Iowa State Flag
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Iowa State Seal
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Iowa Location
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Iowa
Iowa
is the 29th state of the United
States, having joined the union on December 28, 1846. The U.S. Post
Office abbreviation for the state is IA. The official (long) name of
the state: "State of Iowa."
The state is named
for the Native American Iowa people.
State
nickname |
The
Hawkeye State |
Capital |
Des
Moines |
Largest
City |
Des
Moines |
Governor
(2004) |
Thomas
Vilsack |
Official
languages |
|
Area
- Total
- % water |
Ranked
26th
145,743 km2
0.71% |
Population
- Total (2000)
- Density |
Ranked
30th
2,926,324
20/km2 |
Admittance
into Union
- Order
- Date |
29th
December 28, 1846 |
Time
zone |
Central:
UTC-6/-5 |
Latitude
Longitude |
40°36'N
to 43°30'N
89°5'W to 96°31'W |
Width
Length
Elevation
- Highest
- Mean
- Lowest |
320
km
500 km
509 meters
335 meters
146 meters |
ISO
3166-2 |
US-IA |
State
motto |
Our
liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain |
State
song |
"The
Song of Iowa" |
State
bird |
Eastern
Goldfinch |
State
flower |
Wild
Rose |
State
rock |
Geode |
State
tree |
Oak |
Honorary
Ship |
USS
Iowa |
History
Marquette and Joliet Find
Iowa Lush and Green
In the summer of
1673, French explorers Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette traveled
down the Mississippi River past the land that was to become the State
of Iowa. The two explorers, along with their five crewmen, stepped
ashore near where the Iowa river flowed into the Mississippi. It is
believed that the 1673 voyage marked the first time that white people
visited the region of Iowa.
After surveying the surrounding area, the Frenchmen recorded in their
journals that Iowa appeared
lush, green, and fertile. For the next 300 years, thousands of white
settlers would agree with these early visitors: Iowa
was indeed lush and green; moreover, its soil was highly productive.
In fact, much of the history of the Hawkeye State is inseparably intertwined
with its agricultural productivity. Iowa
stands today as one of the leading agricultural states in the nation,
a fact foreshadowed by the observation of the early French explorers.
The Indians
Before 1673, however,
the region had long been home to many Native Americans. Approximately
17 different Indian tribes had resided here at various times including
the Ioway, Sauk, Mesquaki, Sioux, Potawatomi, Oto, and Missouri. The
Potawatomi, Oto, and Missouri Indians had sold their land to the federal
government by 1830 while the Sauk and Mesquaki remained in the Iowa
region until 1845. The Santee Band of the Sioux was the last to negotiate
a treaty with the federal government in 1851.
The Sauk and Mesquaki
constituted the largest and most powerful tribes in the Upper Mississippi
Valley. They had earlier moved from the Michigan
region into Wisconsin and
by the 1730s, they had relocated in western Illinois.
There they established their villages along the Rock and Mississippi
Rivers. They lived in their main villages only for a few months each
year. At other times, they traveled throughout western Illinois
and eastern Iowa hunting,
fishing, and gathering food and materials with which to make domestic
articles. Every spring, the two tribes traveled northward into Minnesota
where they tapped maple trees and made syrup.
In 1829, the federal
government informed the two tribes that they must leave their villages
in western Illinois and
move across the Mississippi River into the Iowa
region. The federal government claimed ownership of the Illinois
land as a result of the Treaty of 1804. The move was made but not without
violence. Chief Black hawk, a highly-respected Sauk leader, protested
the move and in 1832 returned to reclaim the Illinois village of Saukenauk.
For the next three months, the Illinois militia pursued Black Hawk and
his band of approximately 400 Indians northward along the eastern side
of the Mississippi River. The Indians surrendered at the Bad Axe River
in Wisconsin, their numbers
having dwindled to about 200. This encounter is known as the Black Hawk
War. As punishment for their resistance, the federal government required
the Sauk and Mesquaki to relinquish some of their land in eastern Iowa.
