Town of the Week

Humboldt, Iowa
January 6, 2001

Head over to Humboldt, Iowa; just listen in.

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It might have been Harry Reasoner who said "there's no humbug in Humboldt." The late CBS news reporter was a native of this Iowa town, which sits between the east and west forks of the Des Moines River. Called Springvale when it was founded in the early 1860s, the town was first made up of a colony of religious liberals from New York. Their Pastor, Rev. Stephen Taft, later changed the contested name of Springvale to Humboldt, in honor of Frederich, Heinrich, Alexander Baron von Humboldt, the foremost naturalist, scientist, writer and traveler of his time.

Humboldt is the home of Born Free Motorcoaches, and several other companies which ship to a world market. Surrounded by some of the richest farmland in the world, this town is a progressive, dynamic community with a number of expanding businesses and companies. Across the river is the county seat of Dakota City. Humboldt is blessed with several parks and a 9 hole golf course.

The Fourth of July parade in Humboldt is one of the largest in the state. The city becomes a hotbed of Polka music each Labor Day weekend as it hosts the Midwest Polka Fest, which brings more than 3,000 participants to two-step their way through town. One of Humboldt's unique events is Holiday Wonderland, where more than 100,000 holiday lights at Merlin Fort's Hillside, make this Iowa's most colorful outdoor spectacular each December. This is the home of the Wildcats, and our Town of the Week, Humboldt, Iowa.