I generally avoid giving press to survey results, as they are often ploys from public relations companies to avoid purchasing advertising and gain free publicity for their clients. Even so, this one was too good to pass up.

Are you ready? Of the 50 states, Iowa ranks No. 46 in sinfulness. That means 45 other states have greater problems than Iowans with issues like anger and hatred, jealousy, excesses and vices, greed, lust, vanity and laziness. The study was issued by WalletHub, a website that offers credit scores and reports. Just keep that in mind.

What defines sinful? WalletHub says they examined the aforementioned issues using many relevant metrics, which are too lengthy to list here but can be found at this link. For the study, all 50 states were compared across 47 indicators of immoral or illicit behavior, from violent crimes per capita to excessive drinking to the share of the population with gambling disorders. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest level of sinfulness. Of course, one person’s sin may be another’s virtue, but please play along.

What are the most sinful states, according to the study? Nevada, California, Texas, Florida and Louisiana, in that order.

And the least sinful? Idaho, Wyoming, Vermont, South Dakota and good old Iowa.

But before you start polishing your halo, you should know that all is not virtuous in the Hawkeye state. In the excessive drinking metric, Iowa ranked No. 4. That’s not exactly something to say cheers to, unless, of course, you are in the excessive drinking industry.

Overall, though, we Iowans fared well in this survey. Our more-sinful neighbors may call us flyover country, but we don’t mind. We have room to breathe, lower stress levels and faith in our Midwestern values. And we are quite trusting, so much so that we even believe survey results that make us look good.

Cheers!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, and thanks for reading.

President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305

CITYVIEW announced its 2022 Best Of Des Moines readers' choices Feb.1. You can find all the results from the poll in the February issue of CITYVIEW magazine!

Best Downtown Bar
1. 300 Craft & Rooftop
2. Hello, Marjorie
3. The Stuffed Olive

Schools and hearts combined

By Rachel Harrington

Gary and Kay Gesaman both grew up in northwestern Iowa small towns.

“I lived in a small town with about 50 people in it. She lived on a farm,” says Gary. “She went to school in Hornick, and I went to school in Holly Springs. Both schools were very small, about 100 kids total. When we were juniors, the two schools combined. We then had 15 kids in our class.”

“Our first date was also my first date with anyone,” remembers Kay. “It was at the end of our junior year. Gary approached me and said he knew someone who wanted to ask me to prom. When I asked who that was, he said, ‘Me.’ He invited me to the prom. I was amazed because I wasn’t popular and especially since he was so well liked. He’d been elected for many of our class favorite categories, and I for only a couple by all the juniors and seniors. I like to say Gary brought me out of my shell and made my life so much better.”

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