Mediapolis, Iowa
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1946 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Mediapolis City. It lies in ZIP code area 52637. The Survey maps it on the Mediapolis quadrangle. 1,688 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 771 feet above sea level.
On record in Mediapolis
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 1 record
Hawkeye Creek Bridgelisted 1998
Population over time
2 figuresMediapolis grew from 1,560 to 1,688 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,560 | |
| 2020 | 1,688 | +128 (+8%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 11 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1946 USGS Wapello quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1949 USGS Wapello quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1961 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Mediapolis quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Muscatine quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
8 since 2006Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 8 fires within 5 miles of Mediapolis between 2006 and 2018, burning about 96 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 4 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 4 March 2018 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 4 March 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 3 March 2018 | Debris and open burning | 70 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 22 March 2018 | Debris and open burning | 12 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 11 March 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 14 February 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 21 November 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | FIELD W AND S OF 17901 , IA |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Mediapolis: 2 producers, 2 past producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Gypsum-Anhydrite, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Limestone, Dimension. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Limestone, Dimension | Past Producer | ||
| Sperry Mine and Mill | Gypsum-Anhydrite | Producer | ||
| Us Gypsum Mine & Plant | Gypsum-Anhydrite | Producer |
Storms near this place
31 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Mediapolis in 31 storm reports between 1995 and 2024: 18 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 2 heavy rain, 1 lightning. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2003 | Heavy Rain | Mediapolis | $10,000 | Considerable street flooding. Fell in 30 minutes |
| July 1997 | Lightning | Mediapolis | $10,000 | Lightning was the cause of an attic fire in a family home. The children in the home, looking out the window, reported seeing a "fireball" next door. The parents heard a terrible crash, then discovered the fire. The fire was put out quickly by the homeowner. Besides some fire and water damage in the attic, one wall outlet, a cordless phone, and an air conditioner were damaged. |
| August 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mediapolis | $10,000 | no account filed |
| October 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mediapolis | $1,000 | 8 inch diameter solid pine tree downed. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mediapolis | $500 | Trees were downed and roof shingles were ripped off. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mediapolis | $500 | A tree branch 8 inches in diameter was blown down covering part of the road between Orchard and Harrison streets. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mediapolis | - | Estimated wind speed, with lawn furniture being thrown around. |
| March 2023 | Tornado (EF2) | Mediapolis | - | A brief tornado tracked east across the southern portions of the town of Mediapolis, destroying siding and shingles on a few homes and businesses. Numerous large tree limbs fell on mobile homes and frame houses, damaging roofs and siding. In the middle of town, at it's peak strength, the tornado widened to 150 yards and produced EF2 damage at a home, where it removed the entire roof, and snapped a few large trees off just above the ground. The tornado dissipated quickly on the east side of town. The peak winds are estimated to be 120 mph with this tornado. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mediapolis | - | Numerous tree branches were blown down all over town. |
| November 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mediapolis | - | The EM passed along a public report of an uprooted tree in the Mediapolis/Kossuth area along with several downed tree limbs in the area. The time of the event was estimated using radar. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mediapolis | - | Trees were uprooted along with large limbs blown down. Tree limbs fell onto a roof of a house. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mediapolis | - | Significant tree and limb damage throughout the town of Mediapolis. Power is out. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mediapolis | - | Several reports of large trees damaged with branches down and a leaning power pole. |
| August 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mediapolis | - | A member of the public reported 2 large tree branches down. The time of the event was estimated using radar. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mediapolis | - | A spotter estimated winds of 60 mph. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mediapolis | - | A residential swing set was damaged. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mediapolis | - | Twelve inch diameter trees were blown down on north side of town, power was also reported out. |
| May 2014 | Hail | Mediapolis | - | Golf ball sized hail fell 1 mile north of Mediapolis, IA at 531 pm CDT May 11. |
| June 2012 | Hail | Mediapolis | - | Quarter sized hail fell in Mediapolis, IA at 816 pm CDT June 29. |
| September 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mediapolis | - | Wind gusts estimated to be 65 mph blew a large tree limb down in Mediapolis, IA around 450 am CDT September 5. |
| March 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mediapolis | - | A trained spotter near Mediapolis estimated a wind gust of 60 mph. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mediapolis | - | Wind gusts measured to be 63 mph were observed in Mediapolis, IA at 508 pm CDT June 23. South of town winds were even stronger, unroofing a barn and throwing the roof through a nearby garage. A grain bin just southeast of town was damaged. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mediapolis | - | Wind gusts were estimated to be 60 mph in Mediapolis, IA around 520 pm June 19. |
| September 2008 | Flash Flood | Mediapolis | - | Heavy rains caused flash flooding of a few parts of Des Moines County during the morning of September 13.||In Burlington, a 60 foot tall tree fell over in Crapo Park due to the ground being so saturated with flood waters. Also, about 20 loose railroad ties were carried down the 700 block of Jefferson Street by flood waters about 2 feet deep forcing its closure for a time.||A water rescue was performed on two motorists who drove a Jeep into flood waters near Flint Creek in Burlington and West Burlington.||North of Mediapolis, portions of Highway 61 were under water. |
| March 2006 | Hail | Mediapolis | - | just east of the city; also estimated 50 mph winds |
| October 2004 | Heavy Rain | Mediapolis | - | 1.1 inches in 35 minutes. |
| May 2023 | Hail | Mediapolis | - | no account filed |
| April 2015 | Hail | Mediapolis | - | no account filed |
| May 2014 | Hail | Mediapolis | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Mediapolis | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Hail | Mediapolis | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kossuth | 1.6 miles | 11 | |
| Sperry | 3.5 miles | 17 | |
| Northfield | 4.2 miles | 11 | |
| Garland | 4.5 miles | 11 | |
| Dodgeville | 4.6 miles | 17 | |
| Roscoe | 5.2 miles | 7 | |
| Kline | 6.4 miles | 17 | |
| Kingston | 6.9 miles | 17 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Mediapolis | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1928282 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 458946. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.






