Persia, Iowa was $14,859. About 8.3% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 13.1% of those age 65 or over. In September 2012, BBC Persian channel broadcast a short coverage of the city of Persia. This coverage was about the city itself and why it is named Persia. The mayor and some locals were interviewed as a part of this coverage. Persia is referenced, along with the nearby Nishnabotna River and Interstate 680, on the C.W. McCall song "Four Wheel Drive" from his 1975 album "Wolf Creek Pass". Persia,
I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool ACM Awards organizations. "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" was a song produced by Tom Collins. Mandrell recorded the song as a "live" performance; however the track was actually recorded in the studio with an audience applause track inserted over various sections of the song to fit into the context of the forthcoming live album. The song also featured an uncredited guest appearance on part of the chorus by country vocalist, George Jones. The song was released during a period of rapid growth in the popularity of country music related to a dance-focused form of the genre called neocountry