This land, known as the Black Hawk Purchase, constituted a strip 50
miles wide lying along the Mississippi River, stretching from the Missouri
border to approximately Fayette and Clayton Counties in Northeastern
Iowa.
Today, Iowa
is still home to one Indian group, the Mesquaki, who reside on the Mesquaki
Settlement in Tama County. After most Sauk and Mesquaki members had
been removed from the state, some Mesquaki tribal members, along with
a few Sauk, returned to hunt and fish in eastern Iowa.
The Indians then approached Governor James Grimes with the request that
they be allowed to purchase back some of their original land. They collected
$735 for their first land purchase and eventually they bought back approximately
3,200 acres.
Iowa's First White Settlers
The first official
white settlement in Iowa
began in June 1833, in the Black Hawk Purchase. Most of Iowa's first
white settlers came from Ohio,
Pennsylvania, New
York, Indiana, Kentucky,
and Virginia. The great
majority of newcomers came in family units. Most families had resided
in at least one additional state between the time they left their state
of birth and the time they arrived in Iowa.
Sometimes families had relocated three or four times before they reached
Iowa. At the same time,
not all settlers remained here; many soon moved on to the Dakotas or
other areas in the Great Plains.
Iowa's earliest
white settlers soon discovered an environment different from that which
they had known back East. Most northeastern and southeastern states
were heavily timbered; settlers there had material for building homes,
outbuildings, and fences. Moreover, wood also provided ample fuel. Once
past the extreme eastern portion of Iowa,
settlers quickly discovered that the state was primarily a prairie or
tall grass region. Trees grew abundantly in the extreme eastern and
southeastern portions, and along rivers and streams, but elsewhere timber
was limited.
In most portions
of eastern and central Iowa,
settlers could find sufficient timber for construction of log cabins,
but substitute materials had to be found for fuel and fencing. For fuel,
they turned to dried prairie hay, corn cobs, and dried animal droppings.
In southern Iowa, early
settlers found coal outcroppings along rivers and streams. People moving
into northwest Iowa, an
area also devoid of trees, constructed sod houses. Some of the early
sod house residents wrote in glowing terms about their new quarters,
insisting that "soddies" were not only cheap to build but were warm
in the winter and cool in the summer. Settlers experimented endlessly
with substitute fencing materials. Some residents built stone fences;
some constructed dirt ridges; others dug ditches. The most successful
fencing material was the osage orange hedge until the 1870s when the
invention of barbed wire provided farmers with satisfactory fencing
material.
Transportation: Railroad
Fever
As thousands of
settlers poured into Iowa
in the mid-1800s, all shared a common concern for the development of
adequate transportation. The earliest settlers shipped their agricultural
goods down the Mississippi River to New
Orleans, but by the 1850s, Iowans had caught the nation's railroad
fever. The nation's first railroad had been built near Baltimore
in 1831, and by 1860, Chicago
was served by almost a dozen lines. Iowans, like other Midwesterners,
were anxious to start railroad building in their state.
In the early 1850s,
city officials in the river communities of Dubuque,
Clinton, Davenport,
and Burlington
began to organize local railroad companies. City officials knew that
railroads building west from Chicago
would soon reach the Mississippi River opposite the four Iowa
cities. With the 1850s, railroad planning took place which eventually
resulted in the development of the Illinois Central, the Chicago and
North Western, reaching Council
Bluffs in 1867. Council
Bluffs had been designated as the eastern terminus for the Union
Pacific, the railroad that would eventually extend across the western
half of the nation and along with the Central Pacific, provide the nation's
first transcontinental railroad. A short time later a fifth railroad,
the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific, also completed its line
across the state.
The completion of
five railroads across Iowa
brought major economic changes. Of primary importance, Iowans could
travel every month of the year. During the latter ninetieth and early
twentieth centuries, even small Iowa
towns had six passenger trains a day. Steamboats and stagecoaches had
previously provided transportation, but both were highly dependent on
the weather, and steam boats could not travel at all once the rivers
had frozen over. Railroads also provided year-round transportation for
Iowa's farmers. With Chicago's
pre-eminence as a railroad center, the corn, wheat, beef, and pork raised
by Iowa's farmers could be shipped through Chicago,
across the nation to eastern seaports, and from there, anywhere in the
world.
