Where I grew up, in Des Moines, Iowa, there is hardly any downtown economic activity now. Everybody shops in malls - you don't find a sense of community in malls.
In Iowa, we take care of people. That's all I think I need to say.
Political pandering comes in all shapes and sizes, but every four years the presidential primary bring us in contact with its purest form - praising ethanol subsidies amid the corn fields of Iowa.
If I'd grown up in Atlanta and then gone to Ottumwa, Iowa it may have been culture shock, but I was used to being in a small town and used to seeing the same people all the time and going to the same grocery store every day, so it wasn't that big of a deal for me. I was just excited to be on TV. I was just jumping for joy when I got there. I wasn't making any money, but I was sure happy.
I never graduated from Iowa, but I was only there for two terms - Truman's and Eisenhower's.
What's right for New York or California, is not necessarily right for Iowa.
I hope I am the Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses.
Of all states that understands local control of schools, Iowa is such a state.
Well what I want them to know is just like, John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That's the kind of spirit that I have, too.
We have felt for some time that if political candidates or their staff are willing to make the pilgrimage to North Iowa, the least we can do is show hospitality. And it's also a wonderful way to get to know these people who make our political system work.
California: The west coast of Iowa.
When I was a freshman in college I went to Grinnell College in Iowa. I brought my poems to my freshman humanities teacher whose name was Carol Parsinan, a wonderful teacher. And Carol did a really great thing for me. She taught me more than anyone.
The thing I'm most proud of here at Iowa is putting the ANF on our headgear.
Recruiting at Iowa has never been easy, and I don't think it ever will be. Our biggest challenge has always been to get people to visit our campus. If we can get them here, I feel like we give ourselves a chance because we do have a lot to offer.
There's less than one percent of the population of Iowa that is African American. There is probably less than four of five percent that are minorities. What is in Washington? So look, it goes back to what you start off with, what you're dealing with.