Worst city in Iowa?

[mramseyISU]

Mt. Pleasant was hurt when they lost the Blue Bird bus company that was located there 15 years ago or so. Lot of good paying jobs were sent down south. They lost the state minor detention center or most of it and now the college is closing. The town has gone through a lot of financial hits the last decade or so.
Good thing, you are right on the Avenue of the Saints, easy 40-minute drive to Iowa City, 4 lane all the way to Burlington, and the river. If you have a white-collar type of job, MP would be a nice medium sized town to live and raise a family.

Best part of Mt Pleasant is they still have a sit down Pizza Hut. I know that's not much but as a kid going to the Keokuk mall once a month to eat at Pizza Hut and get $2 for the arcade across from it was a huge treat. It's just one of those core memories for me I miss not being able to do anymore without a really long drive.

 

[jdoggivjc]

I lived in the QC for a portion of my life and Davenport is a shell of what it use to be. Comparing it to Detroit is stretch, but Kimberly/Brady are a fraction of what they use to be. Since I have lived in Waterloo and Davenport both towns have lost to their next door neighbor Bettendorf/CF. Those towns have benefited greatly in the down fall of the bigger city

Bettendorf is really the “new Davenport” at this point, and west of Devil’s Glen Bettendorf isn’t even really what it used to be. What both Davenport and Bettendorf are losing out to is the “Pleasant Valley” area, which is Bettendorf east of Devil’s Glen to LeClaire and the Mississippi River. If you drive I-80 and see all that development at the Middle Road interchange, that’s the epitome of this new development (and where my parents and sister and her family live).

 

[VeloClone]

Wait. The worst city in Minnesota is Edina?

I live in Brooklyn Park and I can say without question that is false.

 

[Cfinnerty16]

I remember when Maharishi International University started up, taking over the old Parsons College campus. Some people I knew went to work on construction jobs for the new campus, even though some of their conservative church-going friends told them they were losing their souls if they helped out that anti-Christian meditation-hooey “religion,” lol.

MIU brought a lot of coastal folks with money to the Fairfield area, and really propped up their economy for a while. Fairfield still has a wider range of eclectic restaurants/businesses than you’d expect for a small city in southeast Iowa.

”Weird but harmless” sums it up pretty well, I think. My parents still shop in Fairfield a lot of the time (I think they prefer it to Ottumwa).

So is it still true most shops close for meditation time in the afternoon? 4 years ago I believe that was still the case.

We went out drinking at the only big bar in town. They had kombucha on tap. Lots of people who didn’t use deodorant too lol

 

[HGoat1]

Edina is despised by anyone who is not from there in MN because of the amount of wealth. A lot of the executives of the fortune 500 companies in the twin cities live there.

And I have to say of the people I have met from Edina, the cake-eater nickname fits. They are not very grounded, I'll say that.

 

[HGoat1]

Also

The worst in Iowa is Fort Dodge.

I know a lot of great people from Fort Dodge and Fort Dodge area. Lived with two guys who went to hs at FDSH.

I had always thought they were exaggerating some of the stories I'd heard, and it was maybe a reputation thing. Then I worked om FD for a year out of college. They were not exaggerating. It is a very sad and depressing place.

 

[Turn2]

I think I get so triggered because I lived and worked in Council Bluffs for 7 years. Its actually quite a neat community, but a largely outdated view of the place has hampered many attempts to make the community even better.

Council Bluffs has advantages over Des Moines due to being part of a larger metro area. Carter Lake though, that’s the area that brings a bad rap.

 

[jcyclonee]

I live in Brooklyn Park and I can say without question that is false.

Edina is the most hated city though. Yes. It's mostly a jealousy thing.

 

[cycub51]

Very true. But my observations in those regions and Iowa is that those places had a head start. A lot of the other rural areas outside of Iowa decayed 30 years ago. Iowa’s have had a later and slower decline. Most of Iowas small towns are significantly worse than they were 20-30 years ago. Other than a handful of exceptions like Decorah and those with bedroom community locations small towns in Iowa are going to keep declining. It’s just really hard to maintain a small town once the schools are gone.

Agreed and it started when farms went from being a few hundred acres to now being thousands. That kills the population and all the services surrounding it start to shrink.

