Dubuque, Iowa, United States

🇺🇸 Dubuque is a city in the state of Iowa in the United States of America, and is the county seat of Dubuque County, located along the Mississippi River. 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 centre 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 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 centre of manufacturing, the local economy also includes health care, publishing, and financial service sectors.

History Spain gained control of the Louisiana Territory west of the Mississippi River following the 1763 defeat of the French; the British took over all territory to the east. The first permanent European settler in what is now Dubuque was Quebecois pioneer Julien Dubuque, who arrived in 1785. In 1788, he received permission from the Spanish government and the local Meskwaki American Indians to mine the area's rich lead deposits. Control of Louisiana and Dubuque's mines shifted briefly back to France in 1800, then to the United States in 1803, following the Louisiana Purchase. The Meskwaki continued to mine with the full support of the U.S. government until 1830 when the Meskwaki were illegally pushed out of the mine region by American prospectors.

The current City of Dubuque was named after Julien Dubuque, settled at the southern end of a large flat plain adjacent to the Mississippi River. The city was officially chartered in 1833, located in unorganized territory of the United States. The region was designated as the Iowa Territory in 1838 and was included in the newly created State of Iowa in 1846. After the lead resources were exhausted, the city became home to numerous industries. Dubuque became a centre for the timber industry because of its proximity to forests in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and was later dominated by various mill working businesses. Also important were boat building, brewing, and later, the railroad industry. In 1874, the Diamond Jo Line moved its company headquarters to Dubuque. Diamond Jo Line established a shipyard at Eagle Point in 1878. Just two years later, the company was the largest employer in Dubuque, putting 78 people to work, 75 of whom worked at the shipyard earning their collective $800–$1,000 per week in wages.

Between 1860 and 1880, Dubuque was one of the 100 largest urban areas in the United States. Iowa's first church was built by Methodists in 1833. Since then, Iowans have followed a variety of religious traditions.

Beginning in the mid-19th century and into the early 20th century, thousands of poor German and Irish Catholic immigrants came to the city to work in the manufacturing centers. The city's large Roman Catholic congregations led to its designation as the seat of the newly established Archdiocese of Dubuque. Numerous convents, abbeys, and other religious institutions were built. The ethnic German and Irish descendants maintain a strong Catholic presence in the city. Nicholas E. Gonner (1835-1892), a Catholic immigrant from Pfaffenthal in Luxembourg, founded the Catholic Publishing Company of Dubuque, Iowa. His son Nicholas E. Gonner Jr. (1870-1922) took over in 1892, editing two German-language weeklies, an English-language weekly, and the Daily Tribune, the only Catholic daily newspaper ever published in the United States.

Early in the 20th century, Dubuque was one of several sites of a brass era automobile company, Adams-Farwell; like most others, it folded. Subsequently, Dubuque grew significantly, and industrial activity remained its economic mainstay until the 1980s. Tommy John, who pitched for the Dubuque Packers in 1961, recalled that the town was "about 98 percent Catholic" back then. "Dubuque was the epitome of small-town life", John wrote. "The people were friendly, everyone knew everybody else, and there wasn't a thing to do: no excitement, few restaurants or recreation choices, a decaying slum section. So we spent as much time as we could at the ball park. At certain times of the year, the fish flies fester in hordes like a biblical plague". A series of changes in manufacturing and the onset of the Farm Crisis in the 1980s led to a large decline in the sector and the city's economy as a whole. In the 1990s, the economy diversified rapidly, shifting away from heavy industry. Tourism, technology, and publishing are now among the largest and fastest-growing businesses. Dubuque attracts well over 1.5 million tourists annually, and the number continues to increase. The city has encouraged the development of the America's River Project's tourist attractions in the Port of Dubuque, the expansion of the city's colleges, and the continued growth of shopping centres, such as Asbury Plaza.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.22 square miles (80.86 km²), of which 29.97 square miles (77.62 km²) are land and 1.25 square miles (3.24 km²) are covered by water.

Downtown Downtown Dubuque contains the city's central business district and many of its government and cultural institutions. It is the centre of Dubuque's transportation and commercial sectors and the hub of the various outlying districts and neighborhoods. It is in east-central Dubuque, along the Mississippi River, and includes the area north of Maus Park, south of 17th Street, east of the bluff line, and west of the river.

