In The Bridges of Madison County, adult siblings Michael and Carolyn Johnson arrive at their recently deceased mother's Iowa farmhouse to settle her estate.

Cedar Rapids is nicknamed the "City of Five Seasons", for the so-called "fifth season," which is time to enjoy the other four. The symbol of the five seasons is the Tree of Five Seasons sculpture in downtown along the north river bank.

The Iowa General Assembly designated the eastern goldfinch (Carduelis tristis), also known as the wild canary, as the official state bird in 1933. It was chosen as the state bird because it is commonly found in Iowa and often stays through the winter.

Davenport is known as "Iowa's Front Porch" because of its geographical location at the border of the state. It sits right on the Mississippi and looks across at Illinois and its sister cities, Moline and Rock Island.

The land-locked state is home to an island city, Sabula, which is just one mile long and a quarter of a mile wide. It wasn't actually an island until 1939, when the construction of a lock and dam system flooded the lowlands west of the town.

Iowa City was the second capital of the Iowa Territory and the first capital city of the state of Iowa. The Old Capitol building is a National Historic Landmark in the center of the University of Iowa campus.

Stark Nurseries held a competition in 1892 to find an apple to replace the 'Ben Davis' apple. The winner was a red and yellow striped apple sent by Jesse Hiatt, a farmer in Peru, Iowa, who called it 'Hawkeye'. Stark Nurseries bought the rights from Hiatt, and eventually renamed the variety 'Red Delicious'.

Sioux City gained the nickname "Little Chicago" during the Prohibition era due to its reputation for being a purveyor of alcoholic beverages.

Contrary to popular belief, not all of Iowa is flat. Located just north of Sibley, Hawkeye Point is Iowa's highest elevation at 1,670 feet (510 m). Near the summit, visitors will find a flagpole, picnic bench, tile mosaic, several granite markers, and five tall posts with signs pointing to the other 49 state highpoints, each with the correct distance noted.

Iowa designated the oak as the official state tree in 1961 because it is abundant in the state and provides shelter, food, and nesting cover for many of Iowa's animals and birds. It's difficult to find a tract of natural woodland in Iowa that does not have at least one species of oak tree.