Ottumwa, Iowa

Ottumwa (pronounced "Uh-tuhm-wa") is a city in Wapello County, Iowa. The population was 24,998 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Wapello County. It is located in the southeastern part of Iowa, and the city is split into northern and southern halves by the Des Moines River.

Ottumwa is the birthplace of Tom Arnold, the home of notorious rare book thief Stephen Blumberg, and of the fictional character Radar O'Reilly from the television program M*A*S*H. Tom Arnold and Roseanne Barr briefly owned a home together in Ottumwa before their divorce in 1994; they also owned a restaurant, the Big Food Diner, in nearby Eldon, Iowa, from 1993 through 1995. Many years before he was President of the United States, Richard Nixon was stationed in Ottumwa from October 1942 to May 1943 at the Ottumwa Naval Reserve Aviation Base. He served as Aide to the Executive Officer.

Ottumwa in the news

Several nationwide news outlets, most notably by radio commentator Paul Harvey, have reported that Ottumwa has the highest unsolved murder rate (per capita) in the free world.

Railroads

Burlington Northern Santa Fe

The BNSF Railway has tracks through Ottumwa. This is a major segment in the Chicago-Omaha line that is double track. The tracks travel under U.S. Highway 34, pass through the business district, under the U.S. Highway 63 bridge, cross over the Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad tracks, exit Ottumwa, and later cross over the Des Moines River on their way to Albia, Iowa, and later Omaha, Nebraska.

The Norfolk Southern Railway has trackage rights over the BNSF through Ottumwa.

(See the Amtrak entry under Transportation (below).)

Geography

Ottumwa is located at (41.012917, -92.414817).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 42.7 km² (16.5 mi²). 40.9 km² (15.8 mi²) of it is land and 1.7 km² (0.7 mi²) of it (4.07%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 24,998 people, 10,383 households, and 6,530 families residing in the city. The population density was 610.9/km² (1,582.2/mi²). There were 11,038 housing units at an average density of 269.7/km² (698.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.33% White, 1.27% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.38% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.76% of the population.

There were 10,383 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.9% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,174, and the median income for a family was $37,302. Males had a median income of $31,222 versus $20,934 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,040. About 10.9% of families and 15.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.3% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Ottumwa, operating its California Zephyr daily in both directions between Chicago, Illinois, and Emeryville, California, across the bay from San Francisco.

U.S. Highways 34 and 63 currently serve the town; but these highways will both bypass the town by 2008, completing a link from Burlington to Des Moines. Current plans are to extend Iowa Highway 149 from its current terminus, one mile north of town.

Media

Radio stations

AM

*KBIZ-AM 1240, Talk Radio
*KLEE-AM 1480, Country, Talk Radio

FM

*KOTM-FM 97.7, Rock, Pop
*KRKN-FM 104.3, Country
*KTWA-FM 92.7, Soft Rock, Easy Listening
*KKSI-FM 101.5, Classic Rock
*KUNZ-FM 91.1, Public radio (under construction)

Television stations

*KTVO 3 Local ABC affiliate
*KYOU-TV 15 Local FOX affiliate (also on translator channel 25, K25DE)
*K33AA 18 Translator of KIIN Iowa City, a PBS and IPTV affiliate
*K23CI 23 Translator of KCCI Des Moines, a CBS affiliate
*K27CV 27 Translator of WHO-TV Des Moines, an NBC affiliate
*K42AM 42 Low power TBN affiliate

Print

* Ottumwa Courier, the primary daily newspaper website is www.ottumwa.com
* Ottumwa Sun, a semi-regular online newspaper (no longer active)

Higher education

Ottumwa is the home of Indian Hills Community College, a two year community college. Between 1928 and 1980, it was also home to Ottumwa Heights College, a women's college that merged with Indian Hills in 1979 to create one institution. Indian Hills is located at the former Ottumwa Heights campus.