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Stories Set in Iowa
Field-of-dreams farms and first-in-the-nation politics — Iowa stages big American myths in small towns. Its stories mix baseball magic with campaign-trail drama.
Open Iowa on the StoryTerra map10 famous stories set in Iowa
Live snapshot of the top 10 most popular catalogue items (2026-09-04). Click any card to open this entry on the live map.
Browse 65 books and 45 movies set in Iowa.
Star Trek
The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals. One James Kirk is a delinquent thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy. The other Spock a Vulcan was raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. As fiery…
Memory Man
Amos Decker's life changed forever--twice.The first time was on the gridiron. A big, towering athlete, he was the only person from his hometown of Burlington ever to go pro. But his career ended before it had a chance…
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Gilbert Grape is a small-town young man with a lot of responsibility. Chief among his concerns are his mother who is so overweight that she can't leave the house and his mentally impaired younger brother Arnie who has a…
The Bridges of Madison County
Photographer Robert Kincaid wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson for four days in the 1960s.
The Straight Story
A retired farmer and widower in his 70s Alvin Straight learns one day that his distant brother Lyle has suffered a stroke and may not recover. Alvin is determined to make things right with Lyle while he still can but…
Field of Dreams
Ray Kinsella is an Iowa farmer who hears a mysterious voice telling him to turn his cornfield into a baseball diamond. He does but the voice's directions don't stop -- even after the spirits of deceased ballplayers turn…
Sleeping with the Enemy
A young woman fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her nightmarish marriage but discovers it is impossible to elude her controlling husband.
The Miracle Season
After the tragic death of star volleyball player Caroline "Line" Found a team of dispirited high school girls must band together under the guidance of their tough-love coach in hopes of winning the state championship!
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
It's first the story of two women in the 1980s, of gray-headed Mrs. Threadgoode telling her life story to Evelyn, who is in the sad slump of middle age. The tale she tells is also of two women-of the irrepressibly…
The Homesman
When three women living on the edge of the American frontier are driven mad by harsh pioneer life the task of saving them falls to the pious independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy. Transporting the women by covered wagon to…
The 10 stories above are just a sample of the 110 in the catalogue for this entry. For the full live catalogue with trailers and time filters, open Iowa in the StoryTerra app. On the live map you can also filter by the exact time the stories take place — any year, decade or century, from BCE to the future.
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