The area is made up of several distinct neighborhoods, each of which has a unique history and character. These include Cable Car Square/Cathedral Square, the Central Business District, Jackson Park/Upper Main, Lower Main, and the Warehouse District. The Warehouse District in particular has experienced massive renovations and an influx in new businesses after a plethora of investments since 2005. Another area of note downtown is the Port of Dubuque, which has had massive new investment and construction since the December 2002 opening of the Grand Harbor Resort and Waterpark. The downtown area includes a number of significant buildings, many of them historic, such as the Shot Tower, St. Raphael's Cathedral, and the Dubuque County Courthouse, reflecting the city's early and continuing importance to the region.

North End Dubuque's North End area was first settled in the late 19th century by working-class German immigrants. The German-American community sought to establish German Catholic churches separate from the Irish Catholic churches downtown and in the South End. The area retains its working-class roots and is home to some of Dubuque's largest factories.

The North End is roughly defined, but generally includes the territory north of 17th Street and east of North Grandview Avenue and Kaufmann Avenue. The area is made up of two main hills (west of Central Avenue, and west of Lincoln Avenue), and two main valleys, the Couler Valley (between the two hills), and the "Point" neighborhood, adjacent to the Mississippi River. It is home to Dubuque's two main cemeteries, Linwood Cemetery (established for Protestants), and Mt. Calvary Cemetery (established for Catholics).

Other important sites in the North End include: • Bee Branch Creek • Eagle Point Park • Holy Ghost Catholic Church • Linwood Cemetery • Lock and Dam No. 11 • Mathias Ham House • Mt. Calvary Cemetery • Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

South End The South End was traditionally the Irish American neighborhood, and became known as Little Dublin. It centered around southern portions of Downtown Dubuque. Remnants of Irish culture still survive, with Irish pubs such as Murph's South End Tap and The Lift, and stores such as Shamrock Imports still operating. Irish culture in Dubuque also revolves around the city's Irish Catholic churches, St. Columbkille's, St. Patrick's, and St. Raphael's Cathedral.

The South End is now much larger, including all the land south of Dodge Street, east of Fremont Avenue, and north of the Key West area. It has many of the city's "old money" neighborhoods, especially along South Grandview and Fremont Avenues and around the Dubuque Golf & Country Club. Many South End neighborhoods have a more spacious and park-like appearance, contrasting with the more urban North End.

Other important sites in the South End include: • Archdiocese of Dubuque headquarters • St. Pius X Seminary • Louis Murphy Park • Mines of Spain State Rec. Area • Mt. Carmel Convent • St. Raphael's Cathedral • Valentine Park • Wartburg Theological Seminary.

West End Dubuque's West End is a large, mostly suburban area settled almost entirely after the Second World War. Development was spurred by the onset of the massive baby-boom generation and sharply higher demand for new housing. Expansion began with the construction of the John Deere Homes in the Hillcrest Park neighborhood, which were financed by Deere & Company for its workers. Soon after, many large shopping centres were built, including Plaza 20, and the then-largest enclosed shopping mall in Iowa, Kennedy Mall.

The area continues to expand rapidly, with new subdivisions and shopping centres stretching out for miles from downtown. The West End is not clearly defined, but is generally considered to include all the suburban-style growth west of North Grandview Avenue, the University of Dubuque, and the Valentine Park neighborhood. The area is home to a wide variety of mostly middle-class neighborhoods and city parks, but also includes many of the city's largest schools, industrial parks, and all its large shopping centers. The area's expansion has also led to rapid growth in suburban Asbury and exurban Peosta, Iowa, both of which adjoin the West Side. The west side has also been acknowledged by a viral YouTube video named Rappin' for Jesus, where a church named the "West Dubuque Second Church of Christ" was mentioned. Both the video and church were made up, and the video was labeled as a hoax.

Other important sites in the West End include: • Asbury Plaza • Asbury Square Shopping Center • Bunker Hill Golf Course • Dubuque Arboretum & Botanical Gardens • Emmaus Bible College • Flora Park • Hempstead High School • Kennedy Mall • Medical Associates Clinic - West Campus • Mt. Loretto Convent • Plaza 20 • Resurrection Catholic Church • Townsquare Media Dubuque radio stations • Tri-State Christian School • Veterans Memorial Park • Wacker Plaza • Wahlert High School • Warren Plaza.

Religion Since its founding, Dubuque has had, and continues to have, a strong religious tradition. Local Catholic settlers established what would become the first Christian church in Iowa, St. Raphael's Cathedral, in 1833. The city also played a key role in the expansion of the Catholic Church into the Western United States, as it was the administrative centre for Catholics in what is now Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Many important Catholic religious leaders have lived in Dubuque, including its first bishop, Mathias Loras; Fr Samuel Mazzuchelli, OP; Clement Smyth; and Mother Mary Frances Clarke, BVM. Catholic parishes around the city include Saint Raphael's, Saint Mary's, Sacred Heart, Holy Ghost, Saint Patrick's, Saint Joseph the Worker, Resurrection, Saint Columbkille's, and Saint Anthony's.