Railroads also brought
major changes in Iowa's industrial sector. Before 1870, Iowa
contained some manufacturing firms in the eastern portion of the state,
particularly all made possible by year-around railroad transportation.
Many of the new industries were related to agriculture. In Cedar
Rapids, John and Robert Stuart, along with their cousin, George
Douglas, started an oats processing plant. In time, this firm took the
name Quaker Oats. Meat packing plants also appeared in the 1870s in
different parts of the state: Sinclair Meat Packing opened in Cedar
Rapids and John Morrell and Company set up operations in Ottumwa.
The Civil War
By 1860, Iowa
had achieved statehood (December 28, 1846,the 29th state), and the state
continued to attract many settlers, both native and foreign-born. Only
the extreme northwestern part of the state remained a frontier area.
But after almost 30 years of peaceful development, Iowans found their
lives greatly altered with the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. While
Iowans had no battles fought on their soil, the state paid dearly through
the contributions of its fighting men. Iowa males responded enthusiastically
to the call for Union volunteers and more than 75,000 Iowa men served
with distinction in campaigns fought in the East and in the South. Of
that number, 13,001 died in the war, many of disease rather than from
battle wounds. Some men died in the Confederate prison camps, particularly
Andersonville,
Georgia. A total of 8,500 Iowa men were wounded.
The Political Arena
The Civil War era
brought considerable change to Iowa
and perhaps one of the most visible changes came in the political arena.
During the 1840's, most Iowans voted Democratic although the state also
contained some Whigs. Iowa's first two United States Senators were Democrats
as were most state officials. During the 1850s, however, the state's
Democratic Party developed serious internal problems as well as being
unsuccessful in getting the national Democratic Party to respond to
their needs. Iowans soon turned to the newly emerging Republican Party;
the political career of James Grimes illustrates this change. In 1854,
Iowans elected Grimes governor on the Whig ticket. Two years later,
Iowans elected Grimes governor on the Republican ticket. Grimes would
later serve as a Republican United States Senator from Iowa.
Republicans took over state politics in the 1850s and quickly instigated
several changes. They moved the state capital from Iowa
City to Des
Moines, they established the University of Iowa and they wrote a
new state constitution. From the late 1850s until well into the twentieth
century, Iowans remained strongly Republican. Iowans sent many highly
capable Republicans to Washington,
particularly William Boyd Allison of Dubuque,
Jonathan P. Dolliver of Ft.
Dodge, and Albert Baird Cummins of Des
Moines. These men served their state and their nation with distinction.
Another political
issue facing Iowans in the 1860s was the issue of women's suffrage.
From the 1860s on, Iowa
contained a large number of women, and some men, who strongly supported
the measure and who worked endlessly for its adoption. In keeping with
the general reform mood of the latter 1860s and 1870s, the issue first
received serious consideration when both houses of the General Assembly
passed a women's suffrage amendment in 1870. Two years later, however,
when the legislature had to consider the amendment again before it could
be submitted to the general electorate, interest had waned, opposition
had developed, and the amendment was defeated. Finally, in 1920, after
both houses of the United States Congress passed the measure and it
had been approved by the proper number of states, woman's suffrage became
a reality for American women everywhere.
Iowa: Home for Immigrants
While Iowans were
debating the issues of women's suffrage in the post Civil War period,
the state itself was attracting many more people. Following the Civil
War, Iowa's population continued to grow dramatically, from 674,913
people in 1860 to 1,194,020 in 1870. Moreover, the ethnic composition
of Iowa's population also changed substantially. Before the Civil War,
Iowa had attracted some
foreign-born settlers, but the number remained small. After the Civil
War, the number of immigrants increased. In 1869, the state encouraged
immigration by printing a 96-page booklet entitled Iowa: The Home of
Immigrants. The publication gave physical, social, educational, and
political descriptions of Iowa.
The legislature instructed that the booklet be published in English,
German, Dutch, Swedish, and Danish.
Iowans were not
alone in their efforts to attract more northern and western Europeans.
