iowa
Simon Estes, bass-baritone opera singer
Claude Payton, actor
Claude R. Porter, government official and politician
John K. Valentine, Lieutenant Governor of Iowa
Himie Voxman, clarinetist
Madison M. Walden, Lieutenant Governor of Iowa
Chariton
Notable People
Paul Engebretsen, National Football League player
Leo Hoegh, former governor
Mortimer Wilson, composer
Gordon Willey, anthropologist
Charles City
Charles City is known as the birthplace of the farm tractor in the early 1900s by the Hart-Parr Company. The founder of the Hart-Parr Company, Charles Walter Hart, was born in Charles City.
The city was also the location of the last lynching in Iowa, that of James Cullen in 1907
Charles City is also known as the site of the childhood home of Carrie Chapman Catt, a prominent leader of the woman suffrage movement and founder of the League of Women Voters.
Cherokee
Cherokee Sewer Site is a well-preserved prehistoric Indian bison processing site which helped to redefine the Archaic period in the Midwest and the Phipps Site is a National Historic Landmark 1000-year old Plains farming village that may have been fortified
Notable People
Adam Timmerman, former NFL lineman and Super Bowl champion for the St. Louis Rams and Green Bay Packers
Guy M. Gillette, House of Representatives 1930-36, US Senate 1936-45
Gen. John D. Ryan, US Air Force Chief of Staff, 1969-71
Ben F. Laposky, Artist and Mathematician
Clarinda
Many stories are told of such notables as Jesse James frequently passing through.
In 1884, the citizens rallied to build the third mental hospital in the state of Iowa. Today, the Clarinda State Hospital is known as the Clarinda Treatment Complex and the hospital is located on the north end of the city.
Clarinda also holds a state prison called the Clarinda Correctional Facility.
In 1943 during World War II, an internment camp designed for 3,000 prisoners of war with 60 barracks and a 150 bed hospital was built in Clarinda. German prisoners were the first to arrive in Camp Clarinda followed by Italian and Japanese POWs in 1945
Notable People
Vernon Baker, one of 7 African-American World War II Medal of Honor winners
Edwin Harris Colbert, paleontologist
William Peters Hepburn, U.S. Representative
Norman Maclean, author of A River Runs Through It
Marilyn Maxwell, singer
Glenn Miller, 1940s big band leader
Jessie Field Shambaugh, founder of 4-H
Clarinda is the home of the Clarinda A's, a summer amateur baseball team. The team won the 1981 National Baseball Congress championship. It has sent several players on to the major leagues, notably hall of famer Ozzie Smith, who regularly returns to Clarinda for special events
Clarion
Clarion is the birthplace of the four-leaf clover emblem used by the 4-H Clubs of America, conceived of in 1907 by the local school superintendent, O.H. Benson
Monument at Crash Site
Clear Lake
"The Day the Music Died" In the early hours of February 3, 1959, a Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft carrying Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens, who had been performing at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, took off from the local runway in nearby Mason City, on its way to the next show in Moorhead, Minnesota. The plane crashed soon after takeoff, killing all aboard. This event was later eulogized by folk singer Don McLean in his famous song, "American Pie", in which the death of these '50s icons serves as a metaphor for greater changes within American society as a whole.
Clermont
Clermont is home to Montauk, the mansion of former Iowa governor William Larrabee, along with much historic architecture.
Scenes for the movie The Straight Story were filmed here
Notable People
David B. Henderson, former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
William Larrabee, former Governor
Columbus Junction
Columbus Junction is also home to a historic swinging bridge.
It is also known as the black dirt capital of the world and has an annual celebration to celebrate its fertile soil.
Krushchev Visiting Coon Rapids
Coon Rapids
In September 1959, Coon Rapids played a role in promoting détente between the United States and the Soviet Union, when area resident Roswell Garst hosted Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev on his farm.
Notable People
Warren Garst, nineteenth Governor of Iowa
Roswell Garst, internationally prominent farmer and acquaintance of Nikita Khrushchev
David Garst, nationally prominent farmer
Coralville
In prehistoric times, Coralville was the location of the Edgewater Park Site, a 3,800-year-old archaeological site along the Iowa River. Edgewater is the oldest site in Iowa with evidence of domesticated plant use.
Notable People
Nate Kaeding, San Diego Chargers and former University of Iowa placekicker.
Jason McCartney, professional cyclist, Team RadioShack.
Samuel J. Kirkwood, Governor of Iowa, Senator from Iowa, Secretary of the Interior.
Steven B. Jepson, opera and musical theater singer.
Johnny Carson
Corning
Corning is perhaps best known as the birthplace of Johnny Carson.
Daniel Webster Turner, who was governor of Iowa from 1931 to 1933, was born in Corning on March 17, 1877
Corning is home to Adams County Speedway, which holds races on Saturday nights from April through September
Corydon
Corydon is the hometown of Olympic gold medalist George Saling. Saling won the 110 meter hurdles in the 1932 Los Angeles games with a time of 14.6 seconds
Cresco
Notable People
Norman Borlaug, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Charley Bowers, cartoonist and filmmaker
Ellen Church, the world's first flight attendant
Edward Aloysius Fitzgerald, the fourth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona
Edward Howard, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Portland, Oregon
Harold Nichols, Iowa State University wrestling coach
Creston
Notable People
Walter Cunningham, astronaut
Julee Cruise, actress and singer
Sherry Edmundson Fry, sculptor and co-founder of the American Army Camouflage Corps
Jerome C. Hunsaker (1886-1984), designer of flying boats and airships
Frank Phillips, founder of the Phillips Petroleum Company
Marcia Wallace, actress
Edward E. Miller, U.S. Representative from Illinois
James M. McCoy, Chief Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force.
Jerry Harrington, Major League Baseball player
Cumming
Notable People
Tom Harkin, United States Senate
Cushing
Notable People
Kelly Goodburn, punter in the National Football League
Dakota City
Notable People
Harry Reasoner - CBS correspondent
Dayton
Since 1937, Dayton has been the site of a rodeo on Labor Day weekend. It began with a pair of local cowboys and has grown to a National Championship Rodeo, sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
Decorah
Each July Decorah is the home of Nordic Fest, a celebration of Norwegian culture.
Decorah is also the home of the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.
Notable People
William Foege, epidemiologist, born in Decorah in 1936[11]
Edward L. Garden, North Dakota politician
Weston Noble, music educator
Mark Pinter, actor
Oswald Veblen, mathematician, geometer and topologist
Johannes B. Wist, journalist
Denison
The book on Denison - Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dale Maharidge depicts a changing Denison in the early twenty-first century in his book DENISON, IOWA: Searching for the Soul of America Through the Secrets of a Midwest Town. This book features photographs by Maharidge's partner and fellow Pulitzer-winner, Michael Williamson.
Notable People
Clarence Duncan Chamberlin, aviation pioneer
Jim Garrison, New Orleans District Attorney who investigated some of the Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories
James E. Hansen, head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Jordan Monroe, Playboy's Playmate of the month for October 2006
Donna Reed, Academy Award–winning actress
L.M. Shaw, governor of Iowa and Secretary of the Treasury
DeWitt
Central High School won state championships in boys basketball in 1981, girls basketball in 1994, and boys cross country in 2000 and 2001. During that two-year stretch, the Saber Boys' Cross Country team went 254-0, winning the team championship in an incredible 20 consecutive meets
Notable People
David C. Hilmers, NASA astronaut
Ryan Kunz, Olympic Runner
JoAnna M. Lund, author and cook
Danny Moeller, Major League Baseball Player
Dexter
The city is famous for being the site of a July 23, 1933, shootout between members of the Barrow gang and police from as far away as Des Moines.[1][2]
On September 18, 1948, Dexter was the site of a national plowing match at which President Harry Truman delivered a speech attacking the 80th Congress for its record in regard to the American farmer. This speech is considered one of the most important of his 1948 Whistle Stop campaign that turned the tide of the election and returned him to the White House
Notable People
Edwin H. Conger (1843–1907), United States Ambassador to China during the Boxer Rebellion, United States Ambassador to Brazil, and United States Ambassador to Mexico.[9]
Doon
Notable People
Frederick Manfred, author
Dunkerton
Notable People
William Hootkin, best remembered for his role as Jek Porkins, red six x-wing pilot in the 1977 film "Star Wars"
Dyersville
The baseball field built for the film Field of Dreams.
The Basilica of St. Francis Xavier, one of the few minor Roman Catholic basilicas in the United States outside a large metropolitan area.
The National Farm Toy Museum.
Eagle Grove
Notable People
Robert D. Blue, 30th Governor of Iowa from 1945-49
Frances Lee, a silent film actress
Earling
Earling is well known in paranormal circles for being the site of a 1928 exorcism. Over 23 days in 1928, a Roman Catholic priest named Theophilus Riesinger worked to exorcise demons from Emma Schmidt at the local Franciscan convent. During the exorcism Schmidt reportedly flew across the room, landed high above the door, and clung tightly to the wall. Despite attempts by church officials to keep the exorcism secret, townsPeople soon began hearing strange noises coming from the convent as well as horrid odors. Finally after 23 days the demons in Schmidt's body gave up after Father Riesinger commanded, "Depart, ye fiends of hell! Begone, Satan." After the exorcism Schmidt reportedly led a fairly normal life
Early
Early's "claim to fame" is that it is the Crossroads of the Nation, because Highway 71 and Highway 20 cross each other there.
Song - The city is the topic of the song "Early", by folk musician Greg Brown. It appears on his album 44 & 66, released in 1980.
American Gothic House
Eldon
Eldon is the site of the small Carpenter Gothic style house that has come to be known as the American Gothic House because Grant Wood used it for the background in his famous 1930 painting American Gothic[1].
Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold (who was born in nearby Ottumwa) opened Roseanne and Tom's Big Food Diner, specializing in loosemeat sandwiches (similar to the specialty of the Lanford Lunch Box, which was owned by the Connor family on the ABC sitcom Roseanne), in Eldon. The restaurant was short-lived, operating from March 13, 1993, until 1995. (The couple divorced in 1994.)
Eldora
The city is most famous for the filming of the 1996 movie Twister on location. The climactic final scene was shot in a house in Eldora which can be toured today
Elkader
Notable People
Jack Dittmer, Major League Baseball second baseman, Boston/Milwaukee Braves (now Atlanta) franchise.
Francis John Dunn, Roman Catholic bishop
Donald Harstad, novelist
Leonard G. Wolf, U.S. Representative from Iowa
Bob Possehl, Three time All State basketball player at Central Elkader, 10th on Coe College's basketball career scoring list.
Elkhart
The American Towers Tower Elkhart belongs to the world's tallest constructions.
Elk Horn
Elk Horn is known as a center of Danish ethnicity and is home to the Danish Immigrant Museum.
Emmetsburg
Emmetsburg was named one of the top 100 places to live in the United States by Relocate-America.com's "America's Top 100 Places to Live for 2007."