Since the 1870s the religious character of the area has been shaped by the Catholic Church. In 2010, Catholic adherents who regularly attended services made up about 53% of Dubuque County residents. This contrasts with Iowa as a whole, which was about 17% Catholic in 2010. In addition to churches, 5 religious colleges, 4 area convents, and a nearby abbey and monastery add to the city's religious importance. Dubuque is also the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque, which directly administers 1/4 of Iowa's territory for the church, and is the head of the Ecclesiastical Province of Dubuque, the entire state of Iowa.

The city proper is home to 52 different churches (11 Catholic, 40 Protestant, 1 Orthodox), 1 Jewish synagogue, and 1 mosque. Most of non-Catholic population in the city belongs to various Protestant denominations. Dubuque is home to three theological seminaries: St. Pius X Seminary, a minor (college) seminary for Catholic men discerning a call to ordained priesthood, the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, with the Presbyterian Church USA, and the Wartburg Theological Seminary, with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The latter two institutions train both lay and ordained ministers for placements in churches nationwide.

In 2022 it maintained its strong Catholic presence. Ben Jacobs of The New Republic described it as "One of the most Catholic areas in" the United States.

Economy 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: • Deere and Company; • Dubuque Community School District; • MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center; • Medical Associates; • Finley Hospital; • Andersen Windows & Doors; • City of Dubuque; • Sedgwick Claims Management Services; • Cottingham & Butler; • Heartland Financial USA, Inc; • Medline Industries; • Holy Family Catholic Schools; • Prudential Financial; • Diamond Jo Casino; • University of Dubuque; • A.Y. McDonald Mfg.; • Dubuque County; • Dupaco Community Credit Union; • Nordstrom; • Loras College; • Hormel; • Flexsteel.

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, 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, 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".

Education: University Dubuque is home to several higher education institutions. Loras College and Clarke University are two four-year colleges operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque. Protestant colleges in the city include the University of Dubuque, which is associated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), and Emmaus Bible College, connected with the Plymouth Brethren movement.

Three theological seminaries operate in the city: St. Pius X Seminary (Roman Catholic, associated with Loras College), the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary (Presbyterian), and Wartburg Theological Seminary (Lutheran).

Other post-secondary schools in the area include Northeast Iowa Community College, which operates its largest campus in nearby Peosta, Iowa and has a satellite campus in Dubuque; the Roman Catholic Divine Word College missions seminary in nearby Epworth, Iowa; and Capri Cosmetology College in Dubuque.

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville is another major university about 20 miles north-east of Dubuque in Platteville, Wisconsin.

Health and medicine Dubuque is the regional health care centre 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. 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, and one of only three in Iowa to achieve "Magnet Hospital" status. Magnet Hospitals must meet and maintain strict standards, deeming them some of the best medical facilities in the country. 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.

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. Finley includes the Wendt Regional Cancer Center.

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. Affiliated with the Finley Hospital is Dubuque Internal Medicine, which as of 2007 was Iowa's largest internal medicine group practice clinic.

Transport: Road Dubuque is served by four U.S. Highways (20, 151, 61 and 52) and one state highway (3). Highway 20 is the city's busiest east–west thoroughfare, connecting to Rockford (and I-39/I-90) and Chicago to the east, over the Julien Dubuque Bridge. In the west, it connects to Waterloo. Highways 151 and 61 run north–south through the city, with a shared expressway for part of the route. Highways 52 and 61 both connect Dubuque with the Twin Cities (Minnesota) to the north, with 61 connecting to Davenport (and I-74/I-80), and 52 connecting to Bellevue to the south and then Clinton via U.S. Route 67. Highway 151 connects Dubuque with Madison, Wisconsin (and I-39/I-90/I-94) (via the Dubuque–Wisconsin Bridge) to the north-east and Cedar Rapids to the southwest. Dubuque has four-lane, divided highway connections with Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Madison, and Waterloo.

