Business & Industry

Food for your cat or dog.
Breakfast snacks.
Aircraft flight controls.
Internet data centers.
Construction machinery.

People all over the world use these Iowa products and services. 

Since early times Iowans have been involved in business and industry—the buying, selling and producing of goods and services. When people from Europe came to the land that became Iowa, native people sold them goods and services. The European settlers made some of their own products. Farms were established and factories were built. People from all over the world have come to Iowa to work in different industries.

Iowa's businesses and industries have changed over time. From grist mills and button factories to Global Positioning Systems and insurance services, discover how Iowa workers have adapted to new ideas. 

My Path

1. Early Transportation
2. King Corn in Sioux City
3. Railroads Create Change
4. The Wapsipinicon: A Love Story or a Swan's Potato?
5. What Time is It? Railroads Bring Standard Time
6. The Tricky Missouri River and the Steamboat Bertrand
7. The First Bridge Over the Mississippi and the Effie Afton
8. Chugging Into Cherokee
9. Iowa's Western Boundary
10. Transportation
11. Iowa's Southern Boundary
12. The Life and Work of Surveyors
13. The Political Process
14. Roadside Businesses
15. Iowa's Presidential Hopefuls