This is my take on it. Residents not associated with the school in a "college town" often resent the college. Whether it be for not paying their fair share of city/local taxes, or college kids running amok, or the school's presence driving up housing prices, what have you. You see it nationwide, it isn't just Ames.
Anecdotally - it just does not at all feel this way when talking Iowa City. THAT college town feels very much in sync. It sure feels like some college towns definitely have a symbiotic relationship, and Ames simply does not. But yeah, could be perception/bias/etc. influencing opinion.
I agree with this.
To the extent that your anecdote is true, that might be because of the hospital. Because of its presence, Iowa City is closer to being the same city year-round (not that it doesn't change, but just less so). Whereas Ames is a completely different city when classes aren't in session and has many of the advantages (a lot of businesses, beautiful campus, etc.) without some of the disadvantages (busy gamedays, traffic, lots of pedestrians, etc.).
Very true, the amount of people that work at the hospitals and their generous salaries have insulated IC much more than any employer in Ames. What you are seeing over there is very few of those hospital employees actually live in IC, most have moved to the North by the lake or west towards the smaller towns.
I was in a skybox for an ISU game a few years ago and would completely agree with your take. Even with the windows open, you feel disconnected from the game and the environment seems very sterile. For the absurd amount of money it costs, it really isn't an enjoyable experience if you're there for the game rather than just socializing.
You’ve nailed it except replace the elephants with A-holes.
Can we just get the window graphics on the Jacobson replaced? They are almost completely grayscale at this point!
I didn’t take a picture but when I was at the ASU game it did look like there is a new Jacobson graphic.