Notable People
Paul Emerick, professional rugby player
Bruce Nelson, former National Football League player
Curt Pringle, mayor of Anaheim, California
Epworth
Notable People
Henry Waechter, former NFL lineman, 1985 Chicago Bears, Super Bowl XX player
Estherville
On May 10, 1879, a 455 pound meteorite fell to earth in Emmet County a few miles north of Estherville, and has become known as the Estherville Meteorite. When it struck it buried itself 15 feet in the ground. Portions of the meteorite are on display in the Estherville Public Library, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria.
Notable People
Virgil Frye, actor
Robert Hansen, serial killer
"The Hunt for John Wilkes Booth," a documentary aired on the History Channel, it is said that, "In Estherville, Iowa a man is lynched after saying that he was glad that President Lincoln was killed." They did not give the man's name
Exira
Notable People
Ben F. Jensen, former U.S. Representative
Jack Pardee, former NFL Head Coach
Fairfield
Fairfield is the home of Maharishi University of Management, formerly known as Maharishi International University (MIU), which bought the former Parsons College in 1974. Fairfield has been called a "national magnet" for practitioners of Transcendental Meditation (TM),[22][23] and "the world's largest training center" for TM.
Popular culture - MIU The Beach Boys recorded their 1979 album M.I.U. Album on the campus, and named it after the university.[106]
Man on the Moon, a biopic of entertainer Andy Kaufman, includes a scene at Maharishi International University in which Kaufman is asked to leave a retreat because his behavior was unbecoming an enlightened individual.
People - MIU Notable past and present faculty at MUM include David Orme-Johnson, John Hagelin, and Ashley Deans.
Alumni - MIU Noted alumni include UFO expert Jeff Peckman who attended for one year, Ron Parker, a Canadian who ran on the Natural Law Party ticket and received his PhD in physics from MUM, and filmmaker Shrikar Madiraju. Author John Gray has been called an alumnus of MIU,[110] but other sources list him as an alumnus of Maharishi European Research University (MERU) in Switzerland.[111][112]
Other alumni include Chris Hartnett, CEO of USA Global Link, who received his BA from MUM, Michael C. Dimick, a Natural Law Party candidate who received his MBA degree, [113][114][115][116] and Jennie Rothenberg-Gritz who is the senior editor for TheAtlantic.com
In 2006, the town was named one of the "12 Great Places You've Never Heard Of" by Mother Earth News magazine citing its ayurvedic health spa, high amount of restaurants per capita and 25 art galleries, characterizing it as a "sustainable and cosmopolitan town
Notable People
Richard Beymer, actor
Mitch Kapor, founder of Electronic Frontier Foundation and was the first chair of the Mozilla Foundation.
Harry Harlow, psychologist
Buddy Biancalana, former Major League Baseball player
Greg Brown, folk musician
Ron Cochran, television journalist
Flavia Colgan, political contributor on MSNBC
Joe Crail, former California House of Representatives member
Walter Day, founder of Twin Galaxies
Dave Despain, auto racing commentator on SPEED
Ben Foster, actor
Jon Foster, actor
Claude R. Porter, member of the Iowa General Assembly, United States Attorney
Hays B. White, former Kansas House of Representatives member
John Hagelin, quantum physicist, former United States Presidential candidate
Milo Hamilton, baseball announcer
Claire Hoffman, journalist[37]
Bob Krause, Iowa state representative
F. Dickinson Letts, federal judge
Pamela Levy, painter
Moses A. McCoid, U.S. Representative from Iowa
David Rosenboom, composer
Mary Ruthsdotter, feminist activist
Chad Setterstrom, National Football League player
Robert Williamson Steele, Governor of the Territory of Jefferson
James F. Wilson, United States Senator
Farley
Notable People
Raymond Roseliep, famous poet, Catholic priest
Fonda
The consolidated Newell-Fonda High School is widely regarded for being a powerhouse in Class A sports Newell-Fonda State Basketball Championships 1991, 1997, 1999, 2000,
Notable People
Nathan Post, 7th and 10th Governor of American Samoa
Forest City
It is the headquarters of Winnebago Industries, which manufactures motorhomes.
Forest City claims to be the smallest city in the United States with its own YMCA.
It is also the home of Waldorf College
Notable Alumni:
Brad Anderson, CEO of Best Buy, who received his A.A. from Waldorf College in 1969.
John K. Hanson, founder of Winnebago Industries;
Irving "Bud" Alne, former Lockheed executive;
Dennis N. Highby, CEO of Cabela's;
Kent Stock, coach of Norway Iowa High School baseball portrayed by actor Sean Astin in the film The Final Season;
Dan Meyer, 2007 Ig Nobel Laureate in Medicine, and President of the Sword Swallowers Association International
Fort Madison
Fort Madison was the location of the first U.S. military fort in the upper Mississippi region; a replica of the fort stands along the river.[3]
Sheaffer Pens were developed and made in Fort Madison for many years.
The city is the location of the Iowa State Penitentiary—the state's maximum security prison for men.
Fort Madison is the Mississippi river crossing and station stop for Amtrak's Southwest Chief. Fort Madison has the last remaining double swing-span bridge on the Mississippi River, the Fort Madison Toll Bridge. It has a top level for cars and a bottom level for trains; it is also the world's largest
Fort Madison was the site of Black Hawk’s first battle against U.S. troops, the only real War of 1812 battle fought west of the Mississippi.
Notable People
Ryan Bowen, NBA basketball player
Kate Harrington, poet
Mark W. Balmert, United States Rear admiral
Dick Klein, Founder of the Chicago Bulls
Jerry Junkins, CEO of Texas Instruments, Incorporated
James Johnson Duderstadt, President of the University of Michigan
Anna Malle, pornographic actress
James Theodore Richmond, writer and conservationist
George Henry Williams, United States Senator
Bob Fry, professional golfer
Fremont
Notable People
Steve Bales — Flight Control engineer for NASA's Apollo 11 mission
Garner
Notable People
Alvin Baldus, United States Representative
Fred and August Duesenberg, automobile manufacturers
Dennis Hejlik, lieutenant general in the United States Marine Corps
Garrison
In 2007 a remarkable[says who?] description of life years ago in Garrison was published. The book is called Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression (ISBN 978-0-553-38424-6). It was written by Mildred Armstrong Kalish who grew up in Garrison and became a Professor of English. The book tells of "a time, a place, and a way of life long gone." Elizabeth Gilbert in the New York Times Book Review wrote of Little Heathens: "Not only trustworthy and useful, but also polished by real, rare happiness. It is a very good book, indeed. In fact, it's averyveryverygoodbook."
GMG High School has 1 Iowa State High School Championship. The Wolverines claimed the 1987 Class A Iowa State Football Championship in their first year as a combined school
Matchstick Marvels - Gladbrook is the home of the Matchstick Marvels museum. This museum holds large creations, built by Patrick Acton, that are made out of matchsticks.[4]
The Gladbrook Corn Carnival is an annual celebration in Gladbrook that attracts several thousands of visitors. It has been held since 1922. It is held the last weekend in June.
Notable People
Clifford Berry, helped John Vincent Atanasoff create the first digital electronic computer in 1939, the Atanasoff–Berry Computer at Iowa State University
Glenwood
Notable People
Hiram Pitt Bennet, Congressional delegate from the Territory of Colorado and Colorado Secretary of State
Christian Beranek, graphic novelist, actor and producer
Elmer Burkett, U.S. Senator from Nebraska
Alice Cooper (sculptor), sculptor
Curt Kaufman, pitcher for the California Angels and the New York Yankees
Clifford Rishell, Mayor of Oakland, California from 1949–1961
Billy Sunday, evangelist
Otha Wearin, U.S. Representative from Iowa
Granger
Granger is well known for having two water towers, with one labeled HOT and the other labeled COLD.
Greeley
Greeley features prominently in the technothriller novel FreedomTM as the center of an agricultural movement known as the "corn rebellion".
Greene
The town was featured in King Corn, a 2007 documentary about corn and its effects on American food and agriculture industries.
Greenfield
Greenfield is home to the Iowa Aviation Museum and Hall of Fame.
Filming Location
Greenfield was the primary location for the filming of the 1971 satirical comedy film Cold Turkey, starring Dick Van Dyke. The movie involved a town that accepted a challenge to quit smoking for 30 days. Greenfield also rose to the challenge and went "Cold Turkey" with 166 of its citizens signing Stop Smoking pledges.
Portions of the 2009 thriller Peacock were filmed in Greenfield and other towns in Adair County.
Freedom Rock - The Freedom Rock is a large boulder that marks the entrance to an old rock quarry. Beginning in 1999, Ray "Bubba" Sorensen II has painted the rock every Memorial Day with different patriotic images and sayings in support of the United States military.
Greenville
On November 16, 1901, one Mr. Brown opened the bank in Greenville and discovered that the bank had been robbed. The vault handle had been removed, explosives placed into the opening, and the vault door blown off. Three men were seen later in Spencer, then Webb, and finally Albert City where they were cornered at the depot. A gunfight ensued, during which one of the gunmen was killed. The other two were captured and later sentenced to life terms in Fort Madison, while the dead gunman was buried in an unnamed grave in Fairfield Cemetery in Albert City. Sixty-four empty shells were picked up in the depot after the fight.[3]
Notable People
Medal of Honor recipient Col. Merlyn Hans Dethlefsen, USAF, was born in Greenville.[4] He died on December 14, 1987 and was subsequently buried in Section 65 of Arlington National Cemetery
Grinnell
Home of Grinnell College.
Notable Alumni:
Harry Hopkins, 1912, senior advisor to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, principal architect of the New Deal, WPA administrator.[62]
Joseph Welch, 1914, Head attorney for the United States Army during the Army-McCarthy Hearings.[63]
Robert Noyce, 1949, nicknamed "Mayor of Silicon Valley", co-founder of Intel, co-inventor of the integrated circuit.[64]
Herbie Hancock, 1960, Jazz musician and composer who has won an Academy Award and multiple Grammy Awards, member of Miles Davis's "second great quintet".[65]
John Garang, 1969, leader of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army, later vice president of Sudan.[66]
Thomas Cech, 1970, Co-winner of 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for [...] discovery of catalytic properties of RNA", past president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Notable People
Josiah Bushnell Grinnell, city founder and abolitionist to whom Horace Greeley is quoted as having said : "Go West, young man, go West."
Hallie Flanagan, Federal Theater Project head
Harry Hopkins, one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's advisors and New Deal architect
Robert Noyce, inventor and Intel co-founder
Bruce Braley, member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Actor Gary Cooper
Billy Robinson, pioneer aviator.[11][12]
Thomas R. Cech, Nobel Laureate in chemistry, graduate of Grinnell College
Benjamin Barber, political theorist, professor at the University of Maryland, and graduate of Grinnell College
Musician John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats
Actor Peter Coyote
Musician Rob Cushing
Musician Herbie Hancock
Griswold
Notable People
Neville Brand — television and movie actor
Guthrie Center
Notable People
Coleman Griffith, pioneer of sports psychology
Jack Laughery - CEO of Hardee's from 1975 to 1990[4]
Hamburg
Hamburg is home to a 'Vogel Popcorn' Factory and many warehouses. They produce Act II and Orville Redenbacher popcorn there.
It is also the Birth Place of Bryan "The karate kid" or "The Walking Thesaurus" Hagen
Hampton
Notable People
William D. Leahy — Fleet Admiral of the United States Navy
Thomas J.B. Robinson, U.S. Representative from Iowa
Hancock
Notable People
Danny O'Neill- Professional Arena Football Player For The Iowa Blackhawks Of The APFL And The Arctic Predators Of The AIFA
Harlan
Harlan is also the home of DeWayne Louis "Tiny" Lund, who won the Daytona 500 in 1963 and former NASCAR racer Johnny Beauchamp (who came in 2nd at the 1959 Daytona 500 to Lee Petty).
Harlan has won 12 Class 3-A state championships in football: 1972, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2009.[4]
Harlan also is home to Shelby County Speedway which holds the Tiny Lund Memorial races held in September.
Notable People
George Sabin Gibbs, United States Army General
Curt Kaufman, Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the New York Yankees and the California Angels
Raymond Eugene Plummer, lawyer and judge
JoAnn Wilson, Canadia politician
Mary Lincoln Beckwith, great-grandchild of Abraham Lincoln
Albert Hansen, College Football coach
Howarden
Notable People
Hope Emerson, American actress
Stanley L. Greigg, member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Brian Hansen, former NFL punter
Lisa Suhair Majaj, Palestinian-American poet and scholar[4]
Albert J. Meyer, economist
Ruth Suckow, American author
Anna Johnson Pell Wheeler, American mathematician
Hiawatha
Notable People
Salvatore Giunta - United States Army soldier, veteran of the War in Afghanistan, and the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War.
Hospers
Notable People
Charles B. Hoeven - U.S. Representative from Iowa for 22 years
Dennis Marion Schnurr - Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati; formerly Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota
Hull
Notable People
Dwayne Alons, Iowa state representative
Randy Feenstra, Iowa state senator
Nancy Metcalf, American indoor volleyball player
Humboldt
On March 27, 1972, ABC-TV broadcast a half-hour documentary on Humboldt entitled "A Small Town in Iowa." The program was written and produced by Andy Rooney and narrated by Harry Reasoner.[9] The documentary portrayed Humboldt as a kind of paradise that struggled to keep its most talented youth from leaving for larger cities, and asked, "what is it about paradise that's turning the bright kids off?"[10] The answer, according to Reasoner and Rooney, was that "what seems to be missing is more a shortcoming of ours, than of the small town. It is that those of us with ego and ambition are not usually happy performing in front of an audience the size a small town provides."
The First National Bank of Humboldt and its shareholders were the primary victims of what the Des Moines Register described as “one of the most spectacular white-collar crimes in state history."[11] In 1982 Humboldt native Gary Vance Lewellyn, then a Des Moines stockbroker, attempted to pump up the value of the stock of a high-tech company by singlehandedly creating phony market demand for it.[12] To carry out the scheme, he illegally obtained access to bonds of the First National Bank of Humboldt valued at $16.7 million, and secretly pledged the Bank’s bonds as security for his personal orders of the company’s stock through Wall Street investment firms.[13] When Lewellyn missed margin calls on his stock purchases, the firms obtained the bonds.[14] Suspicious federal regulators closed the Humboldt Bank when it could not account for its missing bonds (and considered, but rejected, the idea of liquidating it).[12] Its accountholders were protected by federal insurance but the shares in the bank became worthless. For his crime, Lewellyn was sentenced to twenty years in prison,[15] but served only five years
Notable People
George Bauman – Newspaper reporter, editor, and later publisher of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 1977-1984[19]
Jack Clancy - Football player for the Miami Dolphins
Christian Clemenson - Emmy-award winning actor; recent roles include Thomas Burnett in United 93 and Jerry "Hands" Espenson in Boston Legal
Kevin Dresser - Head wrestling coach, Virginia Tech, and 1986 national wrestling champion (142 lbs.) at the University of Iowa
Theodore G. Garfield - Second-longest-serving justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, 1941-1969 (from 1961-69 as Chief Justice)[20]
Frank Gotch - world heavyweight wrestling champion from 1908 to 1915
L. W. Housel - Two-time Democratic candidate for governor of Iowa[21]
Jon Porter - U.S. Representative from Nevada, January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2009
Harry Reasoner - CBS and ABC news correspondent and television host
Bruce Reimers - NFL offensive guard for Cincinnati and Tampa Bay
Dick Schultz - College sports coach, executive director of the United States Olympic Committee
Ida Grove
Castles of Ida Grove - There is an wonderful assortment of medieval architecture scattered throughout the town.
Notable People
Joel Dreessen, professional football player.
Harold Hughes, Governor of Iowa (1963–1969), U.S. Senator (1969–1975), and 1972 Presidential candidate.
Mildred Lillie, California Court of Appeal Presiding Justice and Richard Nixon's choice for the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court (nomination withdrawn)
George Pipgras, Major League Baseball player (1923-1935) and umpire (1938-1945).
Independence State Hospital
Independence
For a few years in the late 1880s and early 1890s, Independence was a nationally-known horse-racing center, and was sometimes referred to as the "Lexington of the North
It is not widely known that Independence has an historical connection with the American-born writer Gertrude Stein. While living in Paris, Stein became close friends with an American expatriate painter named William Edwards Cook, who was born in Independence in 1881. It was Cook who taught Stein how to drive (so that she could transport supplies for the French during World War I). In her second autobiography, titled Everybody’s Autobiography, she talks about her fondness for the state, and for Cook’s hometown in particular, which she had never visited (although, as a child in San Francisco, she was well aware of the town's sudden celebrity as a horse racing center). Her fondness for Iowa is also partly attributable to her close friendship with American writer Carl Van Vechten (who would become her literary executor), who had grown up in nearby Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 1933, when Stein traveled throughout the U.S. on a book publicity tour, she eagerly agreed to speak at Iowa City (on the second floor of what is now the Prairie Lights Bookstore), with the provision that she would be able to fly over Independence, to see Cook’s birthplace from the air. Unfortunately, the Midwest was hit by a major winter storm that day, and Stein’s visit to Iowa was entirely cancelled. Cook himself had returned to Independence for an extended visit in 1925, to assist in settling the affairs of his father, an Independence lawyer who had died the year before. When Cook returned to Paris, he used part of his inheritance to commission a young architect named Le Corbusier to design, on the outskirts of Paris, what is now considered to be the first Cubist house, called Maison Cook or Villa Cook.
The race track at Rush Park has also the distinction of being the site of the first one-mile bicycle speed record of under two minutes, which was set in 1892 at Independence by John S. Johnson.
Notable People
Harry E. Yarnell, U.S. Navy admiral
Leonard Eugene Dickson, prominent mathematician
William A. Noyes, analytical and organic chemist
William Edwards Cook, American expatriate artist
Janet Dailey, novelist
Points of Interest
Big Bud 747, the world's largest farm tractor
Independence State Hospital, a massive and historic mental hospital located on the outskirts of the city.
Indianola
Notable People
Casey Blake, professional baseball player
George Washington Carver, botanical researcher and agronomy educator
Dayton Duncan, producer
Junior D. Edwards, posthumous Medal of Honor honoree
Jay Foote, bassist, composer, and record producer
Erasmus Haworth, geologist
James C. Hickman, actuary
Lane Sisters, four sibling singers
Ralph Parcaut, wrestler
Steve Spray, professional golfer
Emma Verona Johnston, oldest living American (114 years) at the time of her death
Founding members of the band Index Case
Edwin Edgar Voigt, a Bishop of the The Methodist Church
Ilo Browne Wallace, wife of Vice President Henry A. Wallace
Ed Yost, inventor of the modern hot air balloon
Ionia
Notable People
Jack Cunningham (screenwriter)
Iowa Falls
Notable People
Nick Collison, basketball player
Brad Meester, center for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars
Bill Riley, Sr., television personality
Ireton
Notable People
Stanley L. Greigg, member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Jamaica
A 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) recording studio, Sound Farm, where Slipknot & The Envy Corps recorded their 2008 albums All Hope is Gone and Dwell, is located in Jamaica.[3][4]
Near Jamaica is an octagon barn built in 1881, one of seven in Iowa to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The metal band Slipknot filmed the music video for Psychosocial here.
Janesville
Notable People
Bill Dix, Republican, former member of Iowa Legislature, Janesville High School Class of 1981
Tolly Thompson, 1995 NCAA Heavyweight Wrestling Champion, University of Nebraska; Member of USA Freestyle Wrestling National Team, named 2005 Freestyle Wrestler of the Year; Janesville High School Class of 1993
Albert J. Loveland, Democrat, former U.S. Under-Secretary of Agriculture and candidate for U.S. Senate, 1950
Jefferson
It is the home of the Mahanay Memorial Bell Tower, 168 feet (51 m) tall, located on the town square, and visible for miles
Notable People
Albert Head - five times elected to the Iowa Legislature and Speaker of the House in 1887
William Cook Hanson - Federal District Judge (Southern Dist. of Iowa) appointed by Pres. John F. Kennedy; Federal Bench 1962-95
George Gallup - pollster
Darrell R. Lindsey - posthumous winner of the Medal of Honor
Dick Oatts - jazz saxophonist
Bryce Paup professional football player 1990-2000
Loren Shriver – astronaut
Johnston Paul J. and Ida Trier House, a private residence designed by famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Kalona
Not far from Kalona is located the largest Amish settlement west of the Mississippi
Keokuk
Keokuk was the longtime home of Orion Clemens, brother of Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. Sam's visits to his brother's home led him to write of the beauty of Keokuk and southeastern Iowa in Life on the Mississippi
Notable People
Samuel Clemens, writer, better known as Mark Twain
Annie Turner Wittenmyer, social reformer and relief worker
Samuel Freeman Miller, Supreme Court justice
Jerry Harrington, baseball player
Howard Hughes, American aviator, engineer, industrialist, film producer, film director, and philanthropist
Ramo Stott, stock car driver
Jeremy Soule, Composer; notably Video game soundtracks E.G Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Harry Potter
Bud Fowler, first professional African American baseball player
Samuel Curtis, American military officer
Elsa Maxwell, writer
Palmer Pyle, NFL player
Mike Pyle, NFL player
Conrad Nagel, actor
Richard Page, bass player for the band Mr. Mister
Edward Joseph McManus, United States federal judge
Edward Kimball, actor
William H. Clagett, politician
Edward P. Alexander, author, historian, and educator
Dave Merrick, artist
The town's name has been mentioned in a variety of ways on television, including: an episode of The Simpsons where Krusty the Klown mentioned Keokuk, along with Walla Walla, Cucamonga, and Seattle as funny named places; an episode of Nickelodeon's All Grown Up in which a class project involved family trees with ancestors originating in Keokuk; an episode of M*A*S*H in a story line involving Radar O'Reilly; an episode of the New Zoo Revue in which Freddy the Frog was blurting out random answers for a trivia contest; in a Dennis the Menace cartoon; and as part of a joke on Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show. Keokuk has also been mentioned on the game show "Jeopardy" under the category of starting and ending in K. It was described as "A small town in southeast Iowa".[citation needed] It was referred to in an episode of I Love Lucy, and used in a joke by Bob Hope on one of his TV specials. It was also referred to in the recent Broadway musical, "Thoroughly Modern Millie" in one of the first scenes. It is also referred to in another Broadway musical, "The Pajama Game", where the character Gladys says, "I know I'm beautiful, probably the most beautiful girl north of Keokuk." Keokuk was also mentioned in a W. C. Fields film, as well as in the lyrics to Iowa Stubborn from Meredith Willson's 1957 musical, The Music Man. In the operetta Mlle. Modiste it is referred to a number of times as the hometown of Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Bent, the latter of which sings a song extolling the virtues of The Keokuk Culture Club. Keokuk, and a fictional professional football team the Keokuk Colonels, are mentioned multiple times in the novel American Empire: The Victorious Opposition by Harry Turtledove.
