(CNN) -- While the visiting national news media focuses on the latest utterances of Republican presidential hopefuls in advance of the January 3 caucuses, many Iowans have found a bone to pick with a journalism professor -- from the University of Iowa, no less -- who wrote: "Whether a schizophrenic, economically depressed, and some say, culturally challenged state like Iowa should host the first grassroots referendum to determine who will be the next president isn't at issue. ... In a perfect world, no way would Iowa ever be considered representative of America, or even a small part of it. Iowa's not representative of much."





Iowans are wondering what they did to incur the wrath of Stephen G. Bloom, who for 20 years has taught journalism at the state's flagship university and shared his observations in an article for The Atlantic magazine titled "Observations from 20 Years of Iowa Life."





It may be a good thing that Bloom, a native of New Jersey, has been away teaching this semester at the University of Michigan because in trying to explain "in both a real and metaphysical way, what Iowa is," he has drawn the ire of Iowans literally from all corners of the state -- from Sibley and Keokuk (whose mayor has invited him to visit and explain the "a depressed, crime-infested slum town" remark) to Decorah to Shenandoah.





In the interest of full disclosure, many of my childhood vacations (including winter) were spent visiting my mother's parents in Iowa. I graduated from a college in Iowa, and my first full-time job in journalism was at a newspaper in Iowa, so I admit to a certain fondness for the state. And every four years, as the political spotlight shines on Iowa, I share with colleagues whatever helpful insights I can muster.





Blitzer's blog: Turbulence in Iowa





The state is not one large cornfield, but driving along Interstate 80, it can appear that way for long stretches. Visit northeast Iowa along the Mississippi River for proof that the state is not flat.





Iowa's farms not only help feed the United States, but also much of the world, connecting this piece of "flyover country" to a global view. Still, economists report that agriculture only accounts for roughly one in five jobs in the state.





Iowans may be older (the average age continues to increase), whiter and more rural than the United States in general, but its Latino population is increasing and more of its residents are moving to urban areas. Iowa boasts being among the most literate states in the union (though some years ago state officials abandoned a plan to make "Iowa: A State of Minds" its license plate slogan).





Politically, over the years Iowans have elected some of the most liberal and some of the most conservative members of Congress.





Critics cite numerous examples of a snide tone in Bloom's writing. Consider his assessment of employment prospects in rural Iowa: "Those who stay in rural Iowa are often the elderly waiting to die, those too timid (or lacking in educated) to peer around the bend for better opportunities, an assortment of waste-toids and meth addicts with pale skin and rotted teeth, or those who quixotically believe, like Little Orphan Annie, that the sun'll come out tomorrow."





What makes Iowa's GOP caucuses unique





And while they wait for that sun to come out, Bloom suggests, these Iowans spend their days stepping in manure from barnyard animals and stuffing their gullets with meat loaf, pork chops and Jell-O molds before heading out to a tractor pull or church.





Bloom makes nary a mention of the distinguished academics at the state's universities and colleges, its art museums and orchestras nor even the obvious upgrades to the capital city of Des Moines during the past 20 years.





Where he says that "Iowa is a throwback to yesteryear and, at the same time, a cautionary tale of what lies around the corner," critics find many of Bloom's observations to be throwbacks to an Iowa that no longer exists. Many also say there are factual inaccuracies in
What is the name of the professor? What did Stephen say? Who said "No way would Iowa ever be considered representative of America"?
Stephen G. Bloom, "Iowa is a throwback to yesteryear and, at the same time, a cautionary tale of Stephen G. Bloom,
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