Iowa & Its Neighbors
Read at: This Tournament Goes to Eleven VIII: Spinal Tap Takes Manhattan Written by: Ray Anderson of the University of California at Irvine Final editing by: Andrew R. Juhl and the University of Iowa Academic Quiz Team Description: All answers in this packet relate to people, places, things, etc. in Iowa or one of its neighboring states. Please note that the term “Midwestern” in this packet refers to Iowa or one of its neighbors. The author is fully aware that the Midwest is a larger region than this; however, it is easier to write “Midwest” than “Iowa and its neighbors.”
Tossups
1. This symphony’s first, third, and fourth movements are, respectively, Adagio-Allegro Molto, Scherzo Molto Vivace, and Allegro con fuoco, while its second movement was used by William Arms Fisher as the melody for the song “Goin’ Home”. This symphony in E-minor was composed shortly before its composer’s visit to the Czech speaking community of Spillville, Iowa. FTP, name this most popular work of Antonín Dvořák. ANS: New World Symphony OR From the New World OR Symphony #9 in E-minor
2. The USS Minneapolis-St. Paul, USS Chicago, and USS Springfield are members of this class of submarines that first entered service in 1976. While the older versions of this class are being phased out in favor of newer Virginia class submarines, this class of submarine still forms the backbone of the US attack fleet. Older versions are capable of launching Navy SEAL teams while newer 688i versions feature vertical tubes that can launch Tomahawk missiles. FTP, name this class of submarines that is named after the second largest city in the US. ANS: Los Angeles class (accept 688 class or series before mention)
3. Currently owned by the Department of Energy and operated by the University Research Association, this facility was founded in 1967 as the National Accelerator Laboratory. Its uniquely shaped high rise administration building is named after its first director, Robert Rathbun Wilson, and a small herd of bison grazes on its extensive grounds. However, it is much more famous for the high-energy particle physics research that results from the largest particle accelerator in the world, the Tetravon. FTP, name this Batavia, Illinois lab that is named after an Italian-American physicist. ANS: Fermilab OR Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
4. Like Nauvoo, Illinois, this settlement originated as an isolated refuge for settlers fleeing persecution in New York. Unlike Nauvoo, the settlers were German Pietists who called themselves the “Community of True Inspiration”. This settlement practiced a communal lifestyle until social and economic pressures lead to disbandment of the formal communal
1 structure in 1932. FTP, name this settlement consisting of seven villages or “colonies” located near Iowa City that shares its name with an appliance brand. ANS: Amana Colonies
5. Originally proposed by a Vermont congressman in 1857, this act was vetoed in 1859 by President Buchanan. After the Confederate States succeeded this act was resubmitted and signed into law in 1862. A second act of this name was passed in 1890 to include the southern states and resulted in the creation of two tiered institutions for African-Americans and Caucasians in the South. The 1862 act gave states 30,000 acres of land for every congressman in order “to provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the Mechanic arts”. FTP, name this act which resulted in the creation of public land grant colleges. ANS: Morrill Land Grant Colleges Act
6. This governor and U.S. senator introduced the first workers’ compensation system. He championed a plan named for his home state in which the flagship university would work to solve the problems facing the state and its citizens. As a politician, he also championed many progressive ideas, including railroad reform, direct election of senators, women’s suffrage, and progressive taxation. Although a Republican, he ran for president in 1924 on his own progressive party ticket, capturing his home state’s electoral votes and 17% of the national popular vote. FTP, name this Wisconsin politician who served as governor and senator for the first quarter of the 20th century. ANS: Robert Marion La Follette, Sr.
7. This 1913 novel is first in the author’s “Prairie Trilogy”, and its title was inspired by a Walt Whitman poem. Romantic relationships in the novel include Emil’s relationship with Marie Shabata and Alexandra’s relationship with Carl Lindstrom. Alexandra diligently works to maintain her family’s farm on the hardscrabble Nebraska prairie at the turn of the 20th century at a time when other farmers give up on the land. FTP, name this Willa Cather novel about the Bergson family. ANS: O Pioneers!
