Thats Where The Tall Corn Grows Essay

, Research Paper

THAT’S WHERE THE TALL CORN GROWS On December 28, 1846, President James Knox Polk signed a bill of statehood that admitted Iowa to the Union. Our first permanent State Capitol was built in the 1840s in Iowa City. The state government later moved to Des Moines in 1857 and the Old Capitol building was given to the University of Iowa. Iowa means “beautiful land” and it says a lot in its famous rich soil. Robert Frost put it well when he said “It’s a shame to grow crops and run them through animals for food, because that black Iowa soil looks good enough to eat as it is.” There are more than 30,000 farms in the state of Iowa and 92% of its land is farmland. Iowa’s most significant crop is corn. The state covers 55,965 square miles and its highest elevation is 1,670 feet above sea level in Osceole County. According to the most recent census, the state of Iowa has about 2.8 million people and ranks 30th in the United States in population. Predominately white, the total population has 5% minorities and 95% Caucasians. Females are the minority that takes up 47.2% of the population. If you think that Iowa is full of nothing but “hicks” and “farmers” you might be interested to know that many Iowans became famous and impacted this country. Former President of the United States Herbert Hoover was born in West Branch, Iowa. He received his B.A. in Geology at Stanford University and married his wife Lou Henry who was also born in Iowa. There are twelve presidential libraries in the United States and one of these is dedicated to the 31st President of the United States, Herbert Hoover. Another Iowan began as a magician and later became a well-known stand-up comedian and talk show host, Johnny Carson. He hosted The Tonight Show for thirty years and first vocalized in the place he was born Corning, Iowa. Two sisters Esther and Pauline grew up in Sioux City and attended nearby Morningside College. They were married in a dual wedding ceremony. In the late 1950s Esther moved to Chicago and snatched a job writing a column titled “Ann Landers that syndicated in forty papers.” During this time Abigail moved to San Fransisco and began an advice column in the San Fransisco Chronicle. These women have been called “the most influential women in the United States” and the American Medical Association chose Ann Landers to receive the Citation for Distinguished Service. These are just a few impacting Iowans. Iowa is famous for agriculture and it is the nation’s 13th most productive manufacturer. Suprisingly, the fastest growing area in Iowa is its professional sector. The growth in this area is primarily because of Iowa’s insurance and financial services. Behind Hartford, Connecticut Iowa is the second largest insurance capital. In July of 1997 unemployment in Iowa reached in all time record low 2.6%. Based on the Iowa Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for 1997, the top ten employers by average employment in the state of Iowa include: Hy-Vee Food Stores, Deere & Company, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Principal Financial Group, Rockwell International Corporation, IBP, Inc., Iowa Health Systems, APAC Teleservices, Inc., Mercy Hospital Medical Center, and K Mart Corporation. The fastest growing part of Iowa’s economy is its service and professional section. The average weekly wages in all industries in 1995 is $440. The most recent information on its average annual family income is $37,227. A quarter of the nation’s pork is produced in Iowa. In most years Iowa has also been the nation’s number one producer of corn, soybeans, and red meat. Although agriculture is a large part of Iowa, Iowans have also led the world in developing some of the most important technologies of the 20th century. Examples of this state’s inventiveness are the developments of the tractor and hybrid corn. John Froelich, an Iowan, built the world’s first tractor in 1892. Another Iowan Henry Wallace performed several experiments with corn breeding which eventually led him to produce high yielding corn or hybrid corn. The economy this year has been strong in Iowa. Income adjusted for inflation was expected to grow about 2.8% in 1997 and another 1.2% in 1998. According to a Presidential report from Bill Clinton, Iowa business failures have dropped by 33% in the last few years. The State of Iowa’s governmental revenues totaled $7,614.6 million for fiscal year 1997. There are five categories that make up governmental revenue from the state including: taxes make up 61% of Iowa’s revenue, receipts from other entities make 28% of the revenue, 5% is accumulated through fees, licenses, and permits, and 6% is other financing sources. Iowa’s expenditures in the year 1997 include: 29% in education, 29% in health & human services, 11% transportation, 11% general government, and 20% is other financing uses. With regard to debt, the State of Iowa’s Constitution prohibits the State from exceeding a maximum of $250 thousand general obligation debt without approval by voters. The state did not exceed that debt in fiscal year 1997. The history of education in Iowa shows the first schools were in 1857, the same year the Constitution created a State Board of Education (this was abolished in 1864). School terms at that time were a minimum of twenty-four weeks. The first high school in the State is credited to Tipton. Education is an important part of Iowa and a part we are proud of. We have one of the lowest adult illiteracy and high school drop out