A Quest to Make Iowa Interesting Quiz

Answer: Corn Belt

Yeah, when corn gets homesick, it's Iowa that it's thinking of. Iowa sits squarely in the Corn Belt, which is that patch of the Midwest famous for unbelievably fertile soils, a climate that caters to corn like royalty, and fields that look like oceans of green waves much of the year. Corn isn't just a crop, it's a way of life in Iowa, powering much of the economy. It serves as feed for livestock, raw material for ethanol, inputs for food and industrial products, and the reason most Iowans smell like old husks and melted butter.

So, the elephant in the room is corn. You'll see it everywhere, from county fairs to farm silos to meeting rooms where people study PowerPoint presentations about biofuels. However, it's not all corn, all the time. Iowa farmers also rotate crops (soybeans are its most frequent partner in this dance), use modern conservation practices, and supply a global market that depends on Midwestern productivity. See? Iowa's already interesting, and we're still talking about corn.

Answer: Driftless Area

The Driftless Area is the part of Iowa (and neighboring states) that ancient glaciers briefly pondered before deciding it just wasn't worth the hassle. Because the ice never bulldozed the landscape flat, the region kept its dramatic topography with deep river valleys, high bluffs, springs, caves, and enough winding roads to make GPS devices give a little shrug and wish you luck.

This untouched terrain spells fun for hikers, trout fishers, and anyone who appreciates landscapes that look suspiciously un-Iowan. It's also a geological treasure, showing what the Midwest might look like if nature had given that whole giant frozen steamroller a miss.

Despite the many challenges to farming in the Driftless Area, you can bet Iowans have found ways to make corn grow there.

Answer: Mississippi River

The mighty Mississippi River marks Iowa's entire eastern edge, and it's not just a boundary line, it's a major cultural and economic lifeline. Towns like Dubuque, Davenport, and Burlington grew up along its banks, thriving on river trade, railroads, and steamboats. The river has shaped everything from settlement patterns to local industry... and of course that popular Midwestern pastime of standing on the riverfront, nodding mysteriously, and saying, "Yup, she's really movin' today."

The Mississippi also gives Iowa some surprisingly scenic terrain. Bluffs, river valleys, and the Driftless Area (which the glaciers very rudely skipped over) make eastern Iowa far hillier and more picturesque than the flat cornfields everywhere else. So while Iowa may be the land of corn, the Mississippi is the reason eastern Iowa has personality AND waterfront property that only occasionally becomes submerged when the river gets feisty.

Answer: Iowa City

Iowa City is not just your average college town surrounded by fields of corn. It's one of only 53 UNESCO Cities of Literature, which is the literary equivalent of getting a blue ribbon at the Iowa State Fair, but with more international flex and fewer corn dogs. It's only one of two cities so recognized in the United States, the other being Seattle. The University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop has produced many famous authors to fill your shelves. Some prominent names include John Irving, Flannery O'Connor, Kurt Vonnegut, Jane Smiley, Wallace Stegner, and Rita Dove to name just a few.

Iowa City is a place where bookstores thrive, readings draw actual crowds, and you might overhear someone editing their manuscript out loud in a coffee shop. Vibes immaculate, pretension levels variable with a high chance of smugness, and literary output absolutely unmatched.

Answer: Des Moines River

Lake Red Rock is a big water bowl south of Des Moines created when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dammed the Des Moines River. It's Iowa's largest reservoir contained entirely inside the state, built primarily for flood control but also very popular for recreation. Yes, Iowa has water recreation! Red Rock is all about boating, camping, hiking, and fishing... no doubt with corn bait.

Anglers and weekend boat captains rejoice! The lake supports species like largemouth and white bass, walleye, crappie, and catfish, and the surrounding state recreation areas provide ramps, campgrounds, and trails. In addition to taming the Des Moines River when needed, it hands you a pretty decent weekend plan.

Answer: Amana Colonies

The Amana Colonies are seven connected villages in east-central Iowa (No kidding: Amana, Middle Amana, West Amana, High Amana, East Amana, South Amana, and Homestead) founded by the Community of True Inspiration (a group of German Pietists) who moved to Iowa in the 1850s seeking religious freedom and an isolated place to live communally. For about 80 years they ran a largely self-sufficient communal economy with shared kitchens, communal workshops, craft guilds, farms (only some of them corn), mills, and stores. It was practical, and orderly.

In 1932 the community underwent the "Great Change," shifting from communal ownership to a corporate/individual model partly due to the Depression and partly because people wanted more personal freedom. Today the seven villages are preserved as a National Historic Landmark District. You can still see hundreds of original communal-era buildings, buy handwoven woolens and furniture made by local artisans, and eat German-inspired fare.

Answer: Mason City

Mason City proudly holds one of the largest collections of Prairie School architecture in the entire world, a distinction that may surprise people like me who assumed Iowa is strictly barns, silos, the occasional tornado, and towering corn stalks (I told you it was interesting!). The crown jewel is the Historic Park Inn Hotel, the last remaining hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, lovingly restored so visitors can sleep inside a piece of architectural history without having to pretend they understand load-bearing cantilevers or whatever.

Beyond the hotel, Mason City features several Wright-influenced homes and the Stockman House, giving the city a bit of an unexpected artsy flair. It's the sort of place where you can admire world-class architecture in the morning and still be at a county fair eating a funnel cake or a brat corn dog by noon.

Answer: Iowa Great Lakes

More Midwest beach parties! The Iowa Great Lakes form the state's premier vacation corridor, a whole chain of deep, clear, glacier-carved lakes that again prove Iowa can in fact do water-based fun when it feels like it. Spirit Lake, the largest, sits at the top, while West Okoboji Lake (famous for its stunning blue color) draws swimmers, boaters, anglers, and anyone who enjoys pretending they're on a northern Minnesota getaway without getting so uncomfortably close to Canada.

The region has been a hotspot for recreation for more than a century, complete with resorts, music venues, amusement parks, and a summer population that outnumbers the winter one by a curiously large margin. Whether you're into fishing, jet skis, beach time, or simply sitting on a dock, eating corn bread, and contemplating your questionable life choices, the (Iowa) Great Lakes area has you covered.

Answer: Missouri River Valley

The Missouri River Valley is the agricultural backbone of western Iowa's river country, known for its wide, fertile floodplains where corn (sigh), soybeans, and other irrigated crops thrive in the rich alluvial soils. Historically the valley was a natural highway for steamboats, fur traders, and later emigrants followed the Missouri as they pushed westward. Towns like Council Bluffs and Sioux City grew up as river hubs and jumping-off points for overland migration.

Today the valley still feeds the nation (and the ethanol plants), but it's also managed with levees, dams, and reservoirs for flood control and irrigation. So yeah, it's simultaneously scenic, productive, and occasionally stubborn when the river decides to redecorate the bottomlands.

Answer: Effigy Mounds National Monument

Now this is interesting, I promise. Effigy Mounds National Monument is one of Iowa's most remarkable historic sites. The area protects more than 200 prehistoric earthen mounds, many shaped like animals such as bears and birds, crafted by Indigenous cultures over a thousand years ago. They sit silently (it's dirt, after all) along bluffs above the Mississippi River, giving the whole place a cathedral-like atmosphere, minus the stained glass and chanting.

The monument isn't just scenic; it's spiritually significant to multiple Native nations, and it's an essential archaeological record of mound-building traditions in the Upper Midwest. It's also a great spot for hiking, learning, and contemplating the fact that ancient peoples were building monumental earthworks long before any one of us so rudely defined Iowa as a "fly-over" state.