Welcome to the seventh annual issue of our statewide magazine, ia. Here at Business Publications Corp. in Des Moines, we create numerous local magazines and newspapers, but ia is special. For me, as a native Iowan, it’s personal. As you read this issue, I hope you’ll sense that it is a heartfelt tribute to the beauty and character of our state and its people.
Every state has its unique qualities, of course. But I know of none that rival Iowa’s understated beauty, its gentle social grace, its quiet progressivism, its warm and welcoming embrace. Indeed, it isn’t the superlatives that define Iowa; it is, rather, the modesty with which the state expresses its finest qualities. It is a sustaining strength that came first from the land and that has been enriched by generations that still feed the world, but who also are now leaders in other industries. So it came as no surprise that U.S. News & World Report put Iowa atop its “best states” ranking for 2018.
To me, being an Iowan is an honor for which I am sincerely grateful. I hope that you share in the humble pride I feel for this state—and that you’ll feel it expressed throughout the pages of this publication.
Connie Wimer
Chairman, Business Publications Corp. Inc.
On the Cover:
Like other streams in northeastern Iowa’s Driftless Area, Waterloo Creek is home to a robust population of trout. See story, page 60. Photographer: Justin Salem Meyer.
