View source for Carter Lake, Iowa

{{Short description|City in Iowa, USA}}
{{hatnote|This article is about the city. For the lake, see [[Carter Lake (Iowa–Nebraska)|Carter Lake]].}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name                     = Carter Lake, Iowa
|settlement_type          = [[City]]
|motto                    =
|image_skyline            = Carter Lake, Iowa City Offices.jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = City Office Building in Carter Lake, Iowa
|image_map = Pottawattamie_County_Iowa_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Carter_Lake_Highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Carter Lake, Iowa
|image_map1               = Carter-lake-map.png
|mapsize1                 = 250px
|map_caption1             = U.S. Census Map
<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = [[USA]]
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Iowa]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Iowa|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Pottawattamie County, Iowa|Pottawattamie]]
<!-- Government -->
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = Mayor-council
|leader_title             = Mayor
|leader_name              =  
|established_title        = 
|established_date         =
<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_19.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=March 16, 2022}}</ref>
|area_total_km2           = 5.23
|area_land_km2            = 4.65
|area_water_km2           = 0.58
|area_total_sq_mi         = 2.02
|area_land_sq_mi          = 1.79
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.22
<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 3791
|population_density_km2   = 815.71
|population_density_sq_mi = 2113.15
<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = -6
|timezone_DST             = CDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_ft             = 974
|coordinates              = {{coord|41|17|18|N|95|55|01|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
<!-- Area/postal codes and others -->
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 51510
|area_code                = [[Area code 712|712]]
|blank_name               = [[FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 19-11215
|blank1_name              = [[GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 2393756<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2393756}}</ref>
|website                  = {{URL|http://www.cityofcarterlake.com}}
|footnotes                = 
}}

'''Carter Lake''' is a city in [[Pottawattamie County]], [[Iowa]], United States. A suburb of [[Omaha, Nebraska]], it sits surrounding the south and west sides of the region's major airport, [[Eppley Airfield]]. It is separated from the rest of Iowa by the [[Missouri River]], effectively making it an [[exclave]]. The population was 3,791 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name=cen2020>{{cite web |title=2020 Census State Redistricting Data |url=https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/data/01-Redistricting_File--PL_94-171/Iowa/ |website=census.gov |publisher=United states Census Bureau |access-date=August 12, 2021}}</ref>

==History==
Carter Lake is an example of the [[border irregularities of the United States]], being the only city in Iowa located west of the [[Missouri River]]. A flood redirected the course of the river 1.25&nbsp;mi (2&nbsp;km) to the southeast in March 1877. The remnants of the old river course, called Saratoga Bend, became an [[oxbow lake]], named [[Carter Lake (Iowa-Nebraska)|Carter Lake]].<ref>{{GNIS|827953|Carter Lake}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ci.omaha.ne.us/parks/parks/levicarterpark.htm |title=Levi Carter Park |publisher=City of Omaha Parks and Recreation|access-date=December 30, 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090410001940/http://www.ci.omaha.ne.us/parks/parks/levicarterpark.htm |archive-date=April 10, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.cityofcarterlake.com/history_forming.html |title= Carter Lake History |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070923053311/http://www.cityofcarterlake.com/history_forming.html |archive-date= September 23, 2007 |date= September 24, 2007 }}</ref> Soon after the formation of the lake, the site became a flourishing recreational area. It included "a boathouse at the foot of Locust street, hotels and club houses were numerous and the lake was the scene of many a pleasant rowing and fishing party."<ref>"[http://birds-of-nebraska.unl.edu/view?docId=DJ.00735.xml The Rise and Fall of Cut-Off Lake]." June 1, 1890. Omaha Sunday Bee 19(342): 9.</ref>

After extensive litigation between Iowa and Nebraska, the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] ruled in 1892 that Carter Lake belonged to Iowa in ''Nebraska v. Iowa'', 143 U.S. 359 (1892).<ref>"[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1045039018075351674&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr ''Nebraska v. Iowa'']", 143 U.S. 359 (1892).</ref> Although the general rule is that state boundaries follow gradual changes in the course of a river, the Court ruled that an exception exists when a river [[Avulsion (river)|avulses]] one of its [[Meander|bends]]. The Supreme Court made another ruling on the circumstances of Carter Lake in 1972 when it ruled on a boundary dispute between the two states in ''Nebraska v. Iowa'', 406 U.S. 117 (1972).<ref>''[http://openjurist.org/406/us/117/nebraska-v-iowa Nebraska v. Iowa]'', 406 U.S. 117 (1972).</ref>

