Did You Know Iowa Cities & Towns Are Known By Other Slang Names?

I remember when I first moved to Cedar Rapids over 20 years ago, I was introduced to all the local nicknames. Of course, there was the well-known "City of 5 Seasons" (because, you know, Iowa weather can never decide what it wants to do).

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But I also heard some less flattering, but still good-natured names like "The City of 5 Smells." And trust me, those names didn’t stop there. Cedar Rapids has a whole arsenal of sensory-based nicknames—some for the smell, some for the seasons, and probably one or two I’m forgetting now. But none of these were inappropriate, just playful observations about the town's charm, if you will.

My wife, who’s part of several "I Grew Up in Iowa" Facebook groups, has been sharing some hilarious (and sometimes, let's say, risqué) town names that people are throwing around. The group was asked what slang names they knew for Iowa towns or cities, and let me tell you, some of these names made me do a double-take. While I’ll spare you the truly scandalous ones (I mean, this is a family-friendly post), suffice to say, that people in Iowa don’t hold back when it comes to their towns.

In fact, there were hundreds of responses—about 400, to be exact. And though most of them were perfectly harmless and funny, a lot of them were downright dirty or, at the very least, probably offensive if taken too seriously. But in the spirit of fun, here are a few of the more... tame ones that I think are ok to share. Buckle up, because some of these will definitely make you chuckle. Or at least make you think, "Well, I never heard THAT before."