Town file
Keokuk, Iowa
Keokuk, Iowa (Lee County, Iowa) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 559, "Be My Baby" (2 January 2025). Theresa Lynn Lund was born in Iowa City, Iowa, in 1962, the only girl among three brothers.
- Town
- Keokuk
- County
- Lee County
- State
- Iowa
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 559
- Approximate location
- 40.410, -91.403
Episode 559 / 2 January 2025 / 165 min / full
Be My Baby
"Kiacock, Iowa, to be specific... it is in southeast Iowa... This is in Lee County" about 0:04:57
The case: Murder of Theresa Lund (August 28, 1996). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2025
- Population
- 9,977
- Median age
- 40
- Median household income
- $44,770
- Median home value
- $81,800
- Two-bedroom rent
- $730
- Cost of living
- 72
- Religious
- 50-50
- Property crime
- ▲ almost double
- Violent crime
- ▲ double
History, in brief
- Steamboat traffic on the Mississippi increased in the 1800s, so people began settling at the site. about 0:06:35
- In 1827 John Jacob Astor established a post of his American Fur Company at the foot of the bluff; five buildings housed workers and the business, and the area became known as Rat Row. about 0:06:43
- In 1829 Caleb Atwater described a village of about twenty families, with an American Fur Company store and a tavern, and Indians fishing by torchlight on the rapids. about 0:07:16
- Keokuk was the longtime home of Orion Clemens, Mark Twain's brother, and Twain visited him and wrote of the beauty of Keokuk in Life on the Mississippi. about 0:09:19
- At one time the town was known as the Gate City because of its position at the lower rapids of the Mississippi. about 0:09:34
- Howard Hughes was from Keokuk. about 0:09:41
- The first Lee County fair was held in Keokuk in 1841, and the town hosted Iowa State Fairs as far back as 1869. about 0:18:22
The reviews read out
5 stars
"It grows on you: not always fond of the town, but since moving into their own place the reviewer appreciates the area, never feels lonely because classmates stay behind, likes the Mississippi views and bald eagles, the low cost of living and the chance to study nursing at home."about 0:10:05
3 stars
"Very small community; it has a Walmart, which is a plus, but not much beyond that and it needs new things and places."about 0:11:05
3 stars
"Would probably not live here again; better towns and cities are not losing things each year, it is dying, the reviewer has lived there all their life and cannot leave, it used to be kid friendly but now there is little for kids and crime has risen, so go to a bigger, better place."about 0:11:23
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Canton, Missouri20 miles
- Bonaparte, Iowa29 miles
- Quincy, Illinois33 miles
- Libertyville, Iowa51 miles
- Agency, Iowa62 miles
- Muscatine, Iowa72 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.