Heartland Inn is an Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

 based chain of hotels. The company operates 19 locations, 18 are located in Iowa, and one is located in Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

. The company is based out of Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...

. The corporate name is Heartland Midwest Management, Inc and is located at 3136 Brockway Road in Waterloo. The company was put up for sell by Joe Minard at the start of June 2007, the sell includes Heartland Midwest Management and 18 of the 19 properties (All except the Clear Lake, IA Location)

Background

In 1984, Joe Minard and Ross Christensen of Waterloo began efforts to develop hotels. They decided that there was a need for moderately priced hotels. They opened the first such hotel in Waterloo. Eventually 18 other locations were opened in Iowa and Wisconsin.

The hotels are built with a red brick exterior. The majority of Heartland Inns are "rooms only" facilities, but many of the hotels have swimming pools. The hotels also offer a deluxe continental breakfast featuring over 30 different hot and cold items. Competitors include Microtel

Microtel

The Microtel Inns & Suites brand is a chain of franchise hotels with locations in Argentina, Canada, Mexico, the Philippines and the United States. Hotels feature free local and long-distance phone calls within the continental United States, high-speed wired and wireless Internet access, expanded...

, Red Roof Inn

Red Roof Inn

Red Roof Inn is an economy hotel chain in the United States. Red Roof Inn properties are often distinguished by the large dark-red shingle roof that gives them their name. There are over 340 Red Roof Inns, primarily in the Midwest, Southern, and Eastern United States...

, and Park Inn/Suites.

The company began moving in 2006 towards making their properties entirely smoke

Smoking

Smoking is a practice in which a substance, most commonly tobacco or cannabis, is burned and the smoke is tasted or inhaled. This is primarily practised as a route of administration for recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them...

 free. On June 14, 2006 the company announced that their hotels were 100% smoke free. Heartland Inn was one of the first hotel chains to move all their properties in such a direction. American Cancer Society

American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...

 has since endorsed the smoke free status of Heartland Inn.

Iowa

• Ames
  Ames, Iowa
  Ames is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa in Story County, and approximately north of Des Moines. The U.S. Census Bureau designates that Ames, Iowa metropolitan statistical area as encompassing all of Story County, and which, when combined with the Boone, Iowa...
  
   (now an Econo Lodge)
• Cedar Rapids
  Cedar Rapids, Iowa
  Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
  
  
• Clear Lake
  Clear Lake, Iowa
  Clear Lake is a city in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 8,161 at the 2000 census. The city is named for the large lake on which it is located. It is the home of a number of marinas, state parks and tourism-related businesses. Clear Lake is also a major stop on Interstate...
  
  
• Council Bluffs
  Council Bluffs, Iowa
  Council Bluffs, known until 1852 as Kanesville, Iowathe historic starting point of the Mormon Trail and eventual northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trailsis a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States and is on the east bank of the Missouri River across...
  
  
• The Des Moines
  Des Moines, Iowa
  Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
  
   Metropolitan Area
  • Altoona
    Altoona, Iowa
    Altoona is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States and is a part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 15,583 at the 2010 census; a special census taken in August 2005 counted 13,301 residents....
    
     (now a Best Western)
  • Ankeny
    Ankeny, Iowa
    Ankeny is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 45,562 in the 2010 census, an increase of 68% from the 27,117 population in the 2000 census. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
    
     (now a Quality Inn)
  • Des Moines
    Des Moines, Iowa
    Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
    
    
  • Clive, Iowa
    Clive, Iowa
    Clive is a city in Dallas and Polk counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census the population is at 15,447. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. Clive is known for its outstanding Greenbelt Park and trail system running through the entire...
    
     (now a Super 8)
• Decorah
  Decorah, Iowa
  Decorah is a city in and the county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 8,172 at the 2000 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S...
  
  
• Dubuque
  Dubuque, Iowa
  Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....
  
   (2 Locations) (now an Econo Lodge and Baymont Inn)
• Iowa City
  Iowa City, Iowa
  Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa...
  
  
• Mt. Pleasant
  Mount Pleasant, Iowa
  Mount Pleasant is a city in and the county seat of Henry County, Iowa, in the United States. The population was 8,668 in the 2010 census, a decline from 8,751 in the 2000 census. It was founded in 1835 by pioneer Presley Saunders.- History :...
  
   (now a Best Western)
• The Quad Cities
  Quad Cities
  The Quad Cities is a group of five cities straddling the Mississippi River on the Iowa–Illinois boundary. These cities, Davenport and Bettendorf and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline , are the center of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area, which, as of 2010, had an estimated population of...
  
   of Iowa
  Iowa
  Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
  
   and Illinois
  Illinois
  Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
  
  
  • Bettendorf
    Bettendorf, Iowa
    Bettendorf is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Bettendorf is the fifteenth largest city in the U.S. state of Iowa and the fourth largest city in the "Quad Cities". As of the 2010 United States Census the population grew to 33,217. Bettendorf is one of the Quad Cities, along with...
    
     (now an Econo Lodge)
  • Davenport
    Davenport, Iowa
    Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
    
     (now a Quality Inn)
• Ottumwa
  Ottumwa, Iowa
  Ottumwa is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,998 at the 2000 census. It is located in the southeastern part of Iowa, and the city is split into northern and southern halves by the Des Moines River....
  
   (now a Quality Inn)
• Waterloo
  Waterloo, Iowa
  Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...
  
  (2 Locations)(now a Days Inn and Howard Johnson)