Iowa is located in the center of the Corn Belt in the Midwestern United States, and is the nation's largest corn producer. The state's name is derived from the Iowa River, which in turn was named after the Native American Ioway people. Since their arrival more than 13,000 years ago, the first inhabitants gradually evolved from gatherers and hunters into complex societies that increasingly domesticated corn from around 900 AD. In addition to the Ioway, other indigenous tribes living in Iowa at the time of European contact in 1673 included the Dakota, Ho-Chunk, Otoe, Illiniwek, Meskwaki, Omaha and Sauk.

The first European settlers in Iowa were the French. Through the Louisiana Purchase, the area became a U.S. possession in 1803, and in 1808 Fort Madison was established as the first military fortification on the upper Mississippi River. In the War of 1812 and the 1832 Black Hawk War, the native tribes sided with the British to resist U.S. control. Iowa's official nickname, "The Hawkeye State," like those of many sports teams and military vehicles, is a tribute to the chief of the Sauk people, Black Hawk (1767–1838), who played an important role in the wars. In 1846, Iowa became the 29^th state to be admitted to the Union.

Iowa's capital and largest city, Des Moines, is considered the center of the U.S. insurance industry. The most prominent building on the skyline of Des Moines is 801 Grand. At 630 feet (190 m), it is Iowa's tallest building and is recognizable by the eight-sided pyramid on its roof. The state motto is “Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain.”

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