Iowa’s State Bird is Not the Hawkeye

I, am apparently, not a very good Iowan.  I did not know the state bird of Iowa.  I stated on air today that the state bird of Iowa was the Hawkeye.  Iowa is nicknamed The Hawkeye State so I just went with that.  I was quickly corrected via many texts, facebook messages, and phone calls that I was mistaken.  The state bird of Iowa is in fact the American Goldfinch also known as the Eastern Goldfinch.  A Hawkeye isn't even a real bird. My bad.

So I wanted to take this opportunity to enlighten myself and others about other tidbits about Iowa.  Some you may know and some you may not.  So here it goes:

Iowa's state motto is, "Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain."

Ripley's Believe It or Not has dubbed Burlington's Snake Alley the most crooked street in the world.

Dubuque is the state's oldest city.

Spirit Lake is the largest glacier-made lake in the state.

West Okoboji is the deepest natural lake in the state. Its depth is 136 feet.

'Bridges of Madison County' was filmed in Adel, Iowa

Imes Bridge is the oldest of Madison County's six bridges.

At 16 miles, East Okoboji is the longest natural lake in the state.

Quaker Oats, in Cedar Rapids, is the largest cereal company in the world.

'Children of the Corn' was filmed in Hornick, Salix, Sioux City, and Whiting, Iowa

The Sergeant Floyd Monument in Sioux City honors the only man to die during the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Knoxville's National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum is the only museum in the country dedicated to preserving the history of sprint car racing

Van Meter is the hometown of baseball's Bob Feller, an Iowa farm boy who went on to greatness with the Cleveland Indians during the Golden Age of baseball.

Born Donnabelle Mullenger in Denison, Oscar Award-winning actress, Donna Reed, started her career at the young age of 16.

'Field of Dreams' was filmed in Dyersville and Dubuque, Iowa.

Born Marion Robert Morrison in Winterset, John Wayne was the son of a pharmacist and grew up to become one of Hollywood's most popular movie stars.

Iowa is the only state whose east and west borders are 100% formed by water. Missouri and Mississippi rivers.

Iowa is the only state name that starts with two vowels.

Facts are via 50states.com and imdb.com

Once again I would like to apologize for my ignorance and I hope to do Iowa proud in the future. Thank You.