Who's Who of Iowa

Notable Families, Companies & People of Western Iowa

The families, companies, and famous figures of western Iowa, from Blue Bunny and Gateway to Johnny Carson, Donna Reed, and Glenn Miller.

The Wells Family (Blue Bunny)The Le Mars family whose dairy made their town the “Ice Cream Capital of the World.”Read profile →Glenn MillerThe Clarinda-born bandleader whose “In the Mood” and “Moonlight Serenade” defined the Swing Era.Read profile →Donna ReedThe Denison-area farm girl who won an Oscar and became TV's model mom on The Donna Reed Show.Read profile →Ann Landers & Abigail Van BurenThe identical twins from Sioux City who, as Ann Landers and “Dear Abby,” became America's most-read advice columnists.Read profile →Johnny CarsonThe Corning-born “King of Late Night” who hosted The Tonight Show for thirty years.Read profile →Gateway (Ted Waitt)The mail-order computer giant with the cow-spotted boxes: started in a farmhouse near Sioux City.Read profile →Andy WilliamsThe Wall Lake–born crooner whose “Moon River” and long-running variety show made him a household name.Read profile →Lee de ForestThe Council Bluffs–born inventor whose vacuum tube made radio, television, and the electronic age possible.Read profile →Grenville M. DodgeThe Council Bluffs general and engineer who built the Union Pacific across the West.Read profile →Amelia BloomerThe women's-rights editor, namesake of “bloomers”, who spent her influential later decades in Council Bluffs.Read profile →Merle HayThe young soldier from Glidden, Iowa, among the first three Americans to fall in combat in World War I.Read profile →Harold HughesThe Ida Grove truck driver who overcame alcoholism to become a beloved Iowa governor and U.S. senator.Read profile →Nick NurseThe Carroll-born coach who won an NBA championship and was named Coach of the Year.Read profile →
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