Exhibit 99.1

PRESS RELEASE


January 22, 2003



FROM:  Heartland Financial USA, Inc.
       Lynn B. Fuller - Chairman, President and CEO
       (563) 589-2105

       John K. Schmidt - Executive Vice President and CFO

RE:    New Director Elected

RELEASE:  Immediate


                 COX ELECTED TO HEARTLAND BOARD

(Dubuque, IA) - Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (HTLF - OTC BB)
announced today that John W. Cox, Jr. was elected as a member of
the board of directors.  Cox will fill a vacancy on the board
created by the death on June 10, 2001 of Evangeline K. Jansen.
Cox is a partner in the law firm of Cox and Ward, P.C., in
Galena, Illinois, and a former Member of the U.S. House of
Representatives from Illinois' 16th District.  He also serves on
the board of directors of Galena State Bank and Trust, a
Heartland member bank.

Mr. Cox is a graduate of John Marshall Law School of Chicago
receiving his Juris Doctorate cum laude in 1975.  During his term
in the U.S. Congress, Cox served on the House Banking and Finance
Committees.  Mr. Cox also served as State's Attorney for Jo
Daviess County, Illinois and as City Attorney of Galena.

Heartland is a $1.8-billion financial services company with six
banks in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and New Mexico.  Other
subsidiaries include:  UTLEA, Inc., a fleet leasing company with
offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Citizens Finance
Co., a consumer finance company operating in Iowa, Wisconsin and
Illinois.


                        ####


This release may contain, and future oral and written statements
of the Company and its management may contain, forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to the financial
condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future
performance and business of the Company. Forward-looking
statements, which may be based upon beliefs, expectations and
assumptions of the Company's management and on information
currently available to management, are generally identifiable by
the use of words such as believe, expect, anticipate, plan,
intend, estimate, may, will, would, could, should or similar
expressions. Additionally, all statements in this release,
including forward-looking statements, speak only as of the date
they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update
any statement in light of new information or future events.

A number of factors, many of which are beyond the ability of the
Company to control or predict, could cause actual results to
differ materially from those in its forward-looking statements.
These factors include, among others, the following: (i) the
strength of the local and national economy; (ii) the economic
impact of September 11th, (iii) changes in state and federal
laws, regulations and governmental policies concerning the
Company's general business; (iv) changes in interest rates and
prepayment rates of the Company's assets; (v) increased
competition in the financial services sector and the inability to
attract new customers; (vi) changes in technology and the ability
to develop and maintain secure and reliable electronic systems;
(vii)  the loss of key executives or employees; (viii)  changes
in consumer spending; (ix) unexpected results of acquisitions;
(x) unexpected outcomes of existing or new litigation involving
the Company; and (xi) changes in accounting policies and
practices. These risks and uncertainties should be considered in
evaluating forward-looking statements and undue reliance should
not be placed on such statements. Additional information
concerning the Company and its business, including other factors
that could materially affect the Company's financial results, is
included in the Company's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.