Although Carter Lake was legally considered part of [[Council Bluffs]] and residents paid city taxes, they lacked the basic city services enjoyed by residents east of the Missouri River.<ref name="Harding, 2010" /> The community successfully seceded from Council Bluffs in the 1920s, intending to become part of [[Omaha, Nebraska]],<ref name="Harding, 2010" /> but Omaha did not want to pay to extend sewers or water lines.{{Citation needed|date=February 2019}} Consequently, Carter Lake incorporated as a city in the state of Iowa on July 2, 1930.{{r|Schreier|p=10}}

Two separate amusement parks were located in Carter Lake early on: the Courtland Beach Amusement Park from 1905 to 1917, and the Lakeview Amusement Park from 1917 to 1933. The Munchoff Brothers, who were the original operators of Omaha's [[Krug Park (amusement park)|Krug Park]], ran both parks; they moved rides from Courtland to Lakeview in 1917. One of the brothers donated the rides from the old parks to the [[United States home front during World War II|World War II]] metal [[drive (charity)|drive]]s in 1945.<ref>[https://northomahahistory.com/2018/05/08/a-history-of-sand-point-beach-and-lakeview-amusement-park/ "A History of Sand Point Beach and the Lakeview Amusement Park"], Fletcher Sasse, Adam. NorthOmahaHistory.com. Retrieved May 8, 2018.</ref>

The city became a gambling hot spot in the 1930s and '40s, as law enforcement was limited and because of its important location. At The Chez Paree, you "could listen to [[Sophie Tucker]], have the best prime rib in town and enjoy a gambling raid or two." Patrons could "bet on any horse race in the United States," and the business was described as "the most active casino between Chicago and the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]]."<ref>[http://www.netnebraska.org/extras/statewide/pers/transcripts/Omaha%20Gambling%20History.pdf Transcript to "Nebraska's gambling history"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014040343/http://www.netnebraska.org/extras/statewide/pers/transcripts/Omaha%20Gambling%20History.pdf |date=October 14, 2008 }}, Nebraska ETV. Retrieved 11/20/08.</ref><ref name=Schreier>{{cite book |title= Carter Lake: A Slice of Iowa in Nebraska |first= John |last= Schreier |publisher= Arcadia Publishing |year= 2017|isbn=9781625857194|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BtGNDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA66}}</ref>{{rp|66}}

The mistaken belief that a defendant corporation located in Carter Lake was a legal resident of Nebraska resulted in another U.S. Supreme Court case, ''[[Owen Equipment & Erection Co. v. Kroger]]'', 437 U.S. 365 (1978). The case clarified the law regarding [[ancillary jurisdiction]], which allows claims based on state law to be heard in a federal court when related to a claim based on federal law.<ref name="Owen">{{ussc|name=Owen Equipment & Erection Co. v. Kroger|437|365|1978}}.</ref><ref>{{caselaw source
 | case = ''Owen Equipment & Erection Co. v. Kroger'', {{ussc|437|365|1978|el=no}}
 | courtlistener =
 | findlaw = https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/437/365.html
 | googlescholar = https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=4276311122833267014
 | justia =https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/437/365/
 | loc =http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep437/usrep437365/usrep437365.pdf
 | oyez =https://www.oyez.org/cases/1977/77-677
 }}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Iowa Highway 165.jpg|thumb|Iowa welcome sign on [[Abbott Drive]] (Iowa Highway 165), the main road between downtown Omaha and Eppley Airfield]]

The city is surrounded on three sides by [[Omaha, Nebraska]], and on the fourth by the [[Missouri River]].<ref name="IADOT county map">{{cite map|title=Highway and Transportation Map: Pottawatomie County|url=https://www.iowadot.gov/maps/msp/pdf/pottawattamie-co.pdf|publisher=Iowa Department of Transportation|date=January 1, 2020|access-date=February 3, 2022}}</ref>

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|2.02|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|1.87|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.15|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web |title=US Gazetteer files 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=May 11, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702145235/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |archive-date=July 2, 2012 }}</ref>

