Roland Iowa Map

About Roland, Iowa

Roland is a locality in Story County, Iowa, United States. It has a population of approximately 1,362. The population density is 459.3 people per km². Roland is located at 42.1664°N, 93.5019°W. It observes the Central Time (America/Chicago) timezone. Roland is an incorporated locality. ZIP code: 50236.

Roland emerges from the flat, expansive horizon as a quiet collection of brick and wood held fast by the steady, rhythmic turn of the agricultural seasons. It lies 10.9 miles north-northeast of Ames, IA (from Ames, IA: bearing 34°T), and is situated 5.0 miles east-southeast of Story City. Bear Creek carves a shallow, meandering path through the earth just outside the village, its banks thick with brush that turns a somber, muted brown when the Iowa frost settles deep into the soil. The sky here possesses a heavy, singular clarity, casting a long and lingering light over the vast, tilled fields that stretch toward the edges of the world. Residents often walk the nearby Praeri Rail Trail, a narrow artery of crushed limestone that cuts through the dormant prairie, offering a view of the land that remains unchanged by the frantic pace of the modern century.

Roland maintains a disciplined character shaped by the legacy of early settlers who recognized the resilience required to thrive in this open, wind-swept expanse. The local economy remains tethered to the health of the surrounding crops, with grain silos standing as silent, industrial sentinels that mark the transition between the domestic streets and the immense, productive plains. While the distant silhouette of Mormon Ridge is far beyond the reach of a day’s travel, its presence colors the local imagination, reminding those who live here of the vast, rugged diversity of the continent. Life in Roland moves with the deliberate, unshowy civility of a place where history is measured in the growth of corn and the passing of winter, fostering a quiet, literate endurance among the people who call these plains home.

About This Roland Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Roland, Iowa. Coordinates: 42.166375, -93.501879. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service. Real-time local and world news feeds keep the page current.

Detailed location data for Roland includes the ZIP code (50236), telephone area code (515), county seat of Story County (Nevada), and school district assignment (Roland-Story Community School District).

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.