Iowa State Highway 3 begins in Dubuque, connecting the city with central and western Iowa. The four-lane divided Northwest Arterial (former Iowa State Highway 32) acts as a beltway for parts of the North End and West Side, connecting Highways 3 and 20. Less than two miles (3.2 km) from the junction of the Northwest Arterial and Highway 20, the Southwest Arterial is a 6.1-mile (9.8 km) expressway carrying Highway 52 south-east from Highway 20 to Highways 151 and 61 near Key West and the Dubuque Regional Airport.

Transport: Air Dubuque and its region are served by the general-aviation Dubuque Regional Airport (IATA: DBQ, ICAO: KDBQ). The airport currently has one carrier, Avelo Airlines which operates twice weekly flights to Orlando, Florida, this flight is however suspended currently due to issues with TSA certification at the airport. Several other airlines, mostly regional carriers, have historically served DBQ including Northwest Airlink, American Eagle and several smaller regional carriers. DBQ also serves general aviation and cargo traffic for the Dubuque area.

Due to limited commercial airline service in the area most travelers originating in Dubuque opt to fly from larger regional airports such Chicago O'Hare, Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids and Dane County Regional Airport in Madison.

Mass transit In Dubuque, public transportation is provided by the city transit division The Jule. The Jule operates multiple bus routes and on-demand paratransit Minibus service throughout the city. The routes are based out of one or more of the three transfer locations and run in 30-minute loops. These loops serve neighborhoods, shopping areas, medical offices, and industrial parks and provide connections to other areas of the city with the 15-minute cross-town Express route. The system's three major transfer stations are Downtown Intermodal (9th & Elm St), Midtown (North Grandview & University Avenues), and the West End (Kennedy Circle/John F. Kennedy Road).

Intercity bus

Main article: List of intercity bus stops in Iowa

The Dubuque Intermodal Transportation Center serves as the primary intercity bus hub in Dubuque. Burlington Trailways and Lamers Bus Lines both serve the city.

Intercity rail Dubuque was served by passenger rail until 1981. As of 2022, only the freight railroads Canadian National and Canadian Pacific serve the city.

Culture Its cultural region is the Upper Midwest.

Dubuque has several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places: • The Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens have won a number of awards. • The Dubuque County Courthouse, with its Beaux-Arts architecture, is on the register. • The Five Flags Theater was built in 1910, and is on the National Historic Landmark Registry. • The Fourth Street Elevator (also known as the Fenelon Place Elevator) is in downtown Dubuque. The shortest and steepest railroad in existence, it takes passengers up and down one of the large bluffs that dominate the city. • The Grand Opera House was designed by Willoughby J. Edbrooke and erected in 1890. It is Edbrooke's only surviving opera house and designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. • The Julien Dubuque Bridge is a National Historic Landmark. • Linwood Cemetery is noted for a number of famous people buried there. • The Shot Tower, which was used to produce lead shot and is one of the few such towers left, is also a national historic landmark.

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.

Sport 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. 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".

Media: Print Dubuque's daily newspaper, the Telegraph Herald, had a daily circulation of nearly 31,000 as of January 27, 2007. 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).

Media: Radio AM radio stations • KDTH 1370 "Voice of the Tri-States", news/talk • WDBQ 1490 "News, Talk, & Sports Leader", news/talk/sports

FM radio stations • WJTY 88.1 "Joy 88", Christian • KIAD 88.5, Christian • KNSY 89.7 "IPR News/Studio One", Iowa Public Radio • KUNI 90.9 "KUNI Radio", Iowa Public Radio • KATF 92.9 "Kat-FM", adult contemporary • K240DZ 95.9 "Augustana Public Radio", public radio • KGRR 97.3 "97.3 The Rock", active rock • WGLR 97.7 "97.7 Country", country • KCRD 98.3 Catholic • WVRE 101.1 "The River", country • K269EK 101.7 "Classical Music and More", Iowa Public Radio • KXGE 102.3 "Eagle 102", classic rock • WJOD 103.3 "New Country 103", country • KLYV 105.3 "Today's Hit Music Y105", Top 40 • KIYX 106.1 "Superhits 106", classic hits • WPVL 107.1 "Xtreme 107.1", Top 40 • WDBQ-FM 107.5 "Q107.5", classic hits

Media: Television Dubuque and surrounding areas are in the Cedar Rapids/Waterloo/Dubuque broadcast media market, which is monitored by the A.C. Nielsen Company for audience research data for advertisers. Dubuque formerly had a local TV news station, KFXA/KFXB Fox 28/40. In 2004, that station became an affiliate of CTN dropping all local programming leaving Dubuque without a local television newsroom. Dubuque is covered by local news bureaus of Cedar Rapids/Waterloo based affiliates.