Throughout the nation, Americans regarded these new comers as "good
stock" and welcomed them enthusiastically. Most immigrants from these
countries came in family units. Germans constituted the largest group,
settling in every county within the state. The great majority became
farmers, but many also became craftsmen and shopkeepers. Moreover, many
German-Americans edited newspapers, taught school, and headed banking
establishments. In Iowa,
Germans exhibited the greatest diversity in occupations, religion, and
geographical settlement.
Iowa
also attracted many other people from Europe, including Swedes, Norwegians,
Danes, Dutch, and many emigrants from the British Isles. After 1900,
people also emigrated from southern and eastern Europe. In many instances,
immigrant groups were identified with particular occupations. The Scandinavians,
including Norwegians, who settled in Winneshiek and Story Counties;
Swedes, who settled in Boone County; and Danes, who settled in southwestern
Iowa; were largely associated
with farming. Many Swedes also became coal miners. The Hollanders made
two major settlements in Iowa,
the first in Marion County, and the second in northwest Iowa.
Proportionately
far more southern and eastern immigrants, particularly Italians and
Croatians, went into coal mining than did western and northern Europeans.
Italian emigration differed from earlier emigration in that it tended
to be male dominated. Typically, the Italian male emigrated with financial
support of family or friends. Once in Iowa,
he worked in the mines to pay back his sponsors; then he began to save
to bring his wife and family from Italy. For two generations, Italian
males worked in coal mines scattered throughout central and southern
Iowa. Beginning around 1925,
however, the Iowa coal industry began to decline. By the mid-1950s only
a few underground mines remained in the state.
The majority of
blacks who migrated to Iowa
during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries also worked
as coal miners. Before the Civil War, Iowa
had only a small black population, but in the 1880s that number increased
considerably. Unfortunately, many of the early blacks were hired as
strike breakers by Iowa coal operators. In later decades, however, coal
companies hired blacks as regular miners
Vast Changes
In 1917, the United
States entered World War I and farmers as well as all Iowans experienced
a wartime economy. For farmers, the change was significant. Since the
beginning of the war in 1914, Iowa farmers had experienced economic
prosperity. Along with farmers everywhere, they were urged to be patriotic
by increasing their production. Farmers purchased more land and raised
more corn, beef, and pork for the war effort. It seemed that no one
could lose as farmers expanded their operations, made more money, and
at the same time, helped the Allied war effort.
After the war, however,
Iowa farmers soon saw wartime farm subsidies eliminated. Beginning in
1920, many farmers had difficulty making the payment for debts they
had incurred during the war. The 1920s were a time of hardship for Iowa's
farm families and for many families, these hardships carried over into
the 1930s.
As economic difficulties
worsened, Iowa farmers sought to find local solutions. Faced with extremely
low farm prices, including corn at 10 cents a bushel and pork at three
cents a pound, some Iowa farmers joined the Farm Holiday Association.
This group, which had its greatest strength in the area around Sioux
City, tried to withhold farm products from markets. They believed
this practice would force up farm prices. The Farm Holiday Association
had only limited success as many farmers did not cooperate and the withholding
itself did little to raise prices. Farmers experienced little relief
until 1933 when the federal government, as part of Franklin Roosevelt's
New Deal, created a federal farm program.
In 1933, native
Iowan Henry A. Wallace went to Washington
as secretary of agriculture and served as principle architect for the
new farm program. Wallace, former editor of the Midwest's leading farm
journal, Wallace's Farmer, believed that prosperity would return to
the agricultural sector only if agricultural production was curtailed.
Further, he believed that farmers would be monetarily compensated for
withholding agricultural land from production. These two principles
were incorporated into the Agricultural Adjustment Act passed in 1933.
Iowa farmers experienced some recovery as a result of the legislation
but like all Iowans, they did not experience total recovery until the
1940s.
