Millennials, here’s the biggest Iowa news story from the year you were born.

by Dorothy Scott, Good Info News Wire
April 25, 2025

Millennials know best that there’s never a dull moment in Iowa. Check out these 16 huge news stories from the years this generation hit the scene.

Our fair state of Iowa is a fairly laid-back one, but that has never meant that big news stories don’t pop off here. In recent memory, huge developments have included several state-level Supreme Court justices being discarded simultaneously, women climbing the state’s ladder and landing in top-level positions, and even the state becoming the first in the nation to reach certain renewable-energy thresholds, like 30% of the state’s energy being generated by wind (via The Gazette). Of course, these are more recent headlines, which might make you wonder what was happening when you were little.

Everyone seems to define generations a little differently. For example, some argue that the baby boomer generation began in 1945, while others suggest it didn’t start until 1946. And then there’s the so-called “sandwich generation” that’s struggling to save for retirement while caring for kids and aging parents alike. In any case, we’re here to hone in on millennials and the biggest news story from our state that happened the year they were born, and we’re going with the range of 1981 to 1996 to keep things sweet, simple, and classy. So, without further ado, let’s take a walk down the Hawkeye State’s memory lane.

1981: A prison uprising rocked the Iowa State Penitentiary

Sometimes, people do extreme things to enact change, and such was the case at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison on Sept. 2, 1981. A handful of inmates carried out a planned uprising that included taking 12 total hostages—four guards at first and then eight more—and the 11-hour ordeal sadly led to one inmate’s death. The solution? The inmates wanted to expose poor conditions inside the prison, and once they were able to speak out, changes slowly came. To learn more, read here.

1982: A young paperboy disappeared (and the mystery persists today)

West Des Moines is a safe area, but that sadly didn’t stop a 12-year-old paperboy from going missing on Sept. 5, 1982. Johnny Gosch was out delivering papers on a Sunday morning, but his bike was found abandoned, with a stack of newspapers nearby. To this day, the case has not been solved, and it led the entire town into a frenzy. The reporter who first sniffed out the story, Dave Busiek, recalled to the Iowa Capital Dispatch in 2022 that the case was a perfect storm of the police not responding quickly enough, the boy’s family rightfully falling apart, and the local media running wild with the story. Johnny’s mom, Noreen, reportedly said that she spoke to her son some 15 years later, but with him still being out of the picture, no one’s been able to confirm this. To learn more, read here.

1983: The University of Iowa Hawkeyes truly soared

Thankfully, not every major news story in Iowa’s history is a tragic one. Following a hard couple of years, the people of Iowa came together to celebrate in 1983, as the University of Iowa Hawkeyes had played a magnificent season—and one truly unlike any other in the school’s history. Game after game, the Hawkeyes stumped each opponent, leading to an immaculate 9-2 record. If that weren’t feel-good enough, the team remains close today, with its members and coaches frequently reuniting. To learn more, read here.

1984: President Ronald Reagan made Iowa one of his final (and most important) campaign stops

Presidential candidates usually spend the last week before the general election campaigning in battleground states that can help secure them the victory. This was no different in the 1984 election, which saw Midwestern natives Ronald Reagan (the sitting president from Illinois) and Walter Mondale (the former vice president from Minnesota) duking it out for a new term in the White House. Just three days before the election, on Saturday, Nov. 3, Reagan spoke to a large crowd in Winterset, where the president discussed financial issues of the time, including inflation (sound familiar?). Reagan ultimately had an overwhelming victory in the election and would have won whether Iowa voted for him or not—but his time in the state was huge in 1984 nonetheless. To learn more, read here.

1985: A plane crash claimed seven innocent lives in Des Moines

The fall season seems to be hard on Iowa, and it didn’t loosen its reins in 1985, either. On Nov. 25 that year, seven innocent lives were lost in a plane crash that rocked the entire state, not just the area where it happened in Des Moines. The plane was carrying cross-country athletes from Iowa State University’s women’s team, and with no survivors, the crash was heartbreaking not only for their loved ones but also for everyone at their school. The crash impacted the direct area, too, by knocking out electricity for swaths of homes, and the plane almost landed on a residential home, narrowly missing it. It was a nightmare scenario all around, and one that many people have tried to forget. To learn more, read here.

1986: The University of Iowa Hawkeyes wilted at the Rose Bowl

Perhaps it was the California sun beating down on the team for the first time, or maybe they underestimated their final opponent. In any case, the University of Iowa Hawkeyes fumbled the ball at the 1986 Rose Bowl, where the team faced off against the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins. UCLA’s team came to Pasadena raring to go and ultimately sent the Hawkeyes back to the Midwest with a 45-28 final score. This loss came after a couple of years of really strong sportsmanship from the team overall, and the crew took it like champs. To learn more, read here.

1987: Iowa’s two biggest basketball teams went neck to neck (and into overtime)

Known now as the “Lafester Rhodes game,” the bittersweet basketball battle between the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones on Dec. 19, 1987, was a long one, even going into overtime because neither team was budging. As we know from previous headlines, the Hawkeyes had been on a hot streak in the ‘80s, beating the team’s previous records with ease. However, it appears the crew met its match, with the Cyclones ultimately claiming victory on that fateful night with a final score of 102-100. The deciding shot? One from none other than player Lafester Rhodes, who scored a total of 54 points in the match (yes, that’s more than half of the Cyclones’ points). To learn more, read here.

