Newton, Iowa

Newton is a city in and the county seat of Jasper County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 15,254. Formerly known for being the headquarters of Maytag Corporation, it is the home of Iowa Speedway and Maytag Dairy Farms.

History
Newton was founded in 1850 and incorporated as a city in 1857. In the late 19th century, Newton's growth was fueled by the development of coal mines in the region. The first significant mine in the area was the Couch mine of the Jasper County Coal and Railway Company, opened in the 1870s. It was, for a while, the largest mine in the county, producing 70 tons per day. William Snooks opened a mine near Newton in 1886. In the early 20th century, large scale mining in the Newton area had declined, but there were still several mines in the area that were worked intermittently.

In the 20th century, Newton was a manufacturing community, much of its growth derived from the washing machine industry. Its most distinctive landmark, the Jasper County Courthouse, was built in 1911.

Newton entered the national stage in 1938 when martial law was declared during a strike at the Maytag Washing Machine Company. Iowa governor Nelson Kraschel ordered the Iowa National Guard to protect the company with tanks and machine guns ready against the workers. With the backing of four troops (companies) of the 113th Cavalry Regiment, Maytag company beat the strike and forced workers to return to work with a 10% pay cut.

On August 31, 1969, during an approach to Newton Municipal Airport, a Cessna 172H carrying former heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano crashed into a tree in the middle of a corn field two miles south of Newton, killing Marciano, pilot Glenn Belz, and passenger Frank Farrell.

At the conclusion of World War II, the Maytag Washing Machine Company expanded its operations in Newton, becoming the Maytag Corporation. Known for its dependable line of washing machines and clothes dryers, the company later persuaded the town of Newton to change the name of its headquarters address in the city to “One Dependability Square.” In 2001, a decision to cut labor costs resulted in a reduction of the labor force at the Newton plant in favor of newer Maytag facilities in Mexico. Layoffs at the Newton plant continued through 2005. Whirlpool's acquisition of Maytag in early 2006 led to speculation over the future of Maytag operations in Newton. On May 10, 2006, Whirlpool announced that it would close the Newton plant and corporate offices in the fall of 2007. The plant employed about 1,000 workers and the corporate offices employed about 800 at the time of the announcement.

In January 2007 Whirlpool said in a statement that it sold most of the Maytag headquarters complex to Iowa Telecommunications Services Inc., a Newton-based telephone company which would use the complex to consolidate employees in a single location.

Although the company did not disclose financial details, Newton economic development officials said Iowa Telecom paid $1.5 million for the buildings assessed at more than $12 million.

The Maytag plant officially ended production on October 25, 2007.

In December 2007, TPI Composites announced plans to open a plant to manufacture massive wind turbine blades, which are now in production. President Barack Obama visited the Trinity Structural Towers plant on 22 April 2009, that year's Earth Day.

Geography
Newton's longitude and latitude coordinates in decimal form are 41.698591, -93.046860.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.19 sqmi, all of it land.

Streets and addresses
Newton is divided into four quadrants: 1st Avenue divides the north and south segments of Newton, and 1st Street divides the east and west segments. Roads labeled as avenues run east and west, while roads labeled as streets run north and south. Newton's street numbering system also extends into rural Jasper County.

A typical street name would appear "E 5th St S". The east or west label comes first, followed by the street, then followed by the north or south label. This example indicates the street is in the southeast quadrant of Newton.

A typical avenue name would appear "N 5th Ave W". In the case of avenues, the north or south label comes first, followed by the avenue, and then followed by the east or west label. This example indicates the avenue is in the northwest quadrant of Newton.

All addresses within Newton fall within the 50208 ZIP code.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 15,254 people, 6,668 households, and 4,047 families residing in the city. The population density was 1363.2 PD/sqmi. There were 7,339 housing units at an average density of 655.9 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 96.7% White, 0.7% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.7% of the population.

There were 6,668 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.3% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.85.

The median age in the city was 41.6 years. 22.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.8% were from 25 to 44; 26.4% were from 45 to 64; and 19.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.8% male and 52.2% female.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 15,579 people, 6,713 households, and 4,269 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,518.9 people per square mile (586.3/km²). There were 7,162 housing units at an average density of 698.3 per square mile (269.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.55% White, 0.60% Asian, 0.39% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.21% of the population.

There were 6,713 households out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.84.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,345, and the median income for a family was $49,977. Males had a median income of $37,248 versus $22,631 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,552. About 4.8% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government
Newton is administered by a mayor and a six-person city council. The mayor is elected to a term of two years. Newton's current mayor is Charles "Chaz" Allen, who began his first term in January 2004. His predecessor was David Aldridge, who served four terms from 1996 to 2004. The city council consists of one member elected from each of Newton's four wards and two members elected at-large. The council members are elected to terms of four years. Regular meetings of the city council are held on the first and third Mondays of each month.

State and federal facilities
The United States Postal Service operates the Newton Post Office.

The Iowa Department of Corrections Newton Correctional Facility is in unincorporated Jasper County, near Newton.

Radio stations

 * KCOB 1280 AM / 95.9 FM (Country)
 * KRTI 106.7 FM  (Top 40/Pop)

Print

 * Newton Daily News

Television

 * ION Broadcast over air channel 39

Notable people

 * Jay Clark, Olympic sport shooter
 * John C. Cook, politician, lawyer, judge
 * Emerson Hough, author
 * F.L. "Fritz" Maytag III, businessman and entrepreneur
 * Charles Murray, American policy writer and researcher, co-author of The Bell Curve
 * Mike Spegal, professional poker player
 * Nate Teut, former MLB player
 * Sharon Needles, drag queen, winner of fourth season of reality television series RuPaul's Drag Race

Points of interest

 * Newton Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
 * Iowa Speedway
 * Maytag Dairy Farms
 * Maytag Park