Carter Lake creates a geographic oddity for travelers going to [[Eppley Airfield]], which it surrounds on the south and west. Consequently, travelers going to Eppley Airfield from anywhere except North Omaha will go through Carter Lake, Iowa. It is reported to have caused confusion when travelers not used to the area go through and see a "Welcome to Iowa" sign on their way to and from the airport.<ref name="Harding, 2010">{{cite news |url= https://www.omaha.com/living/what-s-the-deal-with-carter-lake-aka-the-only/article_f16ae5e0-6a26-11e6-ab73-2b9ac4ed8a67.html |title= What's the deal with Carter Lake |first= David |last= Harding 
 |newspaper= [[Omaha World-Herald]] |date= August 22, 2010|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{Historical populations
|title= Historical populations
|type= USA
|align= left
|1940|846
|1950|1183
|1960|2287
|1970|3268
|1980|3438
|1990|3200
|2000|3248
|2010|3785
|2020|3791
|source={{center|U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref><ref name=cen2020/>}}|footnote=Source:{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|title=U.S. Census website|access-date=March 29, 2020}} and [http://data.iowadatacenter.org/datatables/PlacesAll/plpopulation18502000.pdf Iowa Data Center]
}}
[[File:Carter LakeIowaPopPlot.png|thumb|left|alt=The population of Carter Lake, Iowa from US census data|The population of Carter Lake, Iowa from US census data]]

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2000, there were 3,248 people, 1,221 households, and 914 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|1,799.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 1,292 housing units at an average density of {{convert|715.9|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 96.71% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.25% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.74% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.25% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.86% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.20% from two or more races. 2.89% of the population were [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race.

There were 1,221 households, out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were [[married couples]] living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.1% were non-families. 20.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.04.

Age/gender breakdown: 25.9% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,851, and the median income for a family was $42,794. Males had a median income of $30,946 versus $23,309 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $18,758. 7.1% of the population and 4.9% of families were below the [[Poverty thresholds (United States Census Bureau)|poverty line]]. Out of the total population, 11.6% of those under the age of 18 and 2.9% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

===2010 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=May 11, 2012}}</ref> of 2010, there were 3,785 people, 1,388 households, and 997 families residing in the city. The [[population density]] was {{convert|2024.1|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 1,481 housing units at an average density of {{convert|792.0|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the city was 90.3% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 1.0% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.8% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.5% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 5.8% from [[Race (U.S. Census)|other races]], and 1.6% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 11.5% of the population.

There were 1,388 households, of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were [[married couples]] living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 28.2% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.16.

The median age in the city was 36.1 years. 28.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.1% were from 25 to 44; 25.5% were from 45 to 64; and 12.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.

===2020 census===
As of the [[United States census|census]] of 2020,<ref>{{cite web |title=2020 Census |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade/2020/2020-census-main.html |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref> there were 3,791 people, 1,438 households, and 996 families residing in the city. The [[population density]] was 2,112.7 inhabitants per square mile (815.7/km<sup>2</sup>). There were 1,512 housing units at an average density of 842.6 per square mile (325.3/km<sup>2</sup>). The [[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|racial]] makeup of the city was 83.8% [[White Americans|White]], 2.3% [[African Americans|Black or African American]], 0.9% [[Native American]], 0.6% [[Asian Americans|Asian]], 0.0% [[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]], 6.0% from other races and 6.3% from two or more races. [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] persons of any race comprised 10.8% of the population.

Of the 1,438 households, 32.0% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% were [[married couples]] living together, 9.2% were cohabitating couples, 26.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 20.0% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 30.7% of all households were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older.

The median age in the city was 37.9 years. 29.0% of the residents were under the age of 20; 5.5% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 24.5% were from 25 and 44; 26.8% were from 45 and 64; and 14.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

==See also==
{{Portal|Iowa}}
*[[Gambling in Omaha, Nebraska]]
*[[Kentucky Bend]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Sister project auto}}
*[http://www.cityofcarterlake.com City of Carter Lake]
*[http://www.carterlake.org/history/ History of Carter Lake]
*[http://www.carterlake.swilsa.lib.ia.us Edward F. Owen Memorial Library] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825212254/http://www.carterlake.swilsa.lib.ia.us/ |date=August 25, 2016 }}
*[http://www.council-bluffs.k12.ia.us/schools/cater/main_page.htm Carter Lake Elementary School] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926014012/http://www.council-bluffs.k12.ia.us/schools/cater/main_page.htm |date=September 26, 2019 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160303202010/http://www.clcrc.org/ Carter Lake Community Resource Center]
*[http://www.carterlakepreservation.org Carter Lake Preservation Society]
*[http://www.carterlake.org Carter Lake Weather]
*[http://www.carterlake.org/history/ Map showing history of Missouri River shifts at Carter Lake]

{{Pottawattamie County, Iowa}}
{{Omaha-Council Bluffs metro}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Border irregularities of the United States]]
[[Category:Cities in Iowa]]
[[Category:Internal territorial disputes of the United States]]
[[Category:Cities in Pottawattamie County, Iowa]]
[[Category:Iowa populated places on the Missouri River]]
[[Category:Exclaves in the United States]]