The state’s total gross state product for 2003 was USD 103 billion. Its per capita income for 2003 was USD 28,340. Iowa’s main agricultural outputs are hogs, corn, soybeans, oats, cattle and dairy products.

Its industrial outputs are food processing, machinery, electric equipment, chemical products, publishing and primary metals. Iowa produces the nation’s largest amount of ethanol. Des Moines also serves as a center for the insurance industry.

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana. According to the 2000 Census, its population is 791,926, making it Indiana’s most populous city and the 12th largest city in the U.S. The U.S. Census July 1, 2004 estimate for the Consolidated City of Indianapolis is 794,160 and the combined Metro Area (an agglomeration called the Nine-County Region) has a population approaching 2 million residents. Indianapolis is the third largest city in the midwest under Chicago and Detroit and is one of only three major cities in the midwest which had a growth rate above 5%. At the current rate Indianapolis will be the second largest city in the midwest by 2010. Indianapolis is the county seat of Marion County. As of 2004, Marion County’s population is 863,596.

History

Indianapolis was founded as the state capital in 1821 by an act of the Indiana General Assembly. Prior to its official founding, Indianapolis was a sparsely settled swampy area. The first European American settler is generally believed to be George Pogue, who on March 2, 1819 settled in a double log cabin along the White River in what is now White River State Park in downtown Indianapolis. The state commissioned Alexander Ralston to design the new capital city. Ralston was an apprentice to the French architect Pierre L’Enfant, and he helped L’Enfant plan Washington, DC. Ralston’s original plan for Indianapolis called for a city of only 1 square mile. Under Ralston’s plan, at the center of the city was placed the Governor’s Circle, a large circular commons, which was to be the site of the Governor’s mansion.

It was used as a market commons for over six years. Although an expensive Governor’s mansion was finally constructed in 1827, no Governor ever lived in the house at Governor’s Circle, as the site in the city center lacked any privacy. The Governor’s mansion was finally demolished in 1857. (See History of Indianapolis and Marion County Indiana by B.R. Sulgrove, 1884). Later, Governor’s Circle became Monument Circle after the impressive 284-feet tall neoclassical limestone and bronze State Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, designed by German architect Bruno Schmitz, was completed on the site in 1901.

Most of Indiana has historically exempted itself from the observation of daylight saving time (DST). The area that is within the Eastern time zone is legally exempt from daylight saving time; some counties within this area, particularly Floyd, Clark, and Harrison counties near Louisville, Kentucky, and Ohio and Dearborn counties near Cincinnati, Ohio, observe daylight saving time unofficially and illegally by local custom. Several counties in the northwestern corner of Indiana, near Chicago, Illinois, and several counties in the southwestern corner of Indiana are in the Central time zone and remain subject to daylight saving time.

The history of this unique arrangement is fairly convoluted. From 1918 until 1961, at which time authority under the various Standard Time Acts was in the Interstate Commerce Commission, the dividing line between Eastern and Central Standard Time was approximately the eastern boundary line of the State of Indiana. In 1961 after hearings, the Interstate Commerce Commission adjusted the boundary line between Eastern and Central so that the line essentially split Indiana down the middle. In 1967, the Governor of Indiana petitioned the United States Department of Transportation to have the entire state of Indiana placed on Central Time.

Instead, the time line was fixed in a position where all but 10 counties in western Indiana were placed in the Eastern Time Zone, but dispensation was given to allow a state to exempt an entire time zone bloc within the state from observance of Daylight Saving Time. Technically, during the summer months, this meant most of Indiana was on Eastern Standard Time, but functionally most of the state was on Central Daylight Time. Until 2005, there had been attempts to place the entirety of Indiana in the Eastern time zone, with Eastern DST, but these had proved impossible to implement.

During the 2005 session of the Indiana General Assembly, the move to Daylight Saving Time finally succeeded with significant support from the newly elected Governor, Mitch Daniels. However, the time zone legislation’s passage through the General Assembly was tortured. On or about February 28, 2005, the original Daylight Saving Time bill, HB 1034 died without passing the House of Representatives prior to the relevant deadline. On or about March 30, 2005, the original text of SB127 was stripped in committee and the daylight saving time language resurrected. On or about April 11, 2005, SB 127 failed to obtain a majority vote and was defeated 50 to 49 in the House of Representatives. Because the bill did not receive 51 nay votes, it was still eligible for a revote. On a second vote, three House Republicans, Eric Gutwein (R-Rensselaer), Don Lehe (R-Brookston, and Richard McClain (R-Logansport) switched their votes and allowed the daylight saving time bill to pass and be eligible for conference committee with the Senate. In the Senate, the Daylight Saving Time barely squeaked out of committee in a 6 to 5 vote with Sen.