1988: A disastrous drought arises during a presidential election cycle

The 1988 presidential battle between George H. W. Bush and Michael Dukakis was a tenuous one, but for many Iowans, it was the least of their concern. To put it mildly, Iowa has a large number of farms, and its economy relies on the state’s farmland to remain in good condition. Unfortunately, 1988 was incredibly hard on the earth, with a nasty drought keeping farmers statewide from producing anywhere near their usual bounty. In fact, it’s been estimated that only a third of the crops normally grown in the state were successful that year. To this day, 1988 is remembered as a challenging one, and rough years like 2012 have been likened back to it. To learn more, read here.

1989: A United Airlines plane crash claimed more than 100 lives

The deadliest plane crash in United Airlines’ history occurred on July 19, 1989, with 112 passengers confirmed dead once officials were able to fully uncover the bodies. The flight was headed from Denver to Chicago, but the pilot diverted to Sioux City when the plane began experiencing engine failure. With no ability to fly properly, the plane went down, but its location is one of the saddest details of the story. The pilot got the plane all the way to the Sioux Gateway Airport, but it was too late. The aircraft hit the ground hard and exploded, with pieces scattering throughout the area, including a nearby cornfield. Thankfully, over 100 people survived thanks to the pilot’s quick action, but many never made it to Denver that day. To learn more, read here.

1990: Tornadoes were worse this year than any other in millennials’ birth range

The year 1990 was an unfortunate one when it came to natural disasters and weather incidents in Iowa. Tornadoes ravaged the state that year, with more twisters touching down than any other year during the millennial generation. More specifically, a whopping 80 tornadoes tore through Iowa, leaving a devastating path of property damage that amounted to more than $130 million (via the Des Moines Register). Many of these tornadoes swirled onto the scene on Mar. 13 that year. The mass onslaught of twisters across the Midwest on this day remains mysterious—a perfect storm of circumstances that created something awful. To learn more, read here.

1991: A school shooting sends fear shooting across the University of Iowa

School shootings are—unfortunately—more common now than they once were, but in 1991, the University of Iowa experienced one that would haunt its campus for years to come. The incident unfolded in Van Halen Hall, and it left several people, ranging from students to faculty, dead. According to a student who was there when it happened, the shooting was carried out by a former student who’d recently received his doctorate but felt scorned from not also receiving an award he felt he deserved. He then took out his frustrations on those in the building, which housed the Physics Department. To learn more, read here.

1992: Iowa State University’s beloved Veishea Festival heads down a dark path

For nearly a century, Iowa State University was known for its week-long Veishea Festival, which took place in the spring of each academic year—that is, until it was announced to be permanently canceled in 2014. Now, you may be thinking, “Why are we talking about an event that happened in 2014?” Good question, and there’s an intriguing answer: In 1992, riots erupted at the Veishea Festival, and it created a domino effect of future riots and issues that ultimately led to the festival being canned some 22 years later. We’re not talking about a few bad apples, either. The 1992 festival saw over 8,000 rioters disrupt the event, and many were left injured or arrested. To learn more, read here.

1993: Five years after the drought, floods terrorize Iowa

The drought of 1988 devastated Iowa, and the floods of 1993 followed suit, plunging the state into terror just five years later. The inclement weather wasn’t limited to Iowa; rather, the Midwest as a whole received unprecedented levels of rain. But Iowa still got hit incredibly hard, with some parts seeing all rain and no sunshine for more than four straight months. This largely occurred in the summer, with July being the worst month. And there was no positive way to spin it: Property was damaged, crops were hindered from reaching their full potential, and lives were lost. Then, there was the Mississippi River overflowing like a cup under a faucet. It was bad news bears from start to finish. To learn more, read here.

1994: Garth Brooks returns to the Iowa State Fair after a steady rise to country-music prominence

Country-music legend Garth Brooks might be from Oklahoma, but he’s done his fair share of performances in Iowa. In fact, the “If Tomorrow Never Comes” singer took to the annual event’s stage in 1990 right around the time of his second album’s release. But by the time he performed in 1994, he’d released six albums, and his star had certainly risen. He was so beloved that a sculpture of the singer was made from butter for that year’s festivities. Interestingly, Brooks was a backup performer who was nabbed to fill a void after a previous performer had to back out, but it’s safe to say that Iowans were glad to have Brooks back in their home state now that he was a huge name, with the large crowds he drew serving as proof enough. To learn more, read here.

1995: A local news anchor vanishes like the paperboy over a decade before her

The 12-year-old paperboy who disappeared in 1982 will never be forgotten in Iowa, and neither will Jodi Huisentruit, a local news anchor who vanished on June 27, 1995. She was en route to KIMT, the Mason City news station where she worked, but never arrived for her shift. Huisentruit’s disappearance remains a cold case to this day, but police searched for her after very quickly realizing it was an abduction due to the anchor’s car and personal effects being found. To learn more, read here.

1996: A popcorn ball unlike any other goes boom in Sac City

Some years bring bona-fide horror stories, and others offer lighthearted escapes—and 1996’s giant popcorn ball explosion certainly falls under the latter category. You see, Sac City was home to the biggest popcorn ball in the world, and by big, we’re talking over 2,000 pounds. However, as all food does, the popcorn ball would eventually expire, and it needed to be handled before creating any issues. So, what else is there to do but arrange a big gathering, attach dynamite to it, and blow it to smithereens? Yes, this was quite the spectacle, with people wanting to see the popcorn ball explode with their own eyes. Thankfully, there’s still footage of the remnants today. To learn more, read here.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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