Editing Iowa Colony, Texas (section)

==History==
Iowa Colony was founded in 1908 by the Emigration Land Company of [[Des Moines, Iowa]], and received its name from [[Iowa]]ns G. I. Huffmann and Robert Beard. The community received a post office in 1919, and rice farming was introduced there in 1920. Although not directly on a railroad line, Iowa Colony was served by the [[Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe]] line through nearby [[Manvel, Texas|Manvel]]. The population grew slowly to twenty-seven and remained at that level until the mid-1960s. The discovery of oil in 1948 brought regional employment to the area. By 1961 the Iowa Colony post office had closed, yet during the 1960s the settlement began to grow vigorously as part of the [[greater Houston]] area. By 1973 Iowa Colony had been incorporated (in 1972), and by 1989 the town listed a population of 661. The city hall, community center, and municipal court are all housed in the same building, next to the fire department. In 1990 the population was 675. The population was 1,170 in 2010. Iowa Colony showed unprecedented growth, with an estimated 2019 population of 3,233. In 2020, they surpassed the 5,000 population requirement to seek [[Home rule in the United States|home rule status]], and subsequently voted to pass the city's Home Rule Charter on November 3, 2020.<ref>{{cite web |title=Notice of General and Special Elections 2020 |url=https://www.iowacolonytx.gov/home/news/notice-general-and-special-elections-2020 |website=City of Iowa Colony |access-date=2 August 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=City Charter |url=https://www.iowacolonytx.gov/office-city-secretary/files/city-charter |website=City of Iowa Colony |access-date=2 August 2021}}</ref> The city website further states in 2021 that the population has exceeded 8000, growing at a rate of 400%.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mayor Michael Byrum-Bratsen |url=https://www.iowacolonytx.gov/mayor |website=City of Iowa Colony |access-date=1 August 2021}}</ref>

Iowa Colony gained notoriety in the early 1990s as a major [[speed trap]] and was an inspiration for a Texas statute limiting municipal profits from speed traps.<ref>{{cite news|author=Toth, John|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl/1991_775628/iowa-colony-fights-image-as-speed-trap.html|title=Iowa Colony fights image as speed trap|newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]]|date=1991-04-07|page=C News p. 1}}{{dead link|date=January 2017}} - Available at the [[Houston Public Library]] website, accessible with a library card number and its PIN</ref>