Since World War
II, Iowans have continued to undergo considerable economic, political,
and social change. In the political area, Iowan experienced a major
change in the 1960s when liquor by the drink came into effect. During
both the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Iowans had strongly
supported prohibition, but in 1933 with the repeal of national prohibition,
Iowans established a state liquor commission. This group was charged
with control and regulation of Iowa's liquor sales. From 1933 until
the early 1960s, Iowans could purchase packaged liquor only. In the
1970s, Iowans witnessed a reapportionment of the General Assembly, achieved
only after a long struggle for an equitably-apportioned state legislature.
Another major political change was in regard to voting. By the mid-1950s,
Iowa had developed a fairly
competitive two-party structure, ending almost 100 years of Republican
domination within the state.
In the economic
sector, Iowa also has undergone
considerable change. Beginning with the first farm-related industries
developed in the 1870s, Iowa
has experienced a gradual increase in the number of business and manufacturing
operations. The period since World War II has witnessed a particular
increase in manufacturing operations. While agriculture continues to
be the state's dominant industry, Iowans also produce a wide variety
of products including refrigerators, washing machines, fountain pens,
farm implements, and food products that are shipped around the world.
Strong Traditions
At the same time,
some traditions remain unchanged. Iowans are still widely known for
their strong educational systems, both in secondary as well as in higher
education. Today, Iowa State University and the University of Iowa continue
to be recognized nationally and internationally as outstanding educational
institutions. Iowa remains
a state composed mostly of farms and small towns, with a limited number
of larger cities. Moreover, Iowa
is still a place where most people live stable, comfortable lives, where
family relationships are strong and where the quality of life is high.
In many peoples' minds, Iowa
is "middle America." Throughout the years, Iowans have profited from
their environment and the result is a progressive people and a bountiful
land.
Law and Government
The state capital
is Des Moines. The current Governor is Tom Vilsack (Democrat) and the
two U.S. Senators are Chuck Grassley (Republican) and Tom Harkin (Democrat).
The five U.S. Congressmen are Jim Leach (Republican), Jim Nussle (Republican),
Steve King (Republican), Tom Latham (Republican), and Leonard Boswell
(Democrat).
Geography
Iowa
is bordered by Minnesota
on the north, Nebraska and
South Dakota on the west,
Missouri on the south, and
Wisconsin and Illinois
on the east. The Mississippi River forms the eastern boundary of the
state. The boundary along the west is formed by the Missouri River south
of Sioux City
and by the Big Sioux River north of Sioux
City. The topography of the state is gently rolling plains. Loess
hills lie along the western border of the state. Some of these are several
hundred feed thick. There are few natural lakes in the state, most notably
Spirit Lake, Lake Okoboji and West Lake Okoboji in northwest Iowa.
The point of lowest elevation is Keokuk in southeast Iowa.
The point of highest elevation is Hawkeye Point, located in a feedlot
north of Sibley in northwest Iowa.
Considering the size of the state, there is very little elevation difference.
National parks,
etc.
- Effigy Mounds
National Monument
- Herbert Hoover
National Historical Site
Economy
The state's total
gross state product for 1999 was $85 billion placing Iowa
30th in the nation. Its Per Capita Income for 2000 was $26,723. 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.
- State income
- Major industries/products:
agriculture,
- insurance, manufacturing.
state taxes
Important Cities and Towns
Population
> 100,000 (urbanized area)
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Population
> 10,000 (urbanized area)
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Other
Cities
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Education
Iowa
has a strong emphasis on education, which is shown in standardized testing
scores. In 2003, Iowa had
the second highest average SAT scores by state, and tied for second
highest average ACT (examination) scores in states where more than 20%
of graduates were tested. The national office of ACT is in Iowa
City, and the ITBS and ITED testing programs used in many states
are provided by the University of Iowa.