8. Founded in 1896 as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives, this organization had seven founding members. The University of Chicago’s founding role can still be seen in its participation on Committee on Institutional Cooperation, which absorbed this organization’s academic mission after World War II. While this conference’s name might be seen as a misnomer, its current logo includes the number 11 incorporated into its lettering as a reference to the 11 universities that are a part of this conference. Notre Dame was invited to join this conference in 1999 but declined. FTP, name this athletic conference that includes flagship universities of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. ANS: Big Ten Conference
9. This rock is a high-silica ore that contains 15-20% magnetite. The magnetite in this rock is concentrated into a higher grade ore through a process that uses magnets to separate the pulverized ore and mixes the magnetite with bentonite to form pellets that enable transport of higher grade ore from the Mesabi Range where this ore is mined. FTP, name this low grade iron ore that is the primary rock mined for iron production in the U.S.
2 ANS: Taconite
10. Part one of this book contains twelve essays, one for every month of the year that are focused on the environment of the author’s retreat. Part two, “Sketches Here and There”, contains chapters on various states and provinces in North America. Each chapter focuses on the ecology of the particular locale and how anthropogenic changes are destroying key aspects of the land. This 1949 work does not take its name from an actual county but is instead a reference to the sandy farmland that has been abandoned and taken over by the author. FTP, name this Aldo Leopold work on the land ethic. ANS: A Sand County Almanac
11. This town in Shannon County, South Dakota, is one of the poorest in the U.S. The bank of a creek with the same name is a purported burial site of Crazy Horse. For 71 days in 1973, this town was under control of the American Indian Movement. In 1890, the Lakota Chief Big Foot was killed in a confrontation with the U.S. 7th Calvary in an infamous massacre of the same name. FTP, name this site of the last major battle between the U.S. and Native Americans. ANS: Wounded Knee
12. Electricity was first generated by this method in 1951 at the EBR-I station in Idaho. In 1954, the chairman of the committee that oversaw this technology in the U.S. famously declared that, by the year 2000, electricity would be “too cheap to meter”. The U.S. currently produces about 20% of its electricity from it, while France and Japan each produce over 80% of their electricity from it. Illinois currently leads the U.S. in power generation with it. FTP, name this type of power station, infamous examples of which include Three-Mile Island and Chernobyl. ANS: Nuclear Power (accept Nuclear Fission)
13. This author emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 20. After some time working as a farmer, he enrolled at Augustana College and then at St. Olaf College where he graduated and joined the faculty of the college. While all of his novels concerned immigration, this author’s early works, including Letters from America and Boat of Longing were semi-autobiographical. His most famous work was published in 1925 and tells the story of Per and Beret Hansa and the struggles of their Norwegian immigrant family as they establish a new farm and life in South Dakota. FTP, name this author of Giants in the Earth. ANS: Ole Edvart Rølvaag
14. Most of this 1970 film was shot at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport as a stand-in for a fictitious Chicago airport. This film was considered one of the original works in the disaster film genre and provided many conventions for later films, including Die Hard 2: Die Harder. This movie plot revolves around an airport wracked by a snowstorm; at the same time, Guerrero sets of a bomb aboard a Boeing 707 forcing it into a desperate crash landing on a snow- covered runway. FTP, name this movie staring Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin. ANS: Airport!
15. This man was born in Rutland, Vermont in 1804. As a young man, he apprenticed as a blacksmith, and, when facing bankruptcy, relocated his family to Grand Detour, Illinois. He soon established a thriving blacksmith shop and began to work on the alternatives to the inferior
3 cast-iron plows that farmers were trying to use to till prairie sod. In 1837, he developed the steel moldboard plow which made tillage much easier. In the mid-1800s he relocated his then thriving company to Moline, Illinois, where it is still headquartered today. FTP, name this founder of the one of the world’s largest agricultural and construction equipment firms, a company that still bears his name on its familiar yellow and green equipment. ANS: John Deere
