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Hello. My name is Alexandria and I am currently teaching English in Austria.
Many people consider the Midwest a flyover region,
a place we only see out of the window of a plane. One of those states
is Iowa, where I come from. Iowa is located centrally, with five states sharing its border.
It's the only state whose Eastern and Western borders
are formed completely by rivers. The Mississippi River to the East
and the Missouri and Big Sioux Rivers to the West. Iowa's best known for its
production of corn,
soybeans, hog and ethanol. The state also manufactures a wide range of products,
including heavy machinery that often contributes to farming.
Before Iowa was a leading producer in agriculture,
it was the tall grass prairie, inhabited by a variety of Native American tribes.
The most notable were the Meskwaki, the Sioux, the Sauk and the Iowai,
the tribe Iowa was named after. When these tribes lived in Iowa, the
land was rich with bison,
fertile soil and rivers flowing with fish. As time progressed the European
settlers moved further West and the French claimed Iowa.
The European population didn't grow too large.
Today, Iowa is home to a little over three million people, with the landmass about
one-and-a-half times larger than Austria!
Its biggest cities are Des Moines, its capital, Cedar Rapids, my hometown,
and Davenport. Des Moines has the golden dome of the state
capitol building and was once featured in Jack Kerouac's novel "On the Road".
In his book, he wrote the prettiest girls in the world live in Des Moines.
Of course if he said it, it must be true. Cedar Rapids, the second-largest city,
thrives on
manufacturing, including the largest cereal factory in the world: Quaker Oats.
Oftentimes when I'm driving through the city on Interstate 380
I can smell the berries or honey and guess which cereal is being made that day.
Aside from cereal and pretty girls, the state is also home to the famous Field of Dreams,
a baseball field located in Dyersville and featured in the movie Field of Dreams.
Hordes of tourists flock to the site each year. Iowa hold
the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa,
or more commonly known as RAGBRAI. Each summer it attracts thousands of
cyclists to the sea the glorious countryside as they ride 310 miles
across the state.
And finally, as a whole, we like to brag about
our invention of the beloved Taco Pizza, a slice of pizza covered in salsa, lettuce,
beef, cheddar cheese and topped with broken Tortilla chips.
This is one delicious dish we claim as our own.
With such a small population Iowa's too small to host
professional sports teams. This doesn't bother us one bit
as we take pride in our University athletics. Io (Iowa) has two Universities with a
long-standing rivalry that can pit families against each other.
The University of Iowa in the states old capital, Iowa City.
The football team are the Hawkeyes, with the legacy of
NFL drafts and a wrestling team with 23 national championships.
Iowa City also hosts the writer's workshop and is hailed as a UNESCO City of Literature.
The university also claims famous alumni,
such as actor Gene Wilder and authors Tennessee Williams and Flannery O'Connor
and renowned scientist James Van Allen. President Hoover's birthplace is in nearby
West Branch.
Then there's Iowa State University in Ames near the current state capital Des Moines.
The colors red and gold represent the school along with their mascot, the Cyclones.
This University is known for science and engineering
and it has been a forerunner in its fields and is the birthplace
of the first electronic digital computer and only University nationwide
with the US Department Energy Research Laboratory as a part of the Manhattan Project.
Iowa State University is also known for its yearly Battle of the Bands,
valled Visha. And one of the most successful women's basketball teams
in the nation. Whether you're driving through
or planning to stay a while, I think every Iowan would agree
that we not only have the prettiest girls in the world, but the landscape and
the people living there aren't too bad either.