Cinco de Mayo and Latino History in Iowa

Iowa blogger Tom Gilsenan recently discussed why today, Cinco de Mayo, might be “a good time to celebrate the Latino influence in our state.”

Glisenan wrote that the Latino influence in Iowa towns has been present for more than 100 years and in others like Marshalltown and Postville that influence is relatively new. 

During the last two decades, Latino immigration to Iowa has shown a tremendous increase. This time, individuals and families have moving to Iowa to work in the meat and poultry processing plants in rural communities. Packing plants have moved out of the big cities of the Midwest and into small towns such as Columbus Junction and West Liberty. It is a new "meat geography," say the authors of a Federal Reserve Bank study on the shift from urban to rural in meatpacking. Read More.

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