Ottumwa, Iowa
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Ottumwa (pronounced "Uh-tuhm-wa") is a city in Wapello County, Iowa. The population was 24,998 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Wapello County[Geographic references#6GR6].
It is located in the southeastern part of Iowa, and the city is split into northern and southern halves by the Des Moines River.
Ottumwa is the birthplace of Tom Arnold, the home of notorious rare book thief Stephen Blumberg, and of the fictional character Radar O'Reilly from the television program M*A*S*H. Tom Arnold and Roseanne Barr briefly owned a home together in Ottumwa before their divorce in 1994; they also owned a restaurant, the Big Food Diner, in nearby Eldon, Iowa, from 1993 through 1995. Also, future US President Richard Nixon was stationed here from October 1942 to May 1943 at the Ottumwa Naval Reserve Aviation Base where he served as Aide to the Executive Officer.
Ottumwa in the news
It has been reported in several nation-wide news outlets, most notably by radio commentator Paul Harvey, that Ottumwa, Ia. has the highest unsolved murder rate (per capita) in the free world.#redirect [[Template:Fact]]Railroads
Burlington Northern Santa Fe
The BNSF Railway has tracks through Ottumwa. This is a major segment in the Chicago-Omaha line that is double track. The tracks travel under U.S. Highway 34, pass through the business district, under the U.S. Highway 63 bridge, cross over the Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad tracks, exit Ottumwa, and later cross over the Des Moines River on their way to Albia, Iowa, and later Omaha, Nebraska.Amtrak's California Zephyr, running between Chicago, Illinois, and Emeryville, California, makes a station stop in Ottumwa two times a day. As of the Spring/Summer 2005 Amtrak timetable, the eastbound Zephyr stops in Ottumwa at 9:39 AM, and the westbound Zephyr stops in Ottumwa at 6:43 PM.
The Norfolk Southern Railway has trackage rights over the BNSF through Ottumwa.
Geography
Ottumwa is located at (41.012917, -92.414817)[Geographic references#1GR1].According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 42.7 km² (16.5 mi²). 40.9 km² (15.8 mi²) of it is land and 1.7 km² (0.7 mi²) of it (4.07%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 24,998 people, 10,383 households, and 6,530 families residing in the city. The population density was 610.9/km² (1,582.2/mi²). There were 11,038 housing units at an average density of 269.7/km² (698.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.33% White, 1.27% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.38% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.76% of the population.There were 10,383 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.9% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,174, and the median income for a family was $37,302. Males had a median income of $31,222 versus $20,934 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,040. About 10.9% of families and 15.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.3% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.
Media
Radio stations
AM
- KBIZ-AM 1240, Talk Radio
- KLEE-AM 1480, Country, Talk Radio
FM
- KOTM-FM 97.7, Rock, Pop
- KRKN-FM 104.3, Country
- KTWA-FM 92.7, Soft Rock, Easy Listening
- KKSI-FM 101.5, Classic Rock
- KUNZ-FM 91.1, Public radio (under construction)
Television stations
- KTVO 3 Local ABC affiliate
- KYOU-TV 15 Local FOX affiliate (also on translator channel 25, K25DE)
- K33AA 18 Translator of KIIN Iowa City, a PBS and IPTV affiliate
- K23CI 23 Translator of KCCI Des Moines, a CBS affiliate
- K27CV 27 Translator of WHO-TV Des Moines, an NBC affiliate
- K42AM 42 Low power TBN affiliate
- Ottumwa Courier, the primary daily newspaper website is [www.ottumwa.com]
- Ottumwa Sun, a semi-regular online newspaper(No longer active)
Higher education
Ottumwa is the home of Indian Hills Community College, a two year community college. Between 1928 and 1980, it was also home to Ottumwa Heights College, a women's college that merged with Indian Hills in 1979 to create one institution. Indian Hills is located at the former Ottumwa Heights campus.Video Game Capital of the World
The City of Ottumwa, Iowa was officially proclaimed the "Video Game Capital of the World" by a Mayoral decree issued on November 30, 1982 by Ottumwa Mayor Jerry Parker.
To confirm this claim, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad visited Ottumwa on March 19, 1983 to join Atari Games, Inc. and the Amusement Games Manufacturer Association (AGMA) as they unanimously declared Ottumwa the "Video Game Capital of the World."
As further evidence of this unique status, Ottumwa hosted history's first video game world championship, which was filmed by ABC-TV's "That's Incredible" on the weekend of January 8-9, 1983 and aired the night of February 21, 1983.
Playing a central role in video game history, Ottumwa was the birth site of the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard and the U.S. National Video Game Team, two organizations that still exist today.
- EXTERNAL NEWS RESOURCES:
- [Radar's Hometown is Video Capital - Syracuse Herald Journal, Syracuse, NY, March 27, 1983]
- [What is the Video Game Capital of the World? - Cashbox Magazine, April 2, 1983]
- [Make Your Move in Iowa, Pardner - Miami Herald, Miami, FL, April 9, 1983]
- [Ottumwa, Iowa Named 'Video Game Capital' - Cashbox Magazine, April 16, 1983]
- [World Fame Comes to Ottumwa - AdWeek Magazine, April 18, 1983]
- [Ottumwa Hailed Video Capital - Games People Magazine, May 14, 1983]
- [Video Game Capital of the World - Electronic Fun Magazine, New York, NY, June 1, 1983]
- [Zap! You're in Ottumwa - Changing Times Magazine, New York, NY, July 1, 1983]
- [Video Game Capital Lies Amid Iowa Cornfields - St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 9, 1983]
- [Iowa City has become a video-game mecca - San Jose Mercury, San Jose, CA, October 9, 1983]
- [Video's THE Game in Ottumwa, Iowa - Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, Elyria, OH, October 23, 1983]
- [King of Kong Teen Videogame Wizard Vies for Electronic Honors - Miami Herald, Miami, FL, January 13, 1984]
External links
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