Kingsley
In the 1880s Herbert Hoover lived in the Kingsley community for a short time, following the deaths of his parents.
Knoxville
Knoxville is home of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum located next to the famous dirt track known as Knoxville Raceway.
Notable People
James Fee — Photographer.
Dixie Cornell Gebhardt — Designer of the Flag of Iowa (and 1st cousin of Henry Carroll Timmonds, below)
Edward R. Hays — U.S. congressman, 1890-1891.
James Mathews — U.S. congressman (from Ohio), 1841–1843; professor at Iowa State College.
Howard B. Myers — Economist
William M. Stone — Governor of Iowa (1864–1868)
Henry Carroll Timmonds — Missouri state representative and judge in late 1800s
Ladora
Notable People
Mildred Wirt Benson, American author.
Lake Mills
Notable People
Terry Edward Branstad, Governor of Iowa
Wallace Stegner, historian and writer
Lamori
Notable People
Eddie Watt — Major League Baseball pitcher
La Porte City
Notable People
Fran Allison - Old-time radio & early TV personality
Patrick Bedard, automotive journalist and driver in the 1983 & 1984 Indianapolis 500
Peg Mullen (1917–2009), anti-war activist and writer
Larchwood
Notable People
Cheri Blauwet, Paralympic athlete
Kyle Vanden Bosch, defensive end for the Detroit Lions
Laurens
In Popular Culture
Laurens was the home of Alvin Straight, a 73-year-old man famous for travelling 240 miles on a lawnmower. His story was made into the film The Straight Story (1999) directed by David Lynch, starring Richard Farnsworth (Nominated for Oscar) and Sissy Spacek ; the film was partly made in Laurens.
"Laurens, Iowa" is also the title of an instrumental song in the film soundtrack.
Le Claire
Tugfest - Tugfest is an annual three-day-long event in early August in which a rope is stretched across the Mississippi River from Le Claire to Port Byron. Several teams of 20 tug against each other; whatever team pulls the most rope wins, and whichever state wins the most contests wins Tugfest. The event is also associated with a large fireworks display, live band, amateur rib cook off, a carnival and food on both sides of the river.
Port Byron, the 2008 champion, holds an overall record of 12-10 in the competition.[6]
American Pickers - Le Claire is the home of Antique Archeology, the antique store operated by Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz and featured on the History Channel documentary reality television series American Pickers.
Leland
Notable People
Terry Branstad, former Governor of Iowa
Blue Bunny Products
Le Mars
Le Mars is the home of Wells Dairy, the world's largest producer of ice cream novelties in one location and is the self-proclaimed "Ice Cream Capital of the World". Wells is most well known for its Blue Bunny products
Notable People
Keith Knudsen, drummer for the Doobie Brothers
Paul Rust, star of I Love You Beth Cooper
John Spenkelink, first person executed in Florida after the re-introduction of the death penalty in the United States
Thomas Starzl, innovator in organ transplant surgery
Isaac S. Struble, congressman and namesake of Struble, Iowa
Lenox
Lenox won the Class 1A Iowa State Baseball Championship in 2006, and the Iowa 8-Man Football State Championship in 2008.
Leon
Leon is home to a major rodeo that has been Rodeo of the Year in Iowa for many years.
Notable People
John Clinton Porter, politician
Steven V. Carter, Democrat U.S. Representative
Lewis
Notable People
Edwin Perkins, inventor of Kool-Aid
Linden
Notable People
Travis Geopfert, American decathlete, two time Drake Relays decathlon champion (2004, 2006), and from July 3, 2008, head track and field/cross country coach at the University of Northern Iowa
Linn Grove
The nearby Chan-Ya-Ta Site contains the remains of a 1000-year-old prehistoric village and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Livermore
Livermore is the hometown of Indianapolis Colts tight end Dallas Clark
Lone Rock
The city is named after a large boulder Long before any settlement took place here, the unusual (175 ton) boulder was used as a landmark for travelers. In 1899, the community relocated to be close to the railroad. In 1970, the lone rock was moved to the new location by blasting it into four pieces and reconstructing the pieces inside the community
Long Grove
The town's annual celebration represents Long Grove's claim to fame: The Strawberry Festival. Held the second Sunday each June, the day kicks off at 9 a.m. with the Strawberry Stampede - youth fun/competitive fitness footraces followed by a parade at 11:15 a.m.. Area strawberry farmers sell strawberries, there are games for children, a children's Strawberry Pageant, Trivia Contest, Raffle, Strawberry Cooking Contest, petting zoo, pony rides, wagon rides, and a variety of entertainment groups throughout the day
Lost Nation
Notable People
Jim McAndrew, New York Mets pitcher
Lucas
The Bill Hill mine in Lucas is noteworthy because John L Lewis got his first coal mining job here, before going on to head the United Mine Workers of America.
Notable People
George Bennard, composer of "The Old Rugged Cross"
McCallsburg
Notable People
Robert H. Lounsberry, Iowa's Secretary of Agriculture
McGregor
Notable People
Ringling Brothers, circus
John Ward Studebaker, U.S. Commissioner of Education from 1934 to 1948
Thomas Updegraff, United States House of Representatives from Iowa
16 to Life is a comedy film directed by Becky Smith and stars Hallee Hirsh as Kate, a bookish teen about to turn 16 who plays match-maker for her friends. Co-stars include Mandy Musgrave, Theresa Russell, Carson Kressley and Nicholas Downs.[1][2] The film was originally titled “Duck Farm No. 13", but was changed to appeal to younger audiences; it was filmed primarily in McGregor, Iowa and premiered August 29, 2009 at the Landlocked Film Festival
Macksburg
Notable People
Glenn L. Martin, American aviator and founder of the Glenn L. Martin Company, which is now part of the Lockheed Martin Corporation
Manning
Notable People
John R. Hansen, U.S. Representative from Iowa
The 1948 boys basketball team won the state of Iowa championship under Coach Bill Steneker
In 2002 the Manning High School football team won the State of Iowa Class A championship under coach Floyd Forman
The 2009 girls basketball team, now consolidated with IKM schools (Irwin, Kirkman, Manilla), won the State of Iowa Class 2A championship defeating Cascade 50-31
Manson Crater
Manson
Manson is located near the site of the Manson crater, formed by a meteorite collision that happened 74 million years ago. The crater's existence was first discovered during an oil-drilling wildcatting expedition in the 1930s. It was eventually realized to be the biggest impact by an object from outer space to happen in North America and was theorized to have led to the extinction of the dinosaurs, or contributed to it as a fragment of the Chicxulub meteor, until tests by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1991 and 1992 proved that it was too old by 9 million years.
Mapleton
Notable People
Garfield Wood, inventor
Maquoketa
Maquoketa Caves State Park
Notable People
Norris Brown, Senator from Nebraska
Craig Callahan, professional basketball player
Herbert E. Hitchcock, Senator from South Dakota
Matthew Luckiesh, physicist
Junius Ralph Magee, former Methodist bishop
Eben Martin, former U.S. Representative
Robert A. Millikan, Nobel Prize laureate
Robert J. Osterhaus, former Iowa State Representative
Sage Rosenfels, quarterback in the NFL
George Homer Ryan, former Governor of Illinois
William Welch, originated the printing of high school diplomas
Marathon
The food writer Richard Olney grew up in Marathon
Marcus
Notable People
Thomas C. Dorr, Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development, United States Department of Agriculture
Donald Eugene O'Brien, United States District Judge
Marengo
Notable People
Cliff Clevenger was a U.S. representative from Ohio who had a business in Marengo
Paul Hinrichs, born in Marengo, was a relief pitcher in major league baseball
Bradley Kasal, born in Marengo, is a Sergeant Major in the U.S. Marine Corps and recipient of the Navy Cross
Jeremiah Henry Murphy practiced law in Marengo and was later a U.S. representative
John N. W. Rumple a U.S. representative served as Mayor and in other capacities
Rick Wanamaker, Pan-American Games gold medallist and national champion in the decathlon
Clarence Whitehill, born in Marengo, was a noted opera singer
Martinsburg
Notable People
Gayno Smith, mass murderer
Masonville
Notable People
Robert Gallery - NFL player
Mediapolis
Notable People
Vernon "Bud" McLearn, girls' basketball coach for Mediapolis High School with an unusually high winning percentage
Melbourne
The mayor of Melbourne from 1984 until 1998 was Bill Crews, an openly gay man who came out of the closet in 1993. At the time, Melbourne was believed to be the smallest municipality in the United States to have an openly gay mayor.
Monona
Notable People
Raef LaFrentz, NBA center
Moulton
Notable People
Claude R. Porter, government official and politician
Nellie Walker, American sculptor
Mount Ayr
Notable People
Peggy Whitson, NASA astronaut
Mount Pleasant
The city is home to Iowa Wesleyan College, which, founded in 1842, ranks as the oldest coeducational college/university west of the Mississippi River.
The P.E.O. Sisterhood, an international philanthropic organization for women, was founded on the campus in Mount Pleasant by seven Iowa Wesleyan students
Notable Alumni:
Belle Babb "Arabella" Mansfield, the first woman lawyer in the United States;
James Van Allen, world-renowned astrophysicist and discoverer of the Van Allen radiation belt circling the earth,
Peggy Whitson, NASA Astronaut
William Andrews Clark, early 20th century business magnate.
John H. Mickey was the 17th governor of Nebraska from 1903 to 1907.
