As Iowa entered the 1960s, it faced issues that reflected the transition from an agricultural, rural state to one that had become majority urban with consequent tensions between its urban and rural communities—tensions that continue to this day. At the same time, Iowa’s food-based economy seemed increasingly out of sync with a national economy driven proportionately less by the consumption of food and more by growing consumer demand for homes, cars, televisions, hi-fis, and clothes—items that the Iowa food-based economy did not produce to a significant degree. The talk will focus on these changing conditions as well as the key policy responses and debates that would characterize Iowa politics and public policy into the 1960s. The talk represents the first part of the speaker’s current book project—Iowa in the 1960s: Politics, Public Policy, and Governance in an Era of Change. 

Charles Connerly is Professor Emeritus, School of Planning and Public Affairs
Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities

~ Sponsored by the Emeritus Faculty Council and the Office of the Provost ~