I Drove Through the WORST Place In Iowa

Wow! Even Iowa has BAD places to live.

Now I've been to some messed up midwest places before, but I don't know if I've seen a place as uniquely rundown as Keokuk, Iowa. Everyone in Iowa said this place is bad so I wanted to see it. For once, Iowa and I agree.

Summer has a way of making places seem happy. But even the bright sunshine can't make Keokuk feel happy. And that makes me sad.

Back in the mid 1800’s Mark Twain wrote that Keokuk would rival the city of Chicago for culture and commerce. He would know. He spent a lot of time here back then, and witnessed how important and exciting this river town was.

The gettin was certainly good. Pockets were definitely lined.

Show RR. There were once dozens of hotels, banks and offices which lined the swollen banks of the mighty Mississippi.. Back then, this was called the Gateway City. Moving things by river was very important. A small town like Keokuk could gain national prominence simply because it was strategically relevant.

Not much travels along the banks of the muddy and polluted Mississippi River these days except for rusty grain barges and an occasional kayaker. It’s filled with trash, beer cans, pollution and whatever else you might find down there.

As this river has changed, so have the aging river towns along its banks. The Mississippi River is commercially irreverent these days. And so is the city of Keokuk.

#iowa #movin

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[gabrieljordan]

I've lived in Iowa for 40 years and it seems like a lot of our small towns are being economically slaughtered one by one.

[amberdewitt]

Just wanting to state that the girl you spotted on camera "stealing" next to the burnt down home? That is actually the home owner who had her home set on fire by one of the unstable drug addicts in this town

[Neill]

FYI, the bowling alley is very much open and in full operation.

[jerilynn]

what a shame, looks like it could be a pretty little town

[dasia]

If keokuk is so depressing and trashy why didn’t you show the high school? They’re rebuilding it. Show rand park, show chief keokuk statue. Anyone from keokuk would know you’re just showing the bad parts of keokuk, and abandoned houses. That school hasn’t been used in years. We have new school, the crime and drugs is bad, but it’s really not that bad of a town

[amyavani]

I just moved to Keokuk, from St. Louis, where I was born. Why would I do such a thing, you ask?

Well, because depending on what you value, Keokuk has some great things to offer.

Peace and quiet. Respite from big city noises-- no sirens, no gunshots.

Space. Yes, the housing obviously needs renovation, but if willing to put in the work, you've got the amount of space that would cost you a million dollars at least in a metropolis.

I was able to buy an almost 4 thousand square foot house for 60 grand.
Where else can you do that?

Also the crime is not that bad. But I'm from St. Louis. Perspective on crime is completely relative.

Oh, and Midwest charm is well and alive here. People stop and talk to each other at length. People hold doors open for you. People are overall very friendly and the pace of life is slower.

Of course, the trade-off is that there isn't much to do, or eat.

But that doesn't matter that much to me because I have plenty of space for hobbies in my big house, and I cook my own meals mostly anyway.

I believe in this place getting better, not worse. You ask who will invest in such a dilapidated place?

I am. And I hope others do too. Because that is going to be the thing that saves this beautiful town.

[kasey]

I’m sorry you couldn’t find someone to talk to about our small town. You pointed out all the bad and left out all the good 💔. We just got a new kid splash pad park new dog park. Yes that school did closed but now has a new buyer that been working in and around it. It was closed when a bigger school was built. We have tons of new small town owner stores that’s open in the last year. We have small town love. Beautiful parks fun festival’s bowling alley is open just not that day 😔 our yearly Christmas lights are a must see

[mmmm]

Jobs need to come back to America 🇺🇸 not China or Mexico

[torybrecht]

"The Mississippi River is commercially irrelevant these days."

Uh, say what? 😂 😂 😂 😂

I mean, unless you like to eat food or drive cars, I guess.

[Aztecs]

Looks cleaner and safer than San Francisco or Los Angeles or New York or Chicago. or get the idea .

[FTBFHRITP]

See this doesn’t really do our town justice. You only really showed the bad parts of town, there are still some lovely buildings and businesses. It might not be what it once was, but I can tell you there are worse places to be than Keokuk, IA

[pennygallagher]

I grew up in Keokuk during the 1960's and 1970's. It was a beautiful, thriving town then. Main Street was full of a variety of businesses. When the mall opened it was exciting. We finally got a Pizza Hut! It was full of stores and we all loved it so much. I was very sad to see this video. The last time I was in Keokuk was about 10 years ago and it looked bad then. I hate seeing such a historical town wither and die.

[nengthao]

Well...at least there's no homeless tents everywhere!

[johnshultz]

I live in Dubuque. Dubuque is a thriving town and is doing a lot to keep this original river town growing and improving.

[Selvain_]

Former resident of Keokuk, its where I was born even. Unfortunately its been destroyed by the very rich manufacturing companies, a lot of these guys didnt have unions too, and then it was left abandoned once it had no REAL use. It is unfortunately a very dangerous place now, but there are still amazing people there. I love how we talk about "all the wealth our economic system brings" but refuse to acknowledge any of its many many objective failures for rural communities.

[daryl]

That large tudor style house at 8:45 is beautiful. Its too bad most of the town is so rundown. Still, theres something charming about these forgotten little old cities.

[morblo]

Hi, I live in Keokuk. Your video is (unfortunately) very accurate. I actually do enjoy living here, but it is very run down and depressed. The Keokuk hospital has also just closed down. Now the nearest hospital is in Fort Madison, a 30 minute drive away. I worry about the effect that'll have on this town especially considering the rampant drug abuse here. Tiny correction: Republican and Democrat groups have both been recently putting up banners for the upcoming election in November, and the banner you showed in the video has actually only been up for about a month.

[RedDogMom]

There are incredible mansions along the river in Keokuk. Architectural gems. Should be saved.

[EricPS]

I really liked that closing music. Very somber, but yet mysteriously hopeful. On that note, let's hope for the best for this neglected town.

[thethomasmontgomery]

It's only depressing if you get your value from crap my dude. You know, like the values that would lead you to have a youtube where you judge towns based on building quality, housing, and statistics that don't favor working class communities.