Iowans take considerable pleasure in enumerating the various ways our state stands apart from the other 49 states --- beyond our endangered first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses.
For many years, we pointed with pride to the fact that Iowa’s high school graduation rate was tops in the United States.
We like to remind friends from other states that Iowa farmers produce more corn, hogs and eggs than farmers anywhere else.
Sports fans beamed over the University of Iowa wrestling team’s success from 1978 to 1986, when the Hawkeyes won the NCAA title a record nine consecutive times. That is a longer string of NCAA team championships than any other Division 1 university in any other sport.
But there’s another category where Iowa stands atop the 50 states, and this one should embarrass us instead of filling us with pride.