As of 2004, the population of Indiana was estimated to be 6,237,569. This includes about 229,000 foreign-born (3.7%).

Racially, the state is:
85.8% White
8.4% Black
3.5% Hispanic
1% Asian
0.3% Native American
1.2% Mixed race

The five largest ancestries in the state are: German (22.7%), American (12%), Irish (10.8%), English (8.9%), African American (8.4%).

German is the largest ancestry reported in Indiana, with almost one-in-four whites reporting German ancestry in the Census. Persons of American and British ancestry are also present throughout the state, especially in the southern and central parts of the state. Gary and the surrounding Chicago suburbs, along with the city of Indianapolis, have large black populations.

South Bend has a large Polish population and there are a sizeable number of people with Belgian ancestry in Mishawaka. Dyngus Day, the Polish celebration of the end of Lent, takes place on the Monday after Easter and is widely celebrated in South Bend.

A large Hispanic/Latino population has swelled in Elkhart County, particularly the north side of the city of Goshen. This formerly German- and Dutch-dominated area now has a high concentration of Hispanic (particularly Mexican)-oriented businesses and many official signs in the area are bilingual. This has caused some racial tension between the Latino, African-American and Anglo populations.

In addition, the more populated regions are the central area around Indianapolis, the far northwest and north central areas near Lake Michigan, and the northeastern area near Fort Wayne. Major cities that are not in these areas include Evansville, Bloomington, and Terre Haute.

Population growth since 1990 has been extremely concentrated in the counties surrounding Indianapolis, with four of the top five fastest-growing counties in that area: Hamilton, Hendricks, Johnson, and Hancock. The other county is Dearborn County, which is near Cincinnati. Meanwhile, population decline has primarily been in a series of counties that geographically form a line between Logansport and Richmond. Most of these counties were at the heart of the Gas Belt. There were also three counties along the Wabash River and the Ohio River that experienced decline, these were Vigo, Knox, and Perry.

The total gross state product in 2003 was USD 214 billion. Indiana’s per capita income, as of 2003, was USD 28,783. Indiana is located well within the Corn Belt, and the state’s agricultural methods and principal farm outputs reflect this: a feedlot-style system raising corn, to fatten hogs and cattle. Soybeans are also a major cash crop.

The state’s nearness to large urban centers, such as Chicago, Illinois, also assures that much dairying, egg production, and specialty horticulture occur. Specialty crops include melons (southern Wabash Valley), tomatoes (concentrated in central Indiana), grapes, and mint (Source: USDA crop profiles). In addition, Indiana is a significant producer of tobacco. It should be remembered that while the state is in the Corn Belt, the original land was not prairie and had to be cleared of deciduous trees. Many isolated parcels of woodland remain, and much of the southern, hilly portion is heavily forested (a condition which supports a local furniture-making sector in that part of the state).

A high percentage of Indiana’s GDP comes from manufacturing, and much of this activity is heavy manufacturing. In the state, industry tends to be concentrated in the northern half. The Calumet region of northwest Indiana is the largest steel producing area in the USA, and this activity also requires that very large amounts of electric power be generated.

Indiana’s other manufactures include electrical equipment, transportation equipment, chemical products, rubber, petroleum and coal products, and factory machinery. In addition, Indiana has the international headquarters of the Eli Lilly and the U.S. headquarters of the Roche pharmaceutical companies. Surprisingly, in view of the large agricultural sector, comparatively little food processing occurs in the state.

Elkhart County is heavily dependent on the recreational vehicle and manufactured housing industry. Large RV/MH corporations such as Skyline and Coachmen are headquartered here. Much of the county’s smaller industry, such as plastics molding, is concerned with supplying the RV/MH industry.

Like most interior states, Indiana is poorly located with respect to emerging coastal markets and new overseas sources of raw materials for manufacturing. However, Indiana has been much less hit by declines in traditional Rust Belt manufactures than many of its neighbors. The explanation appears to be certain factors in the labor market. First, much of the heavy manufacturing, such as industrial machinery and steel, requires highly skilled labor, and firms are often willing to locate where hard-to-train skills already exist. Second, Indiana’s labor force is located primarily in medium-sized and smaller cities rather than in very large and expensive metropolises.

This makes it possible for firms to offer, and labor accept, somewhat lower wages for these skills than would normally be paid. In other words, firms often see in Indiana a chance to obtain higher than average skills at lower than average wages for those skills, which often makes location in the state desirable. (Source for basic manufacturing facts in the above two paragraphs is generally McCoy and McNamara, “Manufacturers in Indiana,” Purdue University Center for Rural Development, Research Paper 19, July 1998.)