While much of rural Iowa keeps getting emptier, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas keep getting fuller. Utah, which squeaked ahead of Iowa in the 2018 census estimates<\/a>, is continuing a rapid trajectory upward. It was the fastest-growing state of the decade.<\/a>\u00a0The 2019 estimate for Nevada is higher than Iowa’s 2010 population, and with one pro-sports franchise activated<\/a> and another one on the way<\/a>, the only competition Iowa can provide is … gambling on those sporting events<\/a> (with a pittance for a taxpayer take).<\/p>\n Iowa’s population only rose by about 109,000 in the decade \u2014 or slightly more people than North Carolina added<\/a> in fiscal 2019 alone<\/em>.<\/p>\n The caucus and football seasons inadvertently provide three examples of population bleed:<\/p>\n Since 1970, Iowa has lost three seats in Congress (1973, 1993, 2013) and California has gained 15. It may be easier to be a representative “from” Iowa than to be a representative from Iowa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The depopulation of rural Iowa is now a problem for the National Guard. In the adjutant general’s “Condition of the Guard” message to the Iowa Legislature earlier this month, he said:\u00a0\u201cI can\u2019t continue to have quality infrastructure where I\u2019m pouring … Continue reading ![\"ia_nv_ut_popest19\"](\"http:\/\/iowahighwayends.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ia_nv_ut_popest19.jpg\")
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