Actor
Winterset

John Wayne (May 26, 1907 - June 11, 1979) was an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning American film actor. He epitomized rugged masculinity and has become an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive voice, walk and height. He was also known for his conservative political views and his support in the 1950s for anti-communist positions. Wayne starred in 190 movies.

The Tonight Show
Corning

(October 23, 1925 - January 23, 2005) was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years. Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1975 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992, and received Kennedy Center Honors in 1993.

War Heroes
Waterloo

The Sullivan brothers were five siblings who all died during the same incident in World War II, the sinking of the light cruiser USS Juneau (CL-52), the vessel on which they all served. As a direct result of the Sullivans' deaths, the U.S. War Department adopted the Sole Survivor Policy.

Gold Medal Winning Gymnast
Des Moines

Shawn Machel Johnson (born January 19, 1992 in West Des Moines, Iowa) is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2008 Olympic women's balance beam gold medalist, the individual all-around silver medalist, the 2007 all-around World Champion, and the 2007 and 2008 U.S. all-around champion.

Cowboy
Le Claire

William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody (February 26, 1846 - January 10, 1917) was an American soldier, bison hunter and showman. He was born in the Iowa Territory (now the American state of Iowa), near Le Claire. He was one of the most colorful figures of the American Old West, and mostly famous for the shows he organized with cowboy themes. Buffalo Bill received the Medal of Honor in 1872.

Actor
Cedar Rapids

Ronald Joseph Livingston (born June 5, 1967) is an American film and television actor. His roles include a disaffected corporate employee in the film Office Space, a sardonic writer in a short-term relationship with Carrie Bradshaw in the TV show Sex and the City, and Captain Lewis Nixon in the miniseries Band of Brothers. In 2006, he starred as FBI negotiator Matt Flannery in the FOX series Standoff, co-starring Rosemarie DeWitt, and he was an ad spokesman for Sprint Nextel.

Actor and Television Show Producer
Cedar Rapids

Christopher Ashton Kutcher (Born February 7, 1978) is an American actor and former fashion model best known for playing Michael Kelso in the television series That '70s Show and his role as Jesse Montgomery in Dude, Where's My Car?. He was the creator, executive producer, and host of the MTV celebrity prank show Punk'd. He is known for his roles in films such as Just Married, The Butterfly Effect, The Guardian and What Happens in Vegas. He is also the producer and co-creator of the supernatural TV show Room 401.

Actor
Cedar Rapids

Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor. Acting since the age of eight, his many film roles include Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Making his film debut at age eight with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II (1989), he landed a succession of subsequent larger roles and became a critically acclaimed child actor by age 13.

After his role as Frodo in The Lord of the Rings, he has resisted typecasting by choosing varied roles in critically-acclaimed films such as Bobby, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sin City, Green Street and Everything Is Illuminated. Most recently he starred in the film Day Zero (2007) and provided the voice of the main character, Mumble, in the award-winning animated film Happy Feet. He also played an American tourist turned vampire in Paris, je t'aime. In 2005, he started his own record label, Simian Records. His next project is The Passenger (2008).

In 2006, he became a well-known voice actor in video gaming and would soon become the voice of the video game icon, Spyro the Dragon, starting with The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning.

In 2008, he set a new world record when he became the first person ever to cross the Victoria Falls on ropes whilst appearing on Jack Osbourne's hit show Adrenaline Junkie.

President
West Branch

Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 - October 20, 1964) was the thirty-first President of the United States (1929 - 1933). Besides his political career, Hoover was a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted government intervention under the rubric "economic modernization". In the presidential election of 1928 Hoover easily won the Republican nomination despite having no previous elective office experience. The nation was prosperous and optimistic, leading to a landslide for Hoover over Democrat Al Smith, whom many voters distrusted because of his Roman Catholicism. Hoover deeply believed in the Efficiency Movement (a major component of the Progressive Era), arguing that a technical solution existed for every social and economic problem.

That position was challenged by the Great Depression, which began in 1929, the first year of his presidency. Hoover tried to combat the Depression with volunteer efforts and government action, none of which produced economic recovery during his term. The consensus among historians is that Hoover's defeat in the 1932 election was caused primarily by failure to end the downward spiral into deep Depression, compounded by popular opposition to prohibition. Other electoral liabilities were Hoover's lack of charisma in relating to voters, and his poor skills in working with politicians.

Superman
Woolstock

George Reeves (January 5,1914 - June 16, 1959) was an American actor, best known for his role as Superman in the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman and his death by a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 45.

Baseball Pitcher
Van Meter

Robert William Andrew "Bob" Feller (born November 3, 1918 in Van Meter, Iowa), nicknamed the "Heater from Van Meter" and "Rapid Robert", is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

Wrestler and Coach
Waterloo

Dan Gable (born October 25, 1948 in Waterloo, Iowa) is a well-known American amateur wrestler. He is considered one of the greatest American amateur wrestlers of all time. He is famous for having only lost one match in his entire collegiate career--his last. He was a head coach at Iowa for many years and turned over his coaching career to Jim Zalesky which in turn took a downfall. In the later years Gable asked Tom Brands to become the head Coach and Iowa has seen a National Championship this past year (2008).

Painter
Anamosa

Grant DeVolson Wood (February 13, 1891 - February 12, 1942) was an American painter, born in Anamosa, Iowa. He is best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest, particularly the painting American Gothic, an iconic image of the 20th century.

Actor and Roseanne's Ex-Husband
Ottumwa

Thomas Duane "Tom" Arnold (born March 6, 1959) is an American actor and comedian.

Actor
Des Moines

Cloris Leachman (born April 30, 1926) is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight primetime Emmy Awards, more than any other female performer, and one Daytime Emmy Award. She won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the 1971 film The Last Picture Show. She is best known for playing the nosy neighbor Phyllis Lindstrom on the 1970s TV series The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and later on the spinoff series, Phyllis. She also appeared in three Mel Brooks films, including Young Frankenstein.

Leachman was a contestant on Season 7 (2008) of Dancing With The Stars, paired with Corky Ballas. At the age of 82, she is the oldest contestant to dance on the series. She was voted off on October 28th. When asked who she thinks is the favorite to win this season, she replied, "Probably Brooke Burke, because she is always excellent."

Leachman will be the Grand Marshall for the 2009 Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl Game, taking place January 1, 2009 in Pasadena, California. She will be presiding over the 120th Parade, the theme being "Hats Off to Entertainment"; and the 95th Rose Bowl Game.

Gallop Poll
Jefferson

George Horace Gallup (November 18, 1901 - July 26, 1984) was an American pioneer of survey sampling techniques and inventor of the Gallup poll, a successful statistical method of survey sampling for measuring public opinion.

Actor and Representative
Sioux City

Fredrick Lawrence "Fred" Grandy (born June 29, 1948) is a former actor best known for his role on the sitcom "The Love Boat" who became a member in 1986 of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Iowa.