My brother is considering moving to Iowa, so I have a serious question

[AlGore-08.com]

My brother - - who just got divorced - - is thinking of moving from Indiana to Iowa. I'm not sure how serious he is about this idea, given what's going on in his personal life, but he says one of the reasons he's considering Iowa is that only the folks in Iowa and New Hampshire have any say in who ends up with the Presidential nomination, so he's considering moving to Iowa.

Assuming he's serious (or becomes serious later), my question is: are there parts of Iowa where it's easier for a new arrival to get actively involved in the Dem party? Are there parts of Iowa where a new arrival would have a tougher time being accepted?

In case it matters, he's a math teacher and has lived in both small towns and medium sized cities - - and we grew up in Minnesota, so the weather wouldn't be a shock to him!

Thanks for the info!

[madrchsod]

i`m not from iowa but live a few miles away

the quad cities is pretty nice,lots of different towns and cities. the illinois side of the area is solid democratic.

[Barak And Roll]

2. Go Q-C Dems!

Lane Evans rocks! Go Q-C Dems!

[pstans]

8. Welcome to DU

and welcome to the Iowa forums. Glad to have you.

[Bluzmann57]

11. Well darn it, you beat me to it.

I'm a QC native and like it here, as we are fairly blue, nussle notwithstanding. Welcome to DU fellow Quad-Citian and yes, Evans does rock.

[GetTheRightVote]

1. From Iowa, home state, nice people there

They will let anyone in who feels like volunteering, small or larger area of the state though most parts are not that populated. Tell him good luck with the move.

:kick:

[clover]

3. Johnson County Iowa

if his income is fair to good, Iowa City is the best bet, otherwise adjacent communities, esp. Solon, West Branch; even many GOP types are friendly, and more civil in political discussion than I knew in CA and MO.

[Blue Gardener]

14. I agree

Iowa City/Coralville area is very blue.

[blueloo]

4. great question

Hey, interesting question. As an 18 year old in 2003 I became heavily involved with the Kerry campaign and basically saw some mad organizing take place and was often aware of what was going on at the grassroots level. The Iowa Democratic Party seems to have their stuff together and are really, really doing well. For some reason it seems that living two counties away from an Iowa urban area would allow for excellent political opportunities for a teacher involved in the community. I am also under the impression that becoming a player in Iowa politics requires having a respectable status in a community (which can be virtually anything except ex-con), some kind of charisma (real or imagined), and will power.

[pstans]

9. Welcome to DU

Way to get involved at such a young age in politics. I volunteered for the Kerry campaign in my town and was the youngest person (and I was 24 at the time) there and the only person that used the internet to be active.

[rurallib]

5. Eastern Iowa pretty blue

Linn, Johnson, Scott, Muscatine, Blackhawk, Dubuque pretty blue. If he likes a challenge he could shoot for northwest Iowa and try to turn that area around.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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[IADEMO2004]

10. Fremont county is looking for a county chair

[pstans]

7. Anywhere but the Western part

Eastern and Central Iowa and pretty mixed with Rethugs and Dems. There are some nice cities in this area (Des Moines, Ames, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Quad Cities, Waterloo/Cedar Falls) and many very good smaller towns (Grinnell, Washington, Nevada, and others). Basically, as long as he stays away from the Western part of the state, he is safe. From there is depends on what size of town he wants to live, his job status, etc.

[suegeo]

12. NW Iowa is full of fascists

NW Iowa is full of fascists and fake Christians. NW Iowa is scary.

From what I've read, there are a few counties in SouthWest Iowa which have lots of poverty, a dim future. A good place to be FROM.
ON EDIT: Altho in southwest Iowa, a commute/weekend trips to Omaha, NE are do-able. But Omaha is very uptight and conservative, and I don't mean the good kind of conservative.

I lived in Des Moines. The people were ok, but the scene there was kind of boring. Ames isn't too far from Des Moines, and it has a university there. So you could get the diversity of the college, and drive into Des Moines for shows or whatever.

Iowa City would be a great place to live. I went to school in Iowa City. I would not hesitate to go back there because of the things that a University gives you. Good hospital. Good entertainment. And so on.

[DU9598]

13. Iowa City is probably tops

It is just a great Big Ten city that is growing and gets federal and state money for the university. I currently live in Des Moines and there is a lot to do and it has a big city feel to it. NW Iowa is quite conservative, but that does not include Sioux City. Sioux City itself is quite progressive and growing - it has good Democratic representation in the statehouse. Yeah, Rants is there, but he represents the southern suburb and rural areas outside the city. Sioux City has a great music scene with a new arena and probably the most beautiful theater - the Orpheum - in the midwest <http://www.orpheumlive.com/orpheum/index.php>. Sioux City has a lot of diversity - Hispanic and SE Asian predominantly - which makes it a fun place to be. Overall, not a bad choice to move to Iowa.

[kariatari]

15. Blackhawk or Johnson County would be easiest, although...

...being from NW Iowa, I would certainly LOVE to see your brother get involved with the six active Democrats here. :P Woodbury county actually wouldn't be quite so bad.

[yellowdog]

16. Pretty much any where East of Cedar Rapids.

I live in Dubuque County and it is extremely blue. Pretty much any where up and down the Mississippi River is Democratic country. Western Iowa is a whole other animal.

[Inspired]

17. I don't agree!

I don't think IA or NH are the only states that have a say. However, I live in Des Moines and I LOVE it here. Polk County is blue, blue, blue. Plus we are the state capital and there's a lot of action here.

[pstans]

18. Central Iowa is blue too, it isn't just eastern Iowa

I went to school in Iowa City and know that area well. I grew up in Central Iowa and moved back just over a year ago. Since then I have been making trips to Ames to hang out, shop, etc. I was surprised at how Liberal Ames is.

My wife and I had a discussion about the political differences between the two. Here is what I came up with (I hope to not offend anyone)...

Iowa City is liberal in the hippees are cool, piericing and tattoo, lets meditate kind of way.

Ames is liberal in the back to nature, there is just 1 earth, lets be practical kind of way.

[yorkiemommie1]

19. what about Pella?

it's where my husb. was born. His mother had solid Dem values but they didn't transfer to him.

and Clarinda?

[pstans]

20. Pella is a nice town to visit

It's Dutch backgroung though makes it fit more into Lakoff's Authoritarian Father model instead of the Nurturant Parents model.

The town does have a nice feeling of community, but you still get the frugal, hard-nosed attitude from the town.