Let’s All Stop Underestimating Iowa
Thrillist: Iowa, in many ways, typifies the idea of “flyover country.” Without a metropolis like Chicago, or a resident “Midwest Princess” to sing its praises, it’s a state that mostly gets summarized by corn, caucuses, and breaded pork tenderloin. But as we’ve learned time and again: never underestimate the subtle allure of flyover country.
As Travel Iowa cleverly riffs, this is a state you want to “fly through, not over.” That’s because, if there’s one thing this on-the-nose Midwestern state excels at, it’s debunking stereotypes. Across its vast plains and prairies, from lake to shining lake, and from the gilded sheen of the state capitol to the man-made mounds of the Upper Mississippi River Valley, The Hawkeye State is nothing if not surprising. Long overlooked as topographically challenged monotony, marked by too-wide open spaces and periodic political pandering, this “fly through” country requires more of a stopover to really savor its modest immensity.
Indoors and out, Iowa is a place that inspires pause. It’s the state parks and national monuments you never expected to be stirred by. It’s the convivial ritualism of a football tailgate, or the serene majesty of amber waves of grain. It’s the cities large and small, in an elite class of UNESCO recognition. It’s the endless opportunities here, for lifers and transplants alike, to imprint themselves on a veritable blank-canvas of a state, where the cost of living pales compared to the coasts, and where a growing population and shifting demographics are evolving Iowa into an enticing, inclusive community for all.
Like anyplace, some stereotypes are earned and even embraced. Yes, Iowans have a fondness for slathering things in cheese, and/or serving foods on sticks that don’t really make sense on sticks. And yes, butter sculpting is very much a thriving artform around these parts. Rather than hide from its tropes, though, Iowa leans into them and proudly owns it as the singular kind of Americana it is—all apart of the cultural patchwork, from Des Moines to Dubuque, that makes Iowa the kind of wishful utopia Field of Dreams led us to yearn for.
So the next time you’re considering flying over Iowa, or only paying attention to it during an election cycle, take the time for an extended layover. You might be surprised by what you find.
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