Crossword Genius

Jovial satellite hovering over white Midwesterner (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

iowan

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'midwesterner' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'jovial satellite hovering over white' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'satellite' could be 'io' (Io is a moon of Jupiter) and 'io' is found in the answer.
'white' could be 'wan' (very pale) and 'wan' is found within the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for iowan that I've seen before include "One from Des Moines perhaps" , "US resident" , "Statesman" , "Midwesterner" , "From a US state, capital Des Moines" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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