Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque (/dəˈbjuːk/ ⓘ, dəb-YOOK) is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River.[3] At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667.[4] The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region locally known as the Tri-State Area. It serves as the main commercial, industrial, educational, and cultural center for the area. Geographically, it is part of the Driftless Area, a portion of North America that escaped all three phases of the Wisconsin Glaciation.
"Dubuque" redirects here. For other uses, see Dubuque (disambiguation).
Dubuque is a regional tourist destination featuring the city's unique architecture, casinos and river location. It is home to five institutions of higher education. Dubuque has historically been a center of manufacturing, the local economy also includes health care, publishing, and financial service sectors.[5]
For many years, Dubuque's economy was centered on manufacturing companies such as Deere and Company and Flexsteel Industries. While industry still plays a major role in the city, the economy has diversified a great deal in the last decade. Health care, education, tourism, publishing, and financial services are all important sectors of the city's economy. Several major companies are either headquartered in Dubuque or have a significant presence in the city.
Dubuque's largest employers include:[5]
Other companies with a large presence in the area include McGraw Hill Education, Duluth Trading Company, Alliant Energy, Woodward Communications, Swiss Valley Farms, Simmons Pet Foods, the Metrix Company, Rite-Hite Company, and Tschiggfrie Excavating Co.
The mid-2000s saw some diversification from Dubuque's traditional manufacturing based economy. In 2005, the city had the 22nd-highest job growth rate in the nation,[35] far outpacing the rest of Iowa. This was a level of growth similar to those of Austin, Texas, and Orlando, Florida, among others. The city created over 10% of the new jobs in Iowa in 2005,[36] and the number of jobs in Dubuque County reached new all-time highs, with over 57,000 people working in nonfarming jobs.
In 2022 Ben Jacobs of The New Republic wrote "Dubuque has weathered the economic transformations of the late twentieth century comparatively well."[34]
Dubuque's cultural region is the Upper Midwest.[34] Dubuque has several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places:
Dubuque has a number of notable parks, particularly Eagle Point Park and the Mines of Spain State Recreation Area. Dubuque's waterfront features the Ice Harbor and, just north of it, the Diamond Jo Casino and Grand River Event Center.
Dubuque is also the home of the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps. The Colts are a Drum Corps International World Class ensemble and tour the country each summer to attend competitions. Each summer, the Colts and Dubuque host "Music on the March", a Drum Corps International-sanctioned marching competition at Dubuque Senior High School.
The arts organization Voices Productions spearheaded a project to incorporate large murals by street artists Gaia, Werc, and Gera and others in downtown Dubuque. So far over 30 murals have been painted. The original concept for the project was developed by Sam Mulgrew, Gene Tully and Wendy Rolfe.[37]
Sports[edit]
The city is home to the Dubuque Fighting Saints. They began playing in the Tier I Junior A United States Hockey League in the fall of 2010 at the new Mystique Ice Center. Dubuque was home to the original Fighting Saints team from 1980 to 2001, when the team relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma. From 2001 to 2010, the Dubuque Thunderbirds replaced the Fighting Saints playing in the Tier III Junior A Central States Hockey League at the Five Flags Center. The 2010-11 Fighting Saints were USHL Clark Cup champions after defeating the Green Bay Gamblers three games to one in the best-of-five Clark Cup Final. In 2013, the Fighting Saints again won the Clark Cup, defeating the Fargo Force three games to none in the final. The team averaged over 2,600 fans per game in the 2013–14 regular season, the highest average in team history.
Dubuque is also home to an Open Division soccer team, Union Dubuque F.C. On October 26, 2017, Union Dubuque announced that it would play in the United Premier Soccer League, a Tier 1 league of the United States Adult Soccer Association, beginning in the league's spring 2018 season.[38] The club is also eligible to participate in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Following the 2019 season, Union Dubuque F.C. announced that it would be joining the newly formed Midwest Premier League along with several nearby clubs.
Dubuque is also home to the 2015 ASA D Northern National champions, Kass & Co. Kass & Co. went 6–0 on the weekend of September 5 and 6 and won the championship game pretty easily with a final score of 30–4 in 5 innings. Even after he ran into the fence on a 600-foot home run by the opposing team, later described as "Pure stupidity", Dan Lucey declared "This is a great day for Dubuque, Iowa."[39]
Media[edit]
Print[edit]
The Telegraph Herald, a local newspaper, had a daily circulation of nearly 31,000 as of January 27, 2007.[53] Other papers and journals operating in the city include Tri-State Business Times (monthly business paper), 365ink Magazine (biweekly alt/cultural magazine), Julien's Journal (monthly lifestyle magazine), the Dubuque Advertiser (advertisement paper), and the "Tri-States Sports Look" (local sports publication).
Infrastructure[edit]
Health and medicine[edit]
Dubuque is the regional health care center of the Tri-State area. On March 15, 2012, the Commonwealth Fund released its first Scorecard on Local Health System Performance; it ranked Dubuque second in the nation.[54] The city is home to two major hospitals that, together, have 421 beds. Mercy Medical Center - Dubuque is the largest hospital in the city with 263 beds.[55] Mercy specializes in various cardiac-related treatments, among other things, and is affiliated with Trinity Health, one of the largest Catholic health delivery system in the United States.[56]
Dubuque's other hospital is The Finley Hospital, which is a member of UnityPoint Health's network of hospitals. Finley is JCAHO accredited, and as of 2007 had 158 beds.[57] Finley includes the Wendt Regional Cancer Center.[58]
Among other health care facilities, the city is home to two major outpatient clinics. Medical Associates Clinic is the oldest multi-specialty group practice clinic in Iowa, and currently operates two major outpatient clinics in Dubuque, its "East" and "West" campuses. It is affiliated with Mercy Medical Center — Dubuque, and also operates its own HMO, Medical Associates Health Plans.[59] Affiliated with the Finley Hospital is Dubuque Internal Medicine, which as of 2007 was Iowa's largest internal medicine group practice clinic.[60]
Dubuque is home to the Julien Dubuque Film Festival held every April.[67] Several movies have been filmed in and around Dubuque, including: