Iowa town now has majority Latino population

[cyberswede]

I think diversity adds a lot to the richness of culture in small towns.

UI researcher says Iowa's first minority majority town is sign of state's growing diversity

For the first time in decades Iowa has a minority majority town and a University of Iowa researcher said it's a sign of how quickly the state's cultural face is changing.

According to 2010 U.S. census data, the Muscatine County town of West Liberty has a Latino population of 52 percent. Of the town's 3,736 residents, 1,951 identified themselves as Latino.

Jeff Schott, director of the UI Institute of Public Affairs, said that makes it the first town in Iowa with a population majority made up of minorities, possibly the first since the heyday of the Black majority coal mining town of Buxton a century ago. He said that in 2000, West Liberty's Latino population was 42 percent.

"The overall population of racial minorities in Iowa increased moderately between 2000 and 2010, but the impact on individual cities is much more dramatic," said Schott, who analyzed census data for the Iowa League of Cities.

Read the rest: http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2011/may/051311censusminorites.html

[rurallib]

1. One thing for sure, West Liberty could be just another small town dying

in Iowa. Instead it is one of the fastest growing and most interesting spots around.

[3waygeek]

2. Isn't there a large poultry plant in West Liberty?

ISTR Louis Rich was there back in the 70s -- Dad occasionally stopped in there to work on some of their packaging equipment, and he would sometimes bring back a box of turkey franks.

[cyberswede]

3. Yes

I believe it was purchased by a cooperative group of turkey farmers some years ago.

Here's the story:
http://www.wlfoods.com/history.aspx

They supply a lot of meat to Subway stores, I think.