Motion picture pioneer and founder of United Artists, Mary Pickford, was an early notable awarded an honorary degree from Iowa Wesleyan In the Union Block building in 1869,
Arabella A. Mansfield became the first woman in the United States awarded a license to practice law
Notable People
Tom Vilsack, former governor of Iowa, and United States Secretary of Agriculture[7]
Dana Holgorsen, offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma State football team
Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is the home of Cornell College
Notable Alumni:
John Q. Tufts late 19th century — Congressman from Iowa's 2nd Congressional district (1875–1877)
Leslie M. Shaw 1874 — Governor of Iowa, U.S. Secretary of Treasury
Charles Atherton Cumming 1880 — American painter
Robert G. Cousins 1881 — U.S. Congressman from Iowa (1893–1909)
William W. Mccredie 1885 — Judge, U.S. Congressman from Washington (1909–1911) and Baseball Executive
Edgar J. Helms 1889 — Founder of Goodwill Industries
Burton E. Sweet 1895 — U.S. Congressman from Iowa (1915–1923) and unsuccessful Senate Candidate (1922, 1924)
Lester J. Dickinson 1898 — U.S. Congressman (1919–1931) and Senator from Iowa (1931–1937)
Walter Thornton 1899 — Major League Baseball player
Erwin Kempton Mapes 1909 — renowned scholar of Spanish-American Literature
Lee Alvin DuBridge 1922 — President of the California Institute of Technology, science advisor to U.S. President Richard Nixon
Hubert Stanley Wall 1924 — mathematician
Orin D. Haugen 1925 - Colonel in the United States Army during World War II [8]
Winifred Van Etten 1925 — Best selling novelist
Leo Beranek 1936 — Co-founder of Bolt, Beranek and Newman
James Daly 1941 — Emmy Award-winning actor[9]
Maryann Mahaffey 1946 — Detroit City Council member
Nancy Price (author) 1946 — Author, Sleeping with the Enemy
Don E. Fehrenbacher 1948 — Pulitzer Prize for History winner
Dale O. Thomas 1948 — Wrestler and coach
Herbert L. Hoover, adopted nephew of the former President, retired businessman, and inventor of patented lace stitching technique (did not graduate).
Don Weiss 1949 — Sports writer and NFL executive known as Mr. Super Bowl
Richard Cross 1957 — opera singer
William Taylor 1961 — Chairman of the FDIC
Mike Conklin 1969 — Feature writer and columnist, Chicago Tribune
David Hilmers 1972 — NASA Astronaut and medical doctor
Rob Ash 1973 — Head football coach at Montana State University
Michael J. Graham 1975 — President of Xavier University
Richard Kirkham 1977 — Philosopher
Felecia Epps 1980 - Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Law. University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Chris Carney 1981 — Congressman from Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional district
Alan Krugman 1985 — CEO of Sprehe-feinkost, a German frozen food company.
Tanja Kozicky-Manrique 1988 - Hennepin County District Court Judge, Minneapolis, 1998–2010
Joseph A. Curnutte 2004 - Multiple Award Nominated Actor/Playwright, New York City, 2007–2010
Charles Wesley Flint, President (1915–1922), Methodist bishop
Bruce Frohnen – academic
Jim Leach -- former Republican congressman, taught as a visiting professor.
David Loebsack -- Congressman from Iowa's 2nd District
Carol Enns -- Psychologist, Theorist
Notable People
Matt Kroul, Pro Football Player
Muscatine
A button company was founded in 1884 by a German immigrant named J.F. Boepple, producing buttons by punching them out of clam shells harvested from the Mississippi River. Muscatine was known as the "Pearl Button Capital of the World." Hole-punched clam shells can still be found along the riverfront
Sam Clemens (better known by his pen-name Mark Twain) worked for a while at the local newspaper, the Muscatine Journal, which was partly owned by his brother, Orion Clemens. He lived in Muscatine in the summer of 1855. He made a few recollections of Muscatine in his book Life on the Mississippi. “ And I remember Muscatine—still more pleasantly—for its summer sunsets. I have never seen any, on either side of the ocean, that equaled them. They used the broad smooth river as a canvas, and painted on it every imaginable dream of color, from the mottled daintinesses and delicacies of the opal, all the way up, through cumulative intensities, to blinding purple and crimson conflagrations which were enchanting to the eye, but sharply tried it at the same time. All the Upper Mississippi region has these extraordinary sunsets as a familiar spectacle. It is the true Sunset Land: I am sure no other country can show so good a right to the name. The sunrises are also said to be exceedingly fine. I do not know.
Notable People
Phil Vischer- founder of the Christian series VeggieTales
Oscar Grossheim - Muscatine photographer produced about 55,000 glass plate negatives from photos taken between 1887 and 1954. Grossheim reportedly was working on a small portable camera shared his ideas with Steve Eastman of Eastman-Kodak company; also trying to build a portable camera.
Jim Yong Kim - President elect of Dartmouth College, Professor of Medicine and Social Medicine and Chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Director of the Francois Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights, and a former director of the World Health Organization HIV/AIDS department (in 2006 he was listed as one of the top 100 most influential People by Time Magazine)
Norman Baker - entrepreneur, "Know the Naked Truth" (KTNT) radio pioneer,[7][8] perfected the air-powered calliope
C. Maxwell Stanley- engineer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, founder of Stanley Consultants, co-founder of HON Industries, and delegate to the United Nations.
Alanna Shay- Aficionado
Ellis Parker Butler- author
Lee Allen- medical illustrator
Max Allan Collins- author of screenplay of the movie Mommy, which was filmed in Muscatine's Wood Creek neighborhood in 1995. Also author of the graphic novel Road to Perdition, which became a screenplay and was filmed in 2002, starring Tom Hanks and Jude Law.
Terry Beatty- artist who has worked as a penciler and inker in the comic book industry.
Scot Halpin- fan who filled in for drums with the Who when Keith Moon collapsed during a performance at the Cow Palace in San Francisco in 1973.
Dame Margherita Roberti, internationally famous opera singer who spent much of her childhood in Muscatine, including graduating from Muscatine High School. In 1970 she was knighted by the Italian government
Neola
Notable People
Red Downs, professional baseball player
R. A. Lafferty, science fiction writer
Red Morgan, professional baseball player
Nevada
Notable People
Billy Sunday, Major League Baseball outfielder
Neva Patterson, actress
Daniel Selby, model, actor, author, and singer
Paul Rhoads, college football coach
New Hampton
Notable People
Duane Josephson — Major League Baseball catcher
Sarah Utterback — actress
Greg Ganske — former U.S. Representative
Colleen Rowley — United States attorney
Vince Steffen — former Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives
Carleton H. Wright — admiral
Rich Christensen — creator and producer of Pinks! on the Speed Channel
Mike Humpal - former NFL player for the Pittsburgh Steelers and former football player for the Iowa Hawkeyes
Loras John Schissel - conductor of the Blossom Festival Orchestra and Senior Musicologist at the Library of Congress
New Hartford
Notable People
It is the hometown of U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
New London
Notable People
William Hale, Wyoming territorial governor
Newton It is the home of Maytag Dairy Farms and was formerly home to the Maytag Corporation's corporate headquarters until the Whirlpool Corporation acquired it in 2006.
It is also the location of Iowa Speedway
Newton entered the national stage in 1938 when martial law was declared during a strike at the Maytag Washing Machine Company. Iowa governor Nelson Kraschel ordered the Iowa National Guard to protect the company with tanks and machine guns ready against the workers. Maytag company beat the strike and forced workers to return to work with a 10% pay cut
August 31, 1969, on approach to Newton Municipal Airport, a small plane (Cessna 172H) carrying former heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano crashed into a tree in the middle of a corn field owned by Henry Eilander two miles south of Newton, killing Marciano, pilot Glenn Belz, and passenger Frank Farrell instantly
Notable People
John C. Cook, politician, lawyer, judge
F.L. "Fritz" Maytag III, businessman and entrepreneur
Emerson Hough, author Charles Murray, American policy writer and researcher, co-author "The Bell Curve"
Nate Teut, former MLB player
Jay Clark, Olympic sport shooter
Mike Spegal, poker player
North Liberty
VLBA Node - The radio telescope located northeast of North Liberty on Mehaffey Bridge Road is one of ten dishes comprising the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA).
Notable People
Nathaniel David Becker, actor
James Van Allen, space scientist and inventor
Norwalk
It is the hometown of actors Brandon Routh, star of the film Superman Returns, and Jason Momoa, star of the television show Stargate: Atlantis.
Norwalk's darker history includes two mass killings. Mrs. G.R. McAnich killed five of her seven children and then turned the gun on herself in 1937. In 1993, Rick Forsyth murdered Jolene Forsyth, three of her children and two children she was baby-sitting at her home.
Notable People
Joel Hanrahan, pitcher in Major League Baseball
Jason Momoa, played Ronon Dex in Stargate Atlantis
Brandon Routh, played Superman in Superman Return
Norway
Norway is the setting of the movie The Final Season
Notable People
Mike Boddicker — baseball player
Bruce Kimm — former Major League Baseball player, coach, and manager
Hal Trosky — baseball player
Oakland
The artist Frank Tenney Johnson was born on his family's farm nearby in 1874.
Oelwein
The 2009 book Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town by Nick Reding (Bloomsbury Press) documents the drug culture of Oelwein and how it ties into larger issues of rural flight and small town economic decline placed in the historic context of the drug trade. While Reding's book received positive reviews from the New York Times Sunday Book Review[4] and Washington Post's Book World[5], it was severely criticised by local columnist Laura Behrens, who wrote, "it is so ridden with errors of basic reporting that the credibility of its larger premises is crippled", pointing out several factual errors.
Notable People
Walter Chrysler - founder of Chrysler Corp.
Okoboji
Okoboji has also become a recognizable name around the country due to the sales of many products that proudly display the town name in bold letters. It is not uncommon to spot an Okoboji t-shirt or sweatshirt on nearly every college campus in the Midwest. Visitors to Okoboji will immediately notice bumper stickers, mugs and sweatshirts touting the fictitious University of Okoboji where many locals claim to have received an education.
Onawa
The Eskimo Pie was created in Onawa in 1920 by Chris Nelson, an ice cream shop owner. A young customer could not decide between an ice cream sandwich and a chocolate bar, so Nelson created a chocolate covered ice cream bar. The original product was called the "I-Scream-Bar". The creation was put on a stick in 1934. In 1921 Nelson entered into an agreement with Russell Stover to market and produce the product. The handwritten agreement is part of a display at the Monona County Historical Museum in Onawa.
The city's main claim to fame is that it has the widest main street in the United States - about 75 feet (23 m) wide.
