Iowa: Part 3 of a 6 part series

What I learned about Iowa History.

1. Where does Iowa rank among the fifty states for percentage of its population having undergraduate degrees?

First. I'd like to think that I am responsible for a small part of that distinction.
But since I didn't have an undergraduate degree in 2000 I would probably be wrong.

2. In what year was corporal punishment banned in schools by the legislature?

1989. I remember it perfectly. In 1988 I was 8. I really wanted to act out but feared that my teacher, armed with "tools she needed to conduct her war on subversive classroom behavior," would defeat me. When I heard that they might have the votes to pass new "anti-beat" legislation, I was licking my chops. I could wait it out another year until those soft Dems decided to limit a teacher's authority. That's the danger of a timetable.

Come 1989 you can imagine what happened. All hell broke loose. The teacher stood by helplessly as we ransacked the classroom and burned the textbooks. I acted with impunity for the rest of my academic career.

Bonus-- Some people claim that Iowa legislators, known for keeping their hand on the pulse of young America and pop culture, timed the legislation to be passed just as rap master extraordinaire MC Hammer was recording the hit song U Can't Touch This in 1989. Both parties have repeatedly denied collusion.

3. Our two first ladies?

Lou Henry Hoover and Mamie Doud Eisenhower (Boone). There is a tasty little restaurant in Iowa City named Lou Henry’s. I am unaware if this is a tribute.

4. First Governor of the State?

Ansel Briggs.

Bonus: The first governor of the territory was Robert Lucas, whose name graces an elementary school in Iowa City.

5. Our State Motto?

Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain.

6. The name of the nation’s biggest battleship?

U.S.S. Iowa (it is the fifth most decorated of 61 battleships).

7. In the Civil War, which state’s troops saw more action per capita, than any other?

Since this is an Iowa centered quiz, I bet you guessed Iowa. And you’d be right. 76,000 troops from Iowa saw action.

I was aware of our efforts for the North, or “good” side in the Civil War, but I didn’t know just how strong they were.

8. Year that Iowa became a state –

1846. Just after Texas and just before Wisconsin. The only state west of the Mississippi admitted before Iowa was Missouri.

Bonus: Iowa became a territory in 1838. That means we were given all sorts of new rights and responsibilities as an 8 year old. No wonder we kept getting into petty disputes with Missouri about land. We probably didn’t even want it until we saw that they did.

9. ISU graduate who founded he League of Women Voters in1880?

Carrie Lane Chapman Catt.

10. Two presidents, non-native born, living in Iowa for part of their adult lives?

Ronald Reagan (wrote a sports column in Des Moines)

Richard Nixon(Ottumwa naval air station age 42 to 43).

This is kind of an embarrassing distinction. How many awful presidents can one state have a hand in producing?

It's interesting to note that both Quaker presidents (Hoover and Nixon) have a major Iowa connection.

11. What was the ultimately joyless tribute paid to Glidden native Enola Gay Haggard?

The Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, was named for her. The pilot was her son.

12. Until what year did our Governor only have a two year term?

1972. The same year that our tiny little caucus became the “hilarious, madcap, must see hit of the election year.”

13. Only US speaker of the House?

David B. Henderson (originally a Scot)

14. The only college in the nation to have its entire campus listed on the national registry of historic places?

Beautiful Cornell College in Mt. Vernon.

15. Herbert Hoover’s salary as President?

$0. He didn’t accept any money. Or progress. He ran on a strict no money or progress platform.

16. Counties that are named after US presidents?

Eleven. (Adams, Buchanan, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Polk, Taylor, Van Buren, and Washington).

17. First public University in the nation to admit men and women on an equal basis.

University of Iowa. Forget Alex Karras, why isn’t this stat advertised? I'm beaming with pride.
18. Percentage of Iowa’s schools that rank above the national average in scholastic achievement?

93%. With new No Child Left Behind Legislation, our federal government will not rest until that figure is 100%. . . for every single state.

19. Town where Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow pulled a bank robbery 1934?

Knierimm (town of 70 in NW Iowa).

Bonus robber stat: Jesse James’ gang robbed a train West of Adair in 1873.

20. The northernmost confederate raid of the civil war occurred in what county?

Davis County. It's located on the southern border.

21. Number of telephone area codes for Iowa?

Five. (515, 319, 563, 641, 712).

They're easy to remember because they add up to 59.

22. Governor that served five terms?

Robert Ray.

23. Who is the Floyd Monument (the obelisk in Sioux City) in honor of?

Sgt. Charles Floyd, the only member of Lewis and Clark’s expedition that died. He was buried near Sioux City. He watches the IMAX retelling of his voyage twice a day in heaven and pumps his fist when they make it to the end.

24. How many Supreme Court Justices appointed?

Two. Samuel F. Miller and Wiley B. Rutledge

25. First great hydroelectric project completed in the US?

Keokuk Dam 1913.

26. Largest single denomination in Iowa?

Roman Catholic (Go Dubuque!)

27. Largest employer in Cedar Rapids?

Rockwell International (maker of printing presses and avionics equipment). I thought for sure it would be Quaker Oats.

28. 4 H’s ?

Head, Heart, Hands, and Health

29. When Vilsack in ’98, he became the first Dem elected governor in how long?

36 years (since Howard Hughes from castle town Ida Grove).

30. In 1995 the heads of what three countries met in Iowa?

The U.S., the Czech Republic, and the Republic of Slovakia met in Iowa.

I was 15 years old when this took place and have no recollection of it. Apperently BillClinton, Vaclav Havel (CzechRep.) and Michal Kovac (Rep. of Slovakia) came to inaugurate the National Czech and Slovak museum in Cedar Rapids.

31. Who was the Secretary of the Agriculture under Harding and Coolidge?

Henry C. Wallace, father of Henry A. Wallace (later Sec. of Ag and VP under Roosevelt). Like father like son.