1. On February 20, 1915, the Iowa State Men's Basketball team played their first game at the new State Gymnasium in Ames, defeating Grinnell College 38-13. The State Gymnasium was hailed as a state-of-the-art facility at the time and is now known as the State Gym.

2. In 1954, Senator Joseph McCarthy, known for his extreme anti-communist views, famously spoke at the Municipal Airport in Cedar Rapids on February 20. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the airport to denounce McCarthy's rhetoric and support of blacklisting suspected communists.

3. On February 20, 1976, the Iowa Hawkeyes Men's Basketball team pulled off a stunning upset over Michigan, who were ranked number one in the nation at the time. Behind the leadership of head coach Lute Olson, the Hawkeyes defeated Michigan 80-77 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

4. February 20, 1986 saw the Iowa House of Representatives pass a bill that would have made English the official language of the state. However, the bill ended up dying in the Senate, and Iowa remains one of 31 states without an official language designation.

5. In more recent history, on February 20, 2019, Iowa state senator Randy Feenstra announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in Iowa's 4th congressional district. Feenstra would go on to win the primary and become the district's representative in Congress.