Onawa was the site of a POW camp for captured German soldiers, sometime between 1944 and 1946. Historical documents indicate there were never more than 50 POWs in camp. A larger camp existed near the central Iowa town of Algona, and housed as many as 5,400 German POWs
Orange City
Notable People
Nick Collison (1980), power forward (basketball) for the Oklahoma City Thunder
James Kennedy (1963), American historian
Orient
Notable People
Henry A. Wallace, Vice President of the United States
Dazzy Vance, Hall of Fame pitcher
Osage
Notable People
James Vincent Casey, Roman Catholic bishop
Hamlin Garland, American writer
Mike Johanns, former Governor of Nebraska and United States Secretary of Agriculture; US Senator from Nebraska.
Gerald Leeman, 1948 Olympic silver medallist in wrestling
Doug Schwab, 2008 Olympic Wrestler
Oskaloosa
On January 6, 1882, most of the buildings in the north half of Oskaloosa were severely damaged and most of the plate glass windows in the area were broken by an explosion. Three boys were killed in the explosion. The boys had been seen shooting at the A. L. Spencer gunpowder magazine half a mile north of the town center
Oskaloosa boasts two private homes designed in 1948-51 by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Typical of his Usonian homes, these include the Carroll Alsop House at 1907 A Street, and the Jack Lamberson House at 511 North Park Avenue In 1934,
Oskaloosa became the first city in the United States to fingerprint all of its citizens, including children
Notable People
Steve Bell, former ABC News anchor
Patrick O'Bryant, National Basketball Association player
Marsena E. Cutts, Iowa politician
Harry Hamilton Laughlin, executive
Charles Brookins, track and field athlete
Arthur Russell (musician), modern music composer
Tyler Sash, defensive back for the Iowa Hawkeyes football team
Cecil W. Stoughton, Kennedy presidential photographer
Al Swearengen, proprietor of the Gem Saloon in Deadwood, SD 1877-1899 (featured in HBO Series Deadwood)
Thomas Eugene Watson USMC Lieutenant
General Roscoe B. Woodruff, United States Army general of World War II
Alfred Balk, magazine editor
Bill S. Ballinger, author and screenwriter
Chester Conklin, comedian and actor
Dulah Marie Evans, painter, photographer, print maker, illustrator, etcher.
Cliff Knox, Major League Baseball player
Max Bennett, jazz musician
Ossian
Notable People
Raymond Philip Etteldorf, Roman Catholic archbishop
Osterdock
Notable People
William Smith, Latter Day Saints leader
Ottumwa
Notable People
Tom Arnold - actor
Steve Bales - Apollo 11 flight controller
Stephen Blumberg - notorious rare book thief
Walter Day - video game statistician
Edna Ferber - Novelist who lived in Ottumwa as a child.
Anne Marie Howard - actress
Donald Keyhoe - Marine Corps major and aviator, UFO researcher and author
Dan Knight - Jazz pianist, Steinway Artist, Composer. Pulitzer Prize nominee.
Herschel C. Loveless - 34th Governor of Iowa
Russell Means - American Indian activist. Attended junior college in Ottumwa
Karen Morley - actress
Carol Morris - was chosen as Miss Universe in 1956
Harry Ostdiek - Major League Baseball player
Beverley Owen - actress
Jake Weimer - Major League Baseball player [edit]
Ottumwa in fiction and pop culture
Walter Eugene "Radar" O'Reilly - Corporal from M*A*S*H television series and books was from Ottumwa, Iowa. The town was mentioned in the show on several episodes.
The movie The Tuskegee Airmen featured the character Hannibal "Iowa" Lee Jr. (played by Laurence Fishburne), who claimed Ottumwa as his hometown.
The television movie The Woman Who Loved Elvis, starring Rosanne Barr (then the wife of Ottumwa native Tom Arnold) was partially filmed in Ottumwa.
In central downtown the Canteen Lunch in the Alley has been a stopping point for Ottumwans since the 1920s. Many famous patrons have been seen eating a "Canteen", a loose meat sandwich similar to a Maid-Rite.
In the sitcom Roseanne, Roseanne Connor’s restaurant, the Lanford Lunch Box, was based on the Canteen Lunch in the Alley.
Video Game Capital of the World - As the home of Twin Galaxies, Ottumwa was officially proclaimed the "Video Game Capital of the World" by a mayoral decree issued on November 30, 1982 by Ottumwa Mayor Jerry Parker.[16] As a result of this "most unusual distinction", the city was officially recognized and congratulated by U.S. Senator Charles Grassley.[17] In connection with this proclamation, the city hosted the first North American Video Olympics in the fall of 1982
Oxford
The Oxford Project - The Oxford Project is a book capturing the stories of 100 Oxford residents along with photographs of them taken 20 years apart. Photographer Peter Feldstein (himself an Oxford resident) took photographs of all but 3 of his neighbors during 1984. In 2005 & 2006 he returned with writer Stephen G. Bloom to take updated photos and interview as many of those original residents as possible
Palmer
Palmer's high school boys' basketball team had a long run of success in the 1980s, winning three straight state championships from 1986 to 1988. Its teams scored record numbers of points, and its games were played in front of packed crowds. Ultimately, the team won 103 straight games, setting the state record
Palo
Palo is located near the Duane Arnold Energy Center, the only nuclear power plant in Iowa
Panora
Notable People
Kip Janvrin, American decathlete and 2000 U.S. Olympian
Parkersburg
Ed Thomas - National attention turned to Parkersburg on Wednesday, June 24, 2009, when a disgruntled 24-year-old former football player walked into the weight room with at least 20 students inside at Aplington-Parkersburg High School and mortally shot the high school's football coach, Ed Thomas, who died later at Covenant Hospital in nearby Waterloo.
Notable People
Pauline Pfeiffer, the second wife of author Ernest Hemingway.[8]
NFL players Jared DeVries, Aaron Kampman, Brad Meester, Casey Wiegmann, and Landon Schrage are all natives of Parkersburg.
America's Next Top Model sixth-placer Jaeda Young is from Parkersburg.
Pro Fisherman Mike Smithson is from Parkersburg. His earnings for the 2009-10 season topped $459,000. He is sponsored by Mepps lures and the Virgil Ward fishing school.
Parnell
Notable People
William Edwin Franklin, Roman Catholic bishop, was born in Parnell.
Pella
The annual Tulip Time Festival is a celebration of Pella's Dutch heritage. It features tulip gardens, performances, crafters, music, food, Dutch costumes, and daily parades. The festival is held for three days (Thursday, Friday & Saturday) during the first weekend in May.
Notable People
Kory DeHaan — former Major League Baseball player
Kyle Korver — forward/guard for the Chicago Bulls
Dave Keuning — guitarist for The Killers
Louis LeCocq — Pella native, WWI era auto racer, killed in 1919 Indianapolis 500
Wyatt Earp — lawman and gunfighter of OK Corral fame, spent most of his childhood in Pella
Paul Emerick - professional rugby player, 2006 MVP
Ron Schipper, football coach, member of the College Football Hall of Fame
Wendell L. Roelofs, scientist [edit] References in popular literature In his 1989 book, The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America, travel author Bill Bryson stops in Pella, recounting his childhood visits to the town, and remarking different aspects of the town with his usual wry humor. Throughout the book, parts of Pella are referred back to as examples.
Perry
Notable People
V. T. Hamlin, cartoonist, creator of "Alley Oop"[3]
Matthew L. Martin, cartoonist, creator of "Redemption"
Pilot Mound
Pilot Mound was the site of some scenes of the movie "Twister" starring Helen Hunt
Pisgah
Pisgah was the birthplace of Mexican-American War hero and Mormon Battalion organizer James Allen
Major League Baseball third baseman Loren Babe.
It is also the hometown of former Nebraska Cornhuskers and current Ohio Bobcat radio announcer Warren Swain
Pleasant Hill
1983 Explosion On November 20th, 1983, an explosion of an explosives storage bunker just south of Pleasant Hill occurred. Reports were that two teenagers were hunting around the area. One of the teenagers may have shot a bullet from a hill which penetrated the bunker ceiling, which is the probable cause of the explosion. The two teenagers were killed in the explosion leaving only small pieces of shirts. The explosion was felt 45 miles away from the site. At least 25 homes within a mile radius of the explosion suffered damage, doors and windows were blown out, ceilings fell and housed were knocked off their foundations, police said
Pleasantville
Movie Pleasantville was released in the United States on October 23, 1998. As a promotional tie-in for this release an online competition gave entrants the chance to visit Pleasantville, Iowa.[1] The Chamber of Commerce website is also titled "The Real Pleasantville" in another nod to this connection
Pocahontas
Notable People
Larry Biittner, former Major League Baseball player
Peg Mullen (1917–2009), anti-war activist and writer[4]
James V. Schall, Jesuit priest, professor of Government at Georgetown University, and prolific Roman Catholic writer.
Pomeroy
On July 6, 1893, Pomeroy was struck by a tornado that was later estimated to be F5 on the Fujita scale. With a damage path 500 yards (460 m) wide and 55 miles (89 km) long, the tornado destroyed about 80% of the homes in Pomeroy. The tornado killed 71 People and injured 200.[1]
In 1910, Pomeroy was the birthplace of Gordon Prange, who became Chief Historian in General Douglas MacArthur's staff and wrote the manuscript At Dawn We Slept, The Untold Story Of Pearl Harbor, the basis for the film Tora! Tora! Tora!.
Postville
The population of Postville was predominantly German and Norwegian for much of its existence.
In 1987, a group of Hasidic Jews of the Lubavitch movement from New York purchased a non-Kosher slaughterhouse[1], refurbished it according to Hasidic Law and named the facility Agriprocessors, which filed for bankruptcy on November 5, 2008 following a series of alleged violations of labor law and repeated accusations of mistreatment of cattle. The facility was raided by the federal government in 2008, resulting in hundreds of arrests and disruption to the community.[2] The interaction of long time Postville residents with newcomers was the subject of a book about the town, Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America (ISBN 0-15-100652-0), written by Stephen Bloom, a professor at the University of Iowa. A more recent book about the community and its experience with diversity before and after the May 2008 federal immigration raid is Postville USA: Surviving Diversity in Small-Town America written by Mark Grey, Michele Devlin and Aaron Goldsmith. [2]
Postville was also the boyhood home of 1946 Nobel laureate John R. Mott.
Prairie City
The city was the subject of Douglas Bauer's popular reminiscence of change in small town Iowa from the 1950s through the 1970s, Prairie City, Iowa: Three Seasons at Home
Preston
Notable People
Al Feuerbach, former track and field athlete, who competed in the men's shot put event at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics.
Bob Oldis, scout for the Florida Marlins and a former professional baseball player Frederick Schule, 1904 Olympic gold medalist in hurdles
Primghar
Notable People
Keli McGregor (1963-2010), president of the Colorado Rockies baseball team from 2001 until his death.
Joseph Welch (1890-1960), the head counsel for the United States Army, most famous for asking Senator Joseph McCarthy, "Have you no decency, sir?" during the height of McCarthyism.
Quasqueton
Just northwest of the town is Cedar Rock, a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, which is maintained by the state as a museum.