16. This law was repealed for the lower 48 states in 1976 and for Alaska in 1986. This act was often used to fraudulently secure water rights in the West, as companies used ranchers and other individuals as proxies to file individual land claims. Daniel Freedman, a Nebraska farmer, was the first person to successfully claim land under this 1862 act, and his farm is currently preserved as a monument to this act. FTP, name this act that allowed any free man to claim 160 acres of free land if he lived on it for at least five years. ANS: Homestead Act of 1862
17. In a famous English case, this corporation sued Helen Steel and Dave Morris for libel in a trial that was the longest civil trial in English history. This company has over 30,000 outlets 118 countries, and the majority of outlets outside the U.S. are directly owned by the corporation. Greenpeace has accused it of contributing to Amazonian deforestation through its purchase of Brazilian soybeans; other critical commentaries against this company include Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation and Morgan Spurlock’s Supersize Me. FTP, name this Oak Brook, Illinois corporation whose fast-food outlets are often referred to as “the Golden Arches” due to the stylized, yellow “m” that serves as its corporate logo. ANS: Mc Donald’s Corporation
18. He was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin, in 1867. His transcendentalist and Unitarian upbringing heavily influenced his early designs, especially for the Unity Temple. His early architecture also focused on low, shallow roofs and clean lines for the houses that he designed. Many of these houses, including the Barton and Martin houses in Buffalo and the Robie and Coonley houses in Chicago, characterize his “Prairie House” style. He designed one service station in Cloquet, Minnesota, and one skyscraper, the Price Tower, in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. FTP, name this famous American architect most famous for the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, and his own Wisconsin home, Taliesin. ANS: Frank Lloyd Wright
19. This city in Taney [Taw-nee] County was originally a center for lumber shipping. In 1898, Harold Bell Wright visited this place and used it as the setting for The Shepard of the Hills which increased its touristy appeal. It saw an economic boom beginning in the 1980s when country stars such as Mel Tillis and Roy Clark arrived. Dennis Miller once described this place as “Las Vegas for people without teeth”, and Bart Simpson called it “Las Vegas . . . if it were run by Ned Flanders”. Besides mainstream country singers, other acts here include the comedian Yakov Smirnoff and the Osmond Brothers. FTP, name this family oriented entertainment town of 6,000 people located in the Missouri Ozarks. ANS: Branson, Missouri
4 20. This law’s civil rights provisions foreshadowed the Bill of Rights, and it formed the basis for the free state legal philosophies of Salmon P. Chase and Abraham Lincoln. Its slavery provision effectively made the Ohio River the border between free and slave states east of the Appalachians, while its state cessation provision prohibited existing states from claiming new territory in the region affected by this law. It formed the legal basis for territorial governments and was intended to lead to the creation of new states. FTP, name this 1787 ordinance that organized the territory ceded by Great Britain between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River. ANS: Northwest Ordinance OR Freedom Ordinance OR An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio
21. First developed in 1959 by E.F. Lundquist and Ted McCarrel, education professors at the University of Iowa, this exam is currently administered by a non-profit organization of the same name. Any composite score of 30 or more is in the 99th percentile, while the 50th percentile score is around 20. Traditionally, this test has found greater acceptance among students in the Midwest and South, while West Coast and East Coast students have preferred its rival, the SAT. FTP, name this college admissions test that is taken by over one million high school students annually. ANS: American College Test or ACT
22. This store began in 1961 when its founder sold fly fishing supplies by mail order catalog out of his Nebraska, home. Currently, this store has over 20 outlets nationwide, most of which opened in the last 10 years. This hunting and fishing store chain operates most of its stores as “destination stores”, large, display-filled stores located along interstates in rural or exurban areas. FTP, name this chain that has brought an economic boom its hometown of Sidney, Nebraska. ANS: Cabela’s
5 Bonuses - Iowa & Its Neighbors
1. 5 for one, 10 for two, 20 for three, and 30 for all four, given the name of a state, name its state: Iowa ANS: The Song of Iowa Missouri ANS: Missouri Waltz South Dakota ANS: Hail! South Dakota! Wisconsin ANS: On Wisconsin