I live in a small town that’s okay but has its rough moments. We are actively trying to focus on the outdoor activities our community offers because it’s uncommon in this part of the state and get people to live 40-55 minute commutes for the added benefits instead of closer to the larger population centers. It’s slowly working and hopefully can continue if the born here locals will allow it.

 

[danvillecyclone]

Being the worst cities in Iowa sure do beat the best in other states.

It’s like asking what the worst win in Iowa State football or basketball is.

They are all still good!

 

[Cyfan1965]

Also

The worst in Iowa is Fort Dodge.

I know a lot of great people from Fort Dodge and Fort Dodge area. Lived with two guys who went to hs at FDSH.

I had always thought they were exaggerating some of the stories I'd heard, and it was maybe a reputation thing. Then I worked om FD for a year out of college. They were not exaggerating. It is a very sad and depressing place.

In law worked in FD as an attorney for one year. He quit the profession moved and became a cop. He said it was awful and he had money. It didn't matter.

 

[nfrine]

I was curious. My daughter works for an eye clinic. She helped treat a patient from Vedic City. Evidently, he said something like, "I could probably heal myself but my family kept insisting that I come here."

It wasn't Jerome Tang was it?

 

[Kinch]

I remember when Maharishi International University started up, taking over the old Parsons College campus. Some people I knew went to work on construction jobs for the new campus, even though some of their conservative church-going friends told them they were losing their souls if they helped out that anti-Christian meditation-hooey “religion,” lol.

MIU brought a lot of coastal folks with money to the Fairfield area, and really propped up their economy for a while. Fairfield still has a wider range of eclectic restaurants/businesses than you’d expect for a small city in southeast Iowa.

”Weird but harmless” sums it up pretty well, I think. My parents still shop in Fairfield a lot of the time (I think they prefer it to Ottumwa).

There are conservative churches now embracing MUM. d

 

[Kinch]

So is it still true most shops close for meditation time in the afternoon? 4 years ago I believe that was still the case.

We went out drinking at the only big bar in town. They had kombucha on tap. Lots of people who didn’t use deodorant too lol

I don't know if they still close for meditation. I don't think so. I do know that you need to drive Highway 1 very carefully after meditation. They don't pay attention and seemed lost in space. The grocery store in their community, does sell mercury free deodorant, not much goes out the door. They also have a vegetable drink bar.

 

[KnappShack]

Eastern Iowa is Home to the Poorest City & Town in the State

According to some recent reports, both the poorest city and town in Iowa are located in the eastern portion of the state.

khak.com

 

[Kinch]

Sad stat for Fort Dodge. According to the Census Bureau, 350 of the adult population over 25 has less than a ninth grade education.

 

[ClubCy]

Trying not to derail the thread - but if someone I know is planning to visit Yosemite and King's Canyon this year, I should tell them to avoid staying in Fresno? Maybe get a nice airbnb in one of the smaller towns?

Also not to derail the thread. If they have to stay the night Clovis is a decent area to stay. Clean, quiet suburb with lots of decent hotels and not a ton of restaurants but enough to get by. I have stayed there for work in the past and it’s not bad.

 

[12191987]

Pella sucks.

Small towns are a lot like families. They can have idiosyncratic practices/dynamics that seem totally normal from within, but odd from an outsider perspective.

Pella reminds me of a story that bounced around the internet a few years ago.

If you grow up recycling your cereal milk in a communal carton you won’t have any idea how repulsive others find it unless you step out and gain perspective.

 

[ClubCy]

I did the Iowa 339, around 6 years ago.
It’s a relay race from the Missouri to the Mississippi, kind of like Ragbrai.

I got to see some pretty cool towns that I didn’t know existed.
Such as Ida grove. I never knew some millionaire there loved castles & remade the town how he wanted lol.

Castles

Visit the post for more.

idagroveia.com

On the other side of the coin, running through Eldora and seeing people have confederate flags hanging outside their house was a bit jarring.

Loved driving through Ida Grove growing up and seeing the castles. Also there was a Pizza Hut on a lake? Docks? I can’t remember but as 10 year old that the coolest thing I had ever seen.

 

[Gunnerclone]

Eastern Iowa is Home to the Poorest City & Town in the State

According to some recent reports, both the poorest city and town in Iowa are located in the eastern portion of the state.

khak.com

Pretty sure this where the guy from “Love After Lockup” lived. He claimed some kind of Native American heritage but the guy was obviously not all there mentally.