Randolph
Notable People
Max Marshall — Cincinnati Reds outfielder
Redfield
Notable People
Rex Harvey, American decathlete
Red Oak
In the two bloodiest wars involving this nation, Red Oak paid a particularly high price. In the American Civil War, the area provided more Union troops per capita than any other in the state.[2] Early World War II battles claimed a disproportionate number of soldiers from Red Oak (although the final casualty statistics tend to disprove the oft-repeated statement that Red Oak suffered more losses per capita than any other American community).[2][3][4] In the Battle of the Kasserine Pass in February 1943, forty-five soldiers from Red Oak alone were captured or killed.[5] In recognition of Red Oak's extraordinary sacrifice, the city's name was given to a "victory ship".[6] The SS Red Oak Victory has become a floating museum in the shipyard where it was built, in Richmond, California
Notable People
Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show host
James E. Kearney, Roman Catholic bishop Red Oak is the smallest town in Iowa to have had a streetcar system[citation needed].
Red Oak is mentioned in Willa Cather's 1912 short story The Bohemian Girl.
Remsen
During Prohibition, Remsen was a major player in the brewing, transporting, and sale of illegal alcohol. Its location adjacent to larger midwestern cities and the amount of farmland between homes made it a perfect area to make moonshine. Much of the moonshine produced ended up in one of two other Iowa cities: Sioux City or Pocahontas.
Riceville
One of the most famous citizens of Riceville has been Jane Elliott, an elementary school teacher who developed a famous and controversial exercise about the nature of prejudice and racism in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Weston Noble, a music educator and conductor was also born near Riceville.
Richland
Notable People
Paul McCracken, economist
Ringsted
The city is known for its Danish-American and Lutheran population. The St. Ansgar Danish Lutheran Church was organized by the city's original founders in 1882. In 1894, due to a theological debate about the word of God and activities such as dancing, the Danish Lutheran community was divided into two groups nicknamed "Happy Danes" and "Sad Danes". A folk dance trope called "The Happy Dancing Danes" gained local popularity in the 1940s, given this name because "Happy Danes" did not believe dancing was sinful. The congregations were reunited in 2007
Riverside
Riverside proclaimed itself the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk, a fictional character from the television series Star Trek, with the agreement of Gene Roddenberry Future birthplace of Captain Kirk Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, asserts in his book The Making of Star Trek that the character of James Tiberius Kirk had been born in the state of Iowa. In March 1985, when the city was looking for a theme for its annual town festival, Steve Miller, a member of the Riverside City Council who had read Roddenberry's book, suggested to the council that Riverside should proclaim itself to be the future birthplace of Kirk. Miller's motion passed unanimously.[6] The council later wrote to Roddenberry for his permission to be designated as the official birthplace of Kirk, and Roddenberry agreed. The proclamation declaring the city the "Official Future Birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk", signed by Gene Roddenberry, is housed, along with a "Cigarstore Indian"-style carved wooden statue of James T. Kirk, at the Riverside Area Community Club (RACC), in a former beauty salon along Highway 22 in downtown Riverside. A large stone and plaque in the rear of the building purports to be the site of the future farmstead and birthplace of James T. Kirk, and the home of his family, in the c. 2230s. On the east end of downtown a former storefront now houses the The Voyage Home Heritage Center & Star Trek Museum, a unique collection of East Central Iowa regional history; it also houses a display of Star Trek and "Invasion Iowa" (see below) memorabilia, including Trek Fest Guests' autographed materials. The 2009 25th anniversary edition of the Riverside Trek Fest featured special guests actors George Takei (TOS' helmsman, Lt. Hikaru Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (TOS' Communications officer, Lt. Nyota Uhura), and Walter Koenig. Trek Fest's 2009 grand marshal was the aforementioned Steve Miller, returning to Riverside for the silver anniversary event. Although not considered "canon", at least two Star Trek novels had material based in the real city of Riverside. "Best Destiny", an immediate sequel to the events shown in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, depicted Kirk's childhood in Riverside. The novel's opening chapter depicts a pre-teen Kirk, playing with friends in fields, in rushes and river wetland along the English River. This river in real life lies along the south side of downtown Riverside, bordering the site of the annual Trek fest, and ending at the city's boundaries. During a September 28, 2004, town meeting, the city learned that its residents had become the unwitting stars of a Spike TV reality show inspired by the Kirk connection. Over a week earlier, William Shatner had arrived in the city under the guise of filming a science fiction movie called Invasion Iowa.
Rockford
Notable People
Robert James Waller, author
Jerry Mathers
Rock Rapids
Notable People
Leave It to Beaver star Jerry Mathers resided in Rock Rapids as a youngster prior to achieving fame as a child actor
Bruce B. Brugmann, editor and publisher of the San Francisco Bay Guardian (a progressive newspaper), grew up in Rock Rapids and graduated from Central Lyon High School.
Rockwell
Hubert Stanley Wall, mathematician
Roland
Notable People
Gary Thompson
Sam Juhl
Rowley
The AFLAC Tower, a guyed television transmission tower with a height of 609.6 metres, is among the world's tallest constructions
Rutland
Notable People
Doreen Wilber, archery gold medalist at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Sabula
Sabula is the site of Iowa's only island city.
Sac City
In February 2007, in its third annual list of the “Best Places to Live in Rural America", Progressive Farmer magazine placed Sac County as #7 in the overall rankings.[5]
In 2009, the magazine ranked Sac County as the tenth "Best Place" in the Midwest Region
Popcorn Ball - Sac City is home to a previous world's largest popcorn ball, which weighs 3,100 pounds and is housed in its own building.[10] A new popcorn ball was created in 2009, weighing 5,060 pounds.
St. Ansgar
Notable People
NFL football player Ryan Hannam from the Dallas Cowboys
St. Lucas
Notable People
Father Aloysius Schmitt was born in St. Lucas. Fr. Schmitt was the first chaplain to die in the Second World War, having been on board the USS Oklahoma when it was sunk by the Japanese in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941.
Salem
Notable People
Lorenzo D. Lewelling, Governor of Kansas
Scranton
Scranton's water tower, built in 1897, is the oldest working water tower in Iowa and 9th oldest in the United States
Searsboro
Notable People
Searsboro is the hometown of Jeff Criswell, a former offensive lineman for the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs.
Seymour
Notable People
John C. Mabee, thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder
Marcus Collins, actor and singer part of The Texas Tenors
Sheldon
Iowa was briefly mentioned in the Jack Kerouac novel On the Road. (Shelton, Iowa is mentioned on page 18 as the place that Eddie hates ever since he stepped out on the platform to smoke, and references Davenport and the Rock Island train, so this is most likely a fictional town near the Quad Cities.) Sheldon was also mentioned on page 13 of the Tim O'Brien book If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home: "Together we watched trombones and crepe-paper floats move down mainstreet. The bands and floats represented Sheldon, Tyler, Sibley, Jackson, and a dozen other neighboring towns".
In 1961, the city made headlines when it was revealed that Burnice Geiger had embezzled more than two million dollars from her father's bank.
Notable People
Tom Brands, gold medalist in freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Olympic Games, head wrestling coach at the University of Iowa
Terry Brands, bronze medalist in freestyle wrestling at the 2000 Olympic
Games Eugene Burdick, writer
A.G. Kruger, competitor at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games
Dennis Marion Schnurr, Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Ohio
Michael J. Streit, Iowa Supreme Court justice
Shellsburg
In June 2006, Shellsburg became one of several locations used to film the movie The Final Season, a story that follows the success of a small town school baseball team before consolidating with a neighboring school district. Portions of downtown Shellsburg were used to portray the nearby town of Norway, in which the movie is based.
The Everyly Brothers
Shenandoah
Once referred to as the "seed and nursery center of the world," Shenandoah is the home to Earl May Seed Company and the radio station KMA, founded by Earl May.[1] The early live radio stations gave many performers their start, including The Everly Brothers and Charlie Haden.
Recent excavations of at least three Jefferson’s ground sloths, Megalonyx jeffersonii, have been coordinated by the Iowa Museum of Natural History along West Tarkio Creek near Shenandoah
Notable People
The Everly Brothers, rock musicians
Charlie Haden, jazz musician
Gary Kellgren, founder of The Record Plant (Record Plant Studios)
Leanna Field Driftmier, long-time radio host
Jay Scheib, theatre director
Sidney
The Sidney Iowa Championship Rodeo operated by American Legion Post No. 128 since 1924 claims to be the world's largest continuous outdoor rodeo[2] and one of the world's largest rodeos with around 38,000 visitors each year.[3] The event is held in late July/early August.
Sigourney
Notable People
William Lawrence Adrian (1883–1972), Roman Catholic bishop
Ambrose Burke, (1895–1998), Roman Catholic priest and educator
Ezekiel S. Sampson (1831–1896), district judge and U.S. Representative
Dan Peiffer, NFL football player
Sioux Center
Notable People
Vern Den Herder, player on the undefeated Miami Dolphins NFL team of 1972
Nancy Metcalf, American indoor volleyball player
Delwin Vriend, LGBT rights icon
Sioux Rapids
Notable People
Guy Gabrielson, New Jersey Republican politician
Spencer
Spencer is famous as the home of the Clay County Fair, held annually in September, averaging over 300,000 visitors each year.
The town's (now-deceased) library cat, Dewey Readmore Books, is known throughout the world [2].
Spencer was ranked 10th best place to live in the United States by Relocate-America.com's "America's Top 100 Places to Live for 2007."
Notable People
Vicki Myron, author of Dewey, The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
Stanton
Stanton is best known for its two water towers, the tanks of which are painted and shaped like a giant coffee pot and coffee cup (billed as "the largest Swedish coffee pot in the world"). These also allude to the fact that Stanton is the hometown of actress Virginia Christine, best known to TV viewers as "Mrs. Olson" in classic commercials for Folgers Coffee.
Story City
The band Radio Moscow was formed here by two teens, Parker Griggs and Luke McDuff.
Notable People
Rich Olive, Iowa State Senator
Hank Severeid, Major League Baseball catcher
Strawberry Point
Strawberry Point is home to the world's largest strawberry (made of fiberglass).
Backbone State Park, Iowa's oldest state park, is located a few miles from the town.
Struble
Notable People
Jim Nicholson, former United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Republican National Committee chairman and U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See. Born and raised in Struble.
Brigadier General John (Jack) W. Nicholson, USA (Ret). General Nicholson was appointed secretary of American Battle Monuments Commission by President George W. Bush in January 2005.
Isaac S. Struble, Congressman (1883–1891) for whom Struble, Iowa is named. Lived in nearby LeMars until his death in 1913.