Colleges and Universities
State universities
- Iowa State
University
- University
of Iowa
- University
of Northern Iowa
Community
colleges
- Clinton
Community College
- Des Moines
Area Community College
- Ellsworth
Community College
- Hawkeye
Community College
- Indian
Hills Community College
- Iowa Central
Community College
- Iowa Lakes
Community College
- Iowa Western
Community College
- Kirkwood
Community College
- Marshalltown
Community College
- Muscatine
Community College
- North Iowa
Area Community College
- Northeast
Iowa Community College
- Northwest
Iowa Community College
- Scott Community
College
- Southeastern
Community College
- Southwestern
Community College
- Western
Iowa Community College
Professional
business and technical colleges and universities
- American
Institute of Business
- Allen College
of Nursing
- Hamilton
College
- Kaplan
College
- Mercy College
of Health Sciences
- Palmer
College of Chiropractic
- St. Luke's
College of Nursing and Health Sciences
- University
of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences
- Vatterott
College
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Independent
colleges and universities
- Briar Cliff
University
- Buena Vista
University
- Central
College
- Clarke
College
- Coe College
- Cornell
College
- Divine
Word College
- Dordt College
- Drake University
- Emmaus
Bible College
- Faith Baptist
Bible College
- Graceland
University
- Grand View
College
- Grinnell
College
- Iowa Wesleyan
College
- Loras College
- Luther
College
- Maharishi
University of Management
- Morningside
College
- Mount Mercy
College
- Northwestern
College
- Simpson
College
- Saint Ambrose
University
- The Franciscan
University
- University
of Dubuque
- Upper Iowa
University
- Vennard
College
- Waldorf
College
- Wartburg
College
- William
Penn University
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Professional Sports Teams
The Minor League
baseball teams are:
- Iowa Cubs
- Cedar Rapids
Kernels
- Burlington Bees
- Chariton A's
(collegiate summer)
- Clinton LumberKings
- Swing of the
Quad Cities
- Waterloo Bucks
(collegiate summer)
The Minor League
hockey teams are:
- Iowa Stars
- Cedar Rapids
Roughriders
- Waterloo Black
Hawks
- Des Moines Buccaneers
- Sioux City Musketeers
The Minor League
soccer teams are:
U.S Senators from Iowa
(Seat 1):
- Chuck Grassley,
Republican, 1981present
- John Culver,
Democrat, 19751981
- Harold E. Hughes,
Democrat, 19691975
- Bourke B. Hickenlooper,
Democrat, 19451969
- Guy M. Gillette,
Democrat, 19361945
- Richard Louis
Murphy, Democrat, 19331936
- Smith W. Brookhart,
Republican, 19271933
- David W. Stewart,
Republican, 19261927
- Albert B. Cummins,
Republican, 19081926
- William B. Allison,
Republican, 18731908
- James Harlan,
Republican, 18671873
- Samuel J. Kirkwood,
Republican, 18651867
- James Harlan,
Free Soil and Republican, 18551865
- Augustus C. Dodge,
Democrat, 18481855
(Seat 2):
- Tom Harkin, Democrat,
1985present
- Roger Jepsen,
Republican, 19791985
- Dick Clark, Democrat,
19731979
- Jack R. Miller,
Republican, 19611973
- Thomas E. Martin,
Republican, 19551961
- Guy M. Gillette,
Republican, 19491955
- George A. Wilson,
Republican, 19431949
- Clyde L. Herring,
Republican, 19371943
- L.J. Dickinson,
Republican, 19311937
- Daniel F. Steck,
Democrat, 19261931
- Smith W. Brookhart,
Republican, 19221926
- Charles A. Rawson,
Democrat, 19221922
- William S. Kenyon,
Republican, 19111922
- Lafayette Young,
Democrat, 19101911
- Jonathan P. Dolliver,
Republican, 19001910
- John H. Gear,
Republican, 18951900
- James F. Wilson,
Republican, 18831895
- James W. McDill,
Republican, 18811883
- Samuel J. Kirkwood,
Republican, 18771881
- George G. Wright,
Republican, 18711877
- James B. Howell,
Republican, 18701871
- James W. Grimes,
Republican, 18591869
- George W. Jones,
Democrat, 18481859
Iowa caucus
The state gets considerable
attention every four years because of its presidential caucus, a gathering
of voters which, along with the New
Hampshire primary a week later, has become the starting gun for
choosing the two major-party candidates for U.S. president. The caucus,
held in January of the election year, involves people gathering in homes
or public places and choosing their candidate, rather than casting secret
ballots, as in done in a primary or election.
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