Town file
Iowa, Louisiana
Iowa, Louisiana (Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 36, "The Man With Two Last Meals" (20 September 2017). Iowa, Louisiana, is a town of about 3,200 people in Calcasieu Parish, in the south-west of the state, outside Lake Charles and almost at the Gulf of Mexico.
- Town
- Iowa
- County
- Calcasieu Parish
- State
- Louisiana
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 36
- Approximate location
- 30.241, -93.013
Episode 36 / 20 September 2017 / 78 min / full
The Man With Two Last Meals
"James says they are heading almost down to the Gulf of Mexico, to Iowa, Louisiana, in south-western Louisiana outside Lake Charles, and that it is in Calcasieu Parish." about 0:06:13
The case: Rape and murder of Christina Burgeon (June 1991). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2017
- Population
- 3,219
- Median age
- about a year off
- Median household income
- $42,328
- Median home value
- $176,400
- Two-bedroom rent
- $660
- Cost of living
- 94
- Religious
- 72%
- Property crime
- ▲ slightly higher
- Violent crime
- ▲ over three times the national rate
- Violent crime
- 94
History, in brief
- The community was developed in the mid-1800s. about 0:10:13
- Many of the settlers were Midwesterners from Kansas, Illinois and Iowa. about 0:08:05
- Jean Lafitte's pirates operated in the area. about 0:08:17
- The railroad came through and brought people, and rice farming and cattle raising followed. about 0:10:53
- Oil jobs came later and lasted until the oil crisis. about 0:11:06
- Much of south-western Louisiana's land was developed by the North American Land and Timber Company. about 0:11:20
- Seamon A. Knapp, president of the Iowa State College of Agriculture, was brought in to demonstrate how well rice would grow in the region. about 0:11:33
- Oil was struck in 1930 and oil companies arrived immediately, providing jobs even during the Great Depression. about 0:12:00
- Oil and cattle farming were still part of the economy at the time of the episode. about 0:12:36
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Lake Charles, Louisiana12 miles
- Lake Arthur, Louisiana23 miles
- Ville Platte, Louisiana54 miles
- St. Martinville, Louisiana71 miles
- Franklin, Louisiana95 miles
- Dry Prong, Louisiana97 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.