Stuart
Notable People
Osborn Deignan - received Medal of Honor for actions in the Spanish–American War
Sutherland
Notable People
Josh Stamer, football player
Tabor
Cultural references
The town of Gilead, in Marilynne Robinson's novel of that title, is a fictionalised version of Tabor
Templeton
The city was founded in 1882 and is perhaps best known as the home of Templeton Rye, a "brand" of rye whiskey manufactured during the prohibition era that was very popular in Chicago, Omaha, and Kansas City speakeasies.[1] Many enterprising Carroll County farmers found this to be a viable way to supplement income during the Great Depression.
Thompson
Notable People
Tom Theo Klemesrud, writer and publisher
Dr. Philip John (PJ) Osmundson, Mayo Clinic physician
Thor
Notable People
John K. Hanson - Founder and former Chairman and President, Winnebago Industries Inc. (1913–1996
Tipton
Notable People
Gus Monckmeier, race car driver and inventor
Toledo
Notable People
Leander Clark, Iowa politician
Michael Emerson, actor
George R. Struble, Iowa judge and politician; speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives, 1881–1883
John T. Struble, pioneering businessman
Isaac S. Struble, U.S. Representative
Traer
James "Tama Jim" Wilson lived in Traer after serving as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and was buried in a cemetery northwest of the town in 1920
Urbana
Notable People
Cal Eldred, former Major League Baseball pitcher
Van Meter
Notable People
Bob Feller, Major League Baseball Player and Hall of Fame Member
Derek Benz, science fiction author, The Revenge of the Shadow King.
Victor
Notable People
William Lawrence Adrian was a priest in Victor who became Bishop of Nashville
Jackie Collum, born in Victor, was a major league pitcher
John W. Gwynne, born in Victor, was a U.S. Representative
Leonard Raffensperger, born in Victor, was a University of Iowa football coach
Villisca Murders - On June 10, 1912, six members of the Moore family and two young houseguests were killed with an axe by an unknown assailant. The case has inspired two published books: Roy Marshall's Villisca and Stephen Bowman's fictionalized Morning Ran Red. Kelly and Tammy Rundle's documentary Villisca: Living with a Mystery also dealt with the incident. The case has also inspired a feature narrative project entitled Haunting Villisca, co-authored by James Serpento and Kimberly Busbee, directed by Serpento and produced by Busbee for AriesWorks Entertainment. Haunting Villisca combines a fictionalized present-day scenario with scenes suggested by courtroom transcripts, folklore and current paranormal investigations of the house where the murders occurred. The picture premiered in Villisca in the spring of 2008.
Vinton
Vinton is also home of the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School, Iowa's state educational institution for vision-impaired students
Notable People
Buren R. Sherman, who would later become the 12th governor of Iowa, was a resident of Vinton from 1863 to 1866, during which he served as county judge for Benton County. His gravesite is in Vinton, in Evergreen Cemetery.
The town is often mentioned in connection with the writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of Little House on the Prairie, because her sister Mary was a student at the Iowa College for the Blind (now the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School) in the early 1880s.
Vinton was also the birthplace of American artist Everett Warner (1877–1963), who became a leading contributor to US naval camouflage during both World Wars.
Vinton is the birthplace of the IMCA Modified by hometown resident, Keith Knaack (1928-1992). In honor of his contributions to the town of Vinton, in 1999 the city named the entrance to the Benton County Speedway, Keith Knaack Lane.
Portions of downtown Vinton, along with the Benton County courthouse, were featured in the 1996 John Travolta film Michael. Also seen during the movie's opening credits was Prairie Creek Church, a rural area Christian church located approximately six miles northeast of the city.
Wadena
Wadena is remembered in Iowa for the Woodstock-like rock festival held on a nearby farm, August 1–3, 1970.
World's Largest Truck Stop
Walcott
Walcott's interchange on Interstate 80 is home to an enormous complex of restaurants, motels and truck stops, including the Iowa 80 truck stop which is the world's largest.
Wall Lake
Notable People
Andy Williams, singer, was born in Wall Lake.
Washington
Notable People
John M. Work, newspaper editorialist and Executive Secretary of the Socialist Party of America from 1911 to 1913
Matt Fish, NBA back-up center, basketball
Keith Molesworth, NFL Football Player
Charles Almon Dewey, United States federal judge
Waukee
Notable People
Hal Manders — pitcher in Major League Baseball
Joey Jordison — drummer for the band Slipknot
Waukon
Notable People
Cletus F. O'Donnell, second Roman Catholic bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison
Mark Farley, head football coach of the University of Northern Iowa
Waverley
Waverly is the home of Wartburg College
Notable Alumni:
Missy Buttry, class of 2005, only runner in any division, male or female, to win three consecutive NCAA Cross Country championships.
Sarah Corpstein, class of 2005, Miss Iowa USA 2006.
Mark Holtz, class of 1971, voice of the Texas Rangers, Texas Rangers Hall of Fame.
Kathryn Koob, class of 1960, one of the 52 Americans held hostage in the US Embassy in Iran from November 1979 until January 198. Koob accepted a post as a guest instructor in Oral Communication and has taught a course entitled Reconciliation at Wartburg.
Coleen Rowley, class of 1977, whistleblower FBI agent, researched suspected WTC terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui, joint 2002 TIME "Person of the Year", candidate for U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota's 2nd District in 2006.
Debra Scheller, class of 1978, Miss Iowa 1977 [2].
Don Denkinger, who achieved fame for his call at 1st base as an umpire in the 1985 World Series
Dennis Johnson, Dunedin, Florida, class of 1974, restaurant co-owner/founder of Hooters Restaurant chain
Dr. Delbert H. Meyer, discovered process for creating purified terephthalic acid (PTA), a key building block in the production of polyester; recipient of the National Medal of Technology (1992).
Tom Zirbel, professional bicycle racer and 2009 USA Cycling NRC points champion who signed to Union Cycleste Internationale professional team, Garmin-Transitions for the 2010 season.
Paul Schell, former Mayor of Seattle, Washington
Notable People
A. J. Hinch, a Major League Baseball Player from 1998–2004
John Sladek, an author working in the 1960s and 70s and known primarily for his surreal satires
Michael Talbott, an actor best known for his role in TV's Miami Vice
Webster
Notable People
Don MacLaughlin, actor
Webster City
Notable People
Jennifer Barringer, Olympic distance runner
Abastenia St. Leger Eberle, sculptor
MacKinlay Kantor, writer and 1956 Fiction Pulitzer Prize winner for his novel Andersonville.[4]
Clark R. Mollenhoff, journalist and 1958 Pulitzer Prize winner for Journalism in the category of National Reporting (Des Moines Register and Tribune). [5]
Ben Larson, PGA, Tournament Rules Official NGA Hooters Tour
Rod Rust, Football coach
Grotto of the Redemption
West Bend
West Bend is the site of the Grotto of the Redemptionn, a series of nine grottos holding the world's largest collection of minerals and petrifications at a single site
West Branch
President Herbert Hoover was born in West Branch in 1874. The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum was dedicated here by Hoover and his close friend, President Harry Truman, in 1962.[5]
The Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, which includes the Library-Museum, the Hoover Birthplace Cottage and the gravesites of President and Lou Henry Hoover, was authorized by Congress on August 12, 1965
Sports
West Branch is known for a rich football tradition. From 1990 through 1997, West Branch High School won 62 consecutive regular season games. This is the second longest winning streak in the state of Iowa, following only Harlan High School's 66 consecutive wins. In addition, West Branch won 36 consecutive games (including postseason) from 1991 until the 1993 Iowa State football playoffs.
The Bears are also known for having a very strong boys golf program. From 1989-1997, West Branch did not lose a regular season dual meet. Their teams hold five state championships (1976, 1989–92), and have been the breeding grounds for PGA professionals Dave Rummells and Sean McCarty. McCarty is one of the more decorated golfers in Iowa's history, having won three state individual titles and one runner-up. Rummells finished in the top 30 money winnings on the PGA Tour in 1989. The West Branch Bears boys golf team won four state championships, and the football team won three state championships, in 1989, 1991 and 1992
Notable People
Marv Cook, football player[17]
Herbert Hoover, president of the United States 1929-1933
Dave Rummells, PGA golfer[18]
Hector Ibarra, a 6th and 7th grade science teacher, was inducted into the National Teacher's Hall of Fame in 1998. His program, "Operation Appreciation," which teaches students science through hands-on community service projects, won the National Science Foundation President's Award
"The Greatest Man in the World"
Westfield
Westfield is the purported home town of the central character, Jack Smurch, in James Thurber's 1931 short story "The Greatest Man in the World." In the story, the fictional Smurch flies a second-hand, single-motored monoplane in July 1937 all the way around the world, without stopping.
What Cheer
Famous for having a strange name and nobody knows where the name came from.
Notable People
Frank Hayes- President of the United Mine Workers, 1917-1920.
Wheatand
Notable People
Elmer G. Homrighausen – theologian
Whitten
Notable People
Denise Long, women's professional basketball player
Raymond Boynton, painter
Part of the 1996 movie Twister starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton was shot just outside of Whitten. The famous scene with Hunt and Paxton taking cover in a farm pumphouse and strapping themselves down with a leather belt to avoid being blown away was filmed at an old Whitten farmhouse owned by the Haywood family
Williamsburg
Notable People
Eugene Burton Ely, born near Williamsburg, was an aviation pioneer
Harris Hull, born in Williamsburg, was a Brigadier General in the U.S. Air Force
Harry E. Hull was a businessman who served in several public offices before becoming U.S. Representative
William Shannahan was the third president of St. Ambrose University
Wilton
Wilton Candy Kitchen, which is the oldest ice cream parlor in the world
Notable People
Wally Hilgenberg played 16 seasons in the NFL as a linebacker for the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings and played in all four of the Vikings Super Bowl appearances
Winfield
The travel writer Bill Bryson, in his book The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America, visits Winfield while retracing his childhood family holidays. His grandparents had lived there on a small farm; his grandfather was a postman. Bryson again recalls his childhood visits in detail in his 2006 memoir, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. He thought Winfield was a wonderful town
John Wayne Birthplace Museum
Winterset
In 2015, the John Wayne Birthplace Museum opened kitty-corner from Wayne's birthplace home. The $2.5m, 6,000 sq. ft. facility houses scripts, costumes, set pieces, posters, personal correspondence, an original Andy Warhol painting and a custom-made 1972 Pontiac station wagon. The museum is divided into three exhibitions: "The Actor", "The Family Man", and "The American". It is located at 205 S. John Wayne Dr. in Winterset.
Notable People
Birthplace of John Wayne
Robert O. Bare, Marine Corps lieutenant general
George Washington Carver, agricultural researcher
Fred Clarke, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Henry J. B. Cummings, U.S. representative from Iowa
Gail Huff, American broadcast journalist; wife of former U.S. senator and ambassador Scott Brown
Mark Pearson, TV and radio personality
Edward McMurray Smith, Iowa secretary of state
George L. Stout, art conservation pioneer, World War II "Monument Man"
Henry A. Wallace, 33rd vice president of the United States
John Wayne, actor
Col. David Woodley, music professor and band director
