July/Aug 2025 (Volume 17, Issue 4)

 

By Arvid Huisman

 

Ever since my nerdish youth I have been fascinated with my home state which, for many Americans, is one of the flat-as-a-pancake, fly-over states. 

 

I guess you can fly-over Iowa if you wish, but anyone who has ridden RAGBRAI can tell you Iowa is not flat. I spent a total of 26 years in Sioux City and Creston and loved the hills of western Iowa!

 

I traveled our rolling state from the Mississippi to the Missouri rivers and from Missouri to Minnesota for six years and developed an even greater affection for what the Native Americans called the “Beautiful Land.” Accordingly, I always enjoy learning more about our state.

 

 

So how much do you know about Iowa? Here are some facts you may not know or may not care to know.

 

Iowa covers 56,276 square miles, making it the 26th largest of the 50 states. The state is approximately 310 miles wide and about 200 miles deep. 

 

Here’s where a quiz begins: what would be the distance, by the most practical public highway route, from Iowa’s southeastern-most county seat to the northwestern-most county seat? 

 

Google Maps indicates that the shortest reasonable route—Keokuk to Rock Rapids via Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Fort Dodge, Algona and Spencer—is 432 miles. If you have a large bladder and a small appetite, it’s only an eight-hour trip. 

 

By the way, it’s just as far from Keokuk to Rock Rapids as it is from Des Moines to Green Bay, Wis.

 

TO READ THE ENTIRE STORY AND OTHER FASCINATING STORIES ABOUT IOWA HISTORY, subscribe to Iowa History Journal.