2. It was the largest, and last, class of battleships ever built by the U.S. FTPE, a. Name this class of battleships that shares its name with a Midwestern state. ANS: Iowa-class b. Japan’s unconditional surrender at the end of World War II was signed aboard the deck of this Iowa-class battleship. ANS: USS Missouri (accept BB-63) c. This is the only Iowa-class battleship that is NOT named after a Midwestern state. ANS: USS New Jersey (accept BB-64)
3. Answer these questions about neutrino detectors and mines F15PE or FFPE if you need an easier clue. (For 15) – this mine is the site of the MINOS neutrino detector. (For 5) – this is an abandoned, underground iron ore mine in Northeastern Minnesota. ANS: Soudan Mine (For 15) – this mine is the site of the Davis experiment, which produced the seminal observations of neutrinos to explain the solar neutrino problem. (For 5) – this South Dakota mine was, at one time, the richest and deepest gold mine in the Western Hemisphere. ANS: Homestake Mine
4. Answer the following questions concerning current religious groups in the Midwestern U.S. FTPE: a. This fundamentalist church headed by fugitive Warren Jeffs recently built a compound outside of Pringle, South Dakota. ANS: Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints OR FLDS b. This movement founded the Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa and the planned community of Vedic City north of Fairfield. ANS: Transcendental Meditation or TM Movement c. Local Midwestern groups, or Kindreds, associated with this Germanic and Norse neo- paganism movement include Volkshof Kindred Hearth in Minneapolis and Heilag Skjold Hearth in Colfax, Illinois. ANS: Ásatrú
6 5. Answer these questions about Midwestern university celebrations and riots FTPE. a. This university’s VEISHEA celebration was cancelled in 2005 after riots the previous year. ANS: Iowa State University b. At the peak of the 2005 version, nearly 100,000 revelers packed State Street for the Halloween party near this university. ANS: University of Wisconsin – Madison OR UW-Madison c. This university saw riots after its Men’s Hockey team won the national championship in 2002 and 2003. ANS: University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
6. Name these things related to third parties in Midwestern states FTPE a. This Minnesota party was formed in 1992 and was associated with the National Reform Party until 2000. Its most notable success came with the election of Jesse Ventura as governor in 1998. ANS: Minnesota Independence Party OR MNIP OR IPM b. This center-left party was active in over 80 countries until it was shut down in 2004. In the U.S., Iowa physicist John Hagelin was its presidential candidate in the 1992, 1996, and 2000 elections. ANS: Natural Law Party c. This Midwestern State with strong libertarian tendencies was 8th on the list of the Free State Project, an initiative designed to convince 20,000 libertarians to move to a small state that was friendly to their ideals. ANS: South Dakota
7. Name these fictional places in Midwestern literature FTPE. a. This town is heavily featured in the work of Garrison Keillor. ANS: Lake Wobegon b. This is the fictional town in Sinclair Lewis’ Main Street ANS: Gopher Prairie, MN c. This Iowa locale is the setting of The Music Man ANS: River City
8. Name these NFL kickers FTPE, a. He was the kicker for the Green Bay Packers from 1997-2005. In 2006, he was signed by the Minnesota Vikings. ANS: Ryan Walker Longwell b. He was the kicker for the Chicago Bears from 2000-2004. In 2005, he kicked for Minnesota for one season. ANS: Paul Edinger c. This South Dakota State alum was the kicker for the New England Patriots from 1996- 2005. Currently regarded as one of the best clutch kickers in the league, he is currently signed with Indianapolis. ANS: Adam Matthew Vinatieri
7 9. Given the state mineral, name the state FFPE and a bonus five for all correct. a. Rose Quartz ANS: South Dakota b. Fluorite ANS: Illinois c. Galena ANS: Missouri OR Wisconsin (accept either) d. Blue Agate ANS: Nebraska e. Iron Ore (proposed) ANS: Minnesota
10. Given clues about a work of literature, name the work FTPE a. This 1992 book by Robert James Waller tells the story of a woman who has an affair with a National Geographic photographer who visits the titular Midwestern locale. ANS: The Bridges of Madison County b. This Carl Sandburg work describes the titular city as “Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat”. ANS: “Chicago” c. This Laura Ingalls Wilder novel tells the family story as they build their dugout home near the titular stream in Southwestern Minnesota. ANS: On the Banks of Plum Creek
11. Answer the following about comedians from the Midwest who died (relatively) young. a. This Wisconsin native and Saturday Night Live veteran died of a drug overdose in Chicago in 1997. ANS: Christopher Crosby (Chris) Farley b. One of Farley’s comedian heroes, this Chicago-born comedian also died of a drug overdose in 1982 at the same age as Farley. ANS: John Adam Belushi c. This comedian originally from St. Paul gained national attention with his stand up specials on Comedy Central. He died of a drug overdose in March 2005. ANS: Mitch Hedburg
