Perry, Iowa

History

Perry was laid out as a town in 1869, named for "one of the owners of the road at that time. Col. Perry, of Keokuk". The original town site was bounded by Estella Street on the south, 8th Street on the east, 3rd Street on the west, and Dewey Avenue on the north.

On January 4, 2024, a school shooting occurred at Perry High School leaving an 11-year-old boy in sixth grade dead and seven other people injured. The 17-year-old male shooter was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound shortly after the shooting. The high school principal Dan Marburger, wounded critically after having spoken to the shooter trying to gain time for escaping students, died of his gun shot wounds, state governor Kim Reynolds announced on January 14. The governor praised his courage and ordered all flags in Iowa to be flown at half-staff from January 14 until sunset on the day of his funeral and interment.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.18 sqmi, of which 4.17 sqmi is land and 0.01 sqmi is water.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Perry has a hot-summer humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfa" on climate maps. |Jan record high F = 67 |Feb record high F = 76 |Mar record high F = 89 |Apr record high F = 95 |May record high F = 105 |Jun record high F = 105 |Jul record high F = 110 |Aug record high F = 111 |Sep record high F = 104 |Oct record high F = 95 |Nov record high F = 83 |Dec record high F = 73

|Jan avg record high F = 51.7 |Feb avg record high F = 56.9 |Mar avg record high F = 72.4 |Apr avg record high F = 83.3 |May avg record high F = 89.2 |Jun avg record high F = 93.1 |Jul avg record high F = 95.0 |Aug avg record high F = 93.8 |Sep avg record high F = 90.7 |Oct avg record high F = 84.3 |Nov avg record high F = 69.9 |Dec avg record high F = 56.1 |year avg record high F = 96.9

|Jan avg record low F = -11.8 |Feb avg record low F = -7.0 |Mar avg record low F = 5.7 |Apr avg record low F = 21.8 |May avg record low F = 34.9 |Jun avg record low F = 47.3 |Jul avg record low F = 52.9 |Aug avg record low F = 50.9 |Sep avg record low F = 36.0 |Oct avg record low F = 23.8 |Nov avg record low F = 10.2 |Dec avg record low F = -3.6 |year avg record low F = -15.6

|Jan record low F = -32 |Feb record low F = -33 |Mar record low F = -30 |Apr record low F = 6 |May record low F = 20 |Jun record low F = 34 |Jul record low F = 42 |Aug record low F = 34 |Sep record low F = 22 |Oct record low F = -8 |Nov record low F = -13 |Dec record low F = -34 |year record low F =

Demographics

|1880|952 |1890|2880 |1900|3986 |1910|4630 |1920|5642 |1930|5881 |1940|5977 |1950|6174 |1960|6442 |1970|6906 |1980|7053 |1990|6652 |2000|7633 |2010|7702 |2020|7836

2020 census

2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 7,702 people, 2,792 households, and 1,920 families living in the city. The population density was 1847.0 PD/sqmi. There were 3,180 housing units at an average density of 762.6 /sqmi. The racial makup of the city (including Latinos in the racial counts) was 79.1% White, 1.8% African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 14.1% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 35.0%.

Of the 2,792 households 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.0% were non-families. 28.2% of households were one person and 13.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.29.

The median age was 33.3 years. 29.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.3% were from 25 to 44; 22.3% were from 45 to 64; and 13.8% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.0% male and 50.0% female.

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 7,633 people, 2,831 households, and 1,942 families living in the city. The population density was 2,060.4 PD/sqmi. There were 2,994 housing units at an average density of 808.2 /sqmi. The racial makup of the city was 82.84% White, 1.06% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.75% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 13.19% from other races, and 1.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 24.54%.

Of the 2,831 households 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 26.3% of households were one person and 14.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.13.

The age distribution was 27.3% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.

The median household income was $35,429 and the median family income was $41,771. Males had a median income of $27,610 versus $21,839 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,935. About 8.9% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.6% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

In April 2018, a video showcasing Perry's economy in 1979 and 1980 was released by Iowa State University.

The primary employer in Perry was the Tyson Foods pork plant. In March 2024, due to budgetary reasons, Tyson announced the closing of the facility for June of that year, which laid off an estimated 1,300 jobs with 800 employees living in Perry losing their jobs.

Education

The Perry Community School District operates local area public schools.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines operates St. Patrick School in Perry. The school was dedicated on February 21, 1921. The local Catholic high school is Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines.

Media

• KDLS-FM
• KDLS (AM)
• KICG

Notable people

• William Bell (1902–1971), premier American tuba player and teacher
• Sam Brinton (born 1988), nuclear engineer and LGBTQ+ activist
• George W. Clarke (1906–2006), Washington State Legislator
• Gertrude Mary Cox (1900–1978), influential American statistician
• Dan Grimm (1941–2018), American football offensive lineman in the NFL
• V. T. Hamlin (1900–1993), cartoonist and creator of Alley Oop
• Kate Stevens Harpel (1867-1950), teacher, school board member, physician
• Dwight D. Opperman (1923–2013), CEO of West Publishing, later known as Thomson Reuters
• Jessica Reznicek (born 1981), Catholic Worker Movement and environmental activist

References

References

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6. "Sixth grade student killed in Perry school shooting; five other victims shot".
7. (January 4, 2024). "At least 1 dead in shooting at Iowa high school; scene now 'secured': Officials". [[ABC News (United States).
8. Somasundaram, Praveena, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/01/14/perry-high-principal-shooting-death/ "Iowa high school principal who tried to distract shooter dies, governor says"], ''Washington Post'', January 14, 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
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19. Cauflield, Jim (April 18, 2018). [https://theperrynews.com/perry-video-from-late-70s-stirs-old-memories-for-retirees/ Perry video from late '70s stirs old memories for retirees] {{Webarchive. link. (February 1, 2023 . ''The Perry News''. Perry, Iowa. Retrieved August 31, 2020.)
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21. Greater Des Moines Partnership. (October 2015). "Large Private and Publicly Held Employers, Greater Des Moines".
22. FOLEY, RYAN J.. (2020-05-05). "Nearly 1,400 Tyson workers at 3 Iowa plants get coronavirus". KGAN.
23. (2024-03-12). "Tyson Foods pork plant in Perry, Iowa closing".
24. (March 12, 2024). "Tyson Foods' Iowa pork plant to permanently close, over 1,200 jobs affected".
25. Baskins, Kevin. (March 28, 2024). "Planned Tyson closing in Perry results in additional layoffs at company that cleans plant".
26. Jacobson, Ophelie. (June 27, 2024). "City shares how community can support Perry once Tyson pork plant closes Friday". [[KCCI]].
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28. O'Malley, George. "The Founding Of St. Patrick's School". St. Patrick School.
29. Longden, Tom. "Famous Iowans Bell, Bill". Des Moines Register.
30. Basu, Rekha. (April 16, 2016). "Basu: Surviving torture of anti-gay 'therapy'". The Des Moines Register.
31. Compton, Julie. (January 19, 2017). "OutFront: LGBTQ Activist Fights to End Conversion Therapy". NBC News.
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35. Schaeffer-Duffy, Claire. (July 9, 2021). "Catholic activist sentenced for Dakota Access pipeline vandalism". National Catholic Reporter.