12. Name these alternative energy sources that are produced in the Midwest FTPE. a. “Flex-Fuel” vehicles can burn fuel containing up to 85% of this substance by volume. ANS: ethanol OR C2H5OH b. The Buffalo Ridge region of Minnesota and South Dakota is a major production region for this type of power. ANS: wind electricity OR power c. One form of biomass power is capturing and burning this simplest alkane as it is emitted from landfills or anaerobic manure digesters. ANS: methane OR CH4
8 13. Answer these questions about F. Scott Fitzgerald novels FTPE. a. This last Fitzgerald novel was unfinished at the time of his 1940 death. It is based on the life of Irving Thalberg. ANS: The Last Tycoon b. This 1920 novel, Fitzgerald’s first, focuses on the disillusionment of the protagonist, Amory Blaine. ANS: This Side of Paradise c. This 1925 novel, Fitzgerald’s most famous, has been described as “the epitome of American Jazz Age literature”. ANS: The Great Gatsby
14. Answer these questions about movies set in the Midwest FTPE. a. Only one early scene of this 1996 Coen brothers’ film is set in the titular place. Most of the action occurs in either the Twin Cities or Northern Minnesota. ANS: Fargo b. This 1990 film about a U.S. Calvary officer was produced, directed by, and starred Kevin Costner. ANS: Dances With Wolves c. This 1992 film focused on two metal heads and their local cable access program in Aurora, Illinois. ANS: Wayne’s World
15. Name these agricultural scientists from clues FTPE. a. He originally worked as a plant geneticist and founded the company that would become Pioneer Hi-Bred. He is more famous for being a Vice-President under FDR and for his progressive politics. ANS: Henry Agard Wallace b. He was a student and later faculty at Iowa State before moving onto the Tuskegee Institute. He is well known for his work on peanuts and peanut products. ANS: George Washington Carver c. He won the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts towards the Green Revolution, which lead to a tremendous increase in agricultural productivity in less developed countries. ANS: Norman Ernest Borlaug
16. Name these things related to 19th century Midwestern populism FTPE. a. William Jennings Bryan delivered this 1896 speech advocating bi-metallism at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. ANS: “Cross of Gold” b. This Iowan won 9% of the popular vote and 22 electoral votes as the Populist candidate in the 1892 Presidential election. ANS: James Baird Weaver c. The Populist Party was formed partly due to the efforts of the Farmer’s Alliance and this pioneering labor organization founded by Uriah S. Stephens. ANS: Knights of Labor
9 17. Name these Midwestern roadside attractions FTPE. a. Head to Darwin, Minnesota to see this large, round object that is discussed in a Weird Al Yankovic song. ANS: The Biggest Ball of Sisal Twine in Minnesota (accept close variants as long as they mention twine) b. Besides Taliesin, one can visit this other peculiar house in Spring Green, Wisconsin. ANS: House on the Rock c. Billboards and other signs around the world promote this sprawling gift shop on Interstate 90 in Western South Dakota. ANS: Wall Drug
18. Name this person after one clue for 30 points, two for 20, and three for 10 30. He was one of the members of “The Singing Senators”, a barbershop quartet. 20. In 2002, he famously sung “Let the Eagle Soar” at a seminary in North Carolina 10. This former U.S. Attorney General and Senator is from Missouri ANS: John David Ashcroft
19. Its time for another roadside attractions bonus. Answer the following FTPE. a. This steel structure is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. ANS: Gateway Arch b. Travel to Dubuque County, Iowa, to see this site that was built for a 1989 Kevin Costner movie of the same name. ANS: The Field of Dreams c. While in Alliance, Nebraska, you can see this attraction featured in a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder commercial. Its name is reminiscent of a Neolithic English structure. ANS: Carhenge
20. Given their home state, title of their autobiography, and the year of publication, name the Midwestern politician FTPE. a. Minnesota - The Education of a Public Man: My Life and Politics - 1976 ANS: Hubert Horatio Humphrey II b. Illinois - Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance - 1995 ANS: Barack Hussein Obama Jr. c. Missouri - Don’t Let the Fire Go Out! – 2004 ANS: Jean Carnahan
21. Name these conflicts between the U.S. and Amerindian peoples FTPE. a. Major battles in this 1832 conflict between a band of Fox and Sauk and the U.S. and Illinois militia include Stillman’s Run and Bad Axe. ANS: Blackhawk’s War b. This 1827 Wisconsin conflict began after a war chief name Red Bird killed two white men near Prairie du Chien. ANS: Winnebago War c. This 1862 conflict in Southern Minnesota saw over 800 white settlers killed and 26 members of the namesake tribe hung in a mass execution. ANS: U.S-Dakota Conflict (accept Dakota Uprising OR Sioux Uprising)
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