Cedar Rapids, Iowa, September 16, 2022 — A new partnership between the East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) and Keep Iowa Beautiful’s Hometown Pride program will provide extra support to five rural Iowa towns. 

“Keep Iowa Beautiful is partnering with ECICOG and leaders in Center Point, Hills, Shellsburg, Springville and Walker,” said Reo Menning, Chair of the Keep Iowa Beautiful Board of Directors. “As a result, five more communities will have the potential to increase their cultural and economic vitality, improving them as great places to live, work and raise a family.”

The Hometown Pride program was developed in 2012 as an effort to assist and improve communities through a five-year coaching commitment. The comprehensive coaching is intended to adapt to the individual and unique circumstances of its communities, so local leaders are integral in planning and decision making. 

The coach for the five towns in ECICOG’s region is Community Development Specialist Jessica Johnson, who will work with the communities to coordinate strong advocates and activists for the mission.  We are thrilled to help Keep Iowa Beautiful expand the Hometown Pride program to five communities in our region,” said Johnson. “Building vibrant communities is one of seven strategic pillars in the Envision East Central Iowa economic development plan and this program is a perfect fit for that work.” 

Johnson will conduct a full assessment of existing community plans and programs, gather community input and assist each community with developing an action plan. She will then work with local leaders to recruit and select local steering committees to lead certain areas of the action plan and programs. 

Statewide, the Hometown Pride program is operating in Clinton, Dubuque, Jackson, Johnson, Linn, Pocahontas, Vinton and Warren counties, with a total of 69 communities participating. For more information on the Hometown Pride Program, contact Community Development Specialist Jessica Johnson at [email protected] or visit the Keep Iowa Beautiful website.

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The East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) is an intergovernmental council established in 1973 under Chapter 28E and provided for under Chapter 28H of the Code of Iowa. COGs provide regional planning and technical assistance to local governments and the communities in their regions.

After serving as Associate Director for 21 years, Bill Jackson has announced his retirement from Keep Iowa Beautiful after supporting the organization since its inception in 2000. 

            “For 21 years, I was proud to work with such dedicated staff and board members,” said Jackson, “all striving to make Iowa a better place to live and raise a family.”

            Jackson led a career of service to Iowa and its citizens. Beginning in 1961, Jackson joined WHO TV as a part-time “floor boy” in the production department. Over the years, Jackson was promoted to camera person, lighting director, audio director, assistant director, director and production manager before departing in 1970. From here, Jackson accepted a position as the administrative assistant to Governor Robert D. Ray from 1970 to 1979. In 1979, Jackson received an offer to return to WHO as the Station Manager until 1986 when Governor Terry Branstad appointed Jackson to direct the newly formed Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. In 2000, following his time at the Department of Cultural Affairs and a short-term position with the U.S. Census Bureau, Jackson joined Keep Iowa Beautiful. 

            “Keep Iowa Beautiful is beyond thankful for the dedication, expertise and passion Jackson has shown our organization throughout his tenure,” says Kevin Techau, Executive Director of Keep Iowa Beautiful. “Bill’s leadership will be missed, but we wish him a joyful retirement.”

            Jackson’s service to Iowa surpasses his career involvement through his membership in the Des Moines Symphony Board of Directors, Arts Midwest Board, Des Moines Rotary Club and the Gold Star Museum. He is past president of the Salvation Army Board of Directors, treasurer of the Chinese Cultural Center of America and member of the Iowa Sister State Committee, the Greater Des Moines Chamber of Commerce, the Des Moines United Way Campaign Committee and the Iowa Broadcasters Association.

Keep Iowa Beautiful (KIB) has announced a new expansion of KIB’s Hometown Pride program with the East Central Intergovernmental Association (ECIA), the Board of Supervisors of Dubuque and Jackson Counties, and 14 communities: Preston, Sabula, Baldwin, LaMotte, Miles, Asbury, Holy Cross, Luxemburg, Maquoketa, New Vienna, Peosta, Rickardsville, Sageville and Worthington. Through the Hometown Pride program, Keep Iowa Beautiful is building strong communities with sustainable futures across the state. 

The Hometown Pride program enhances the economic and cultural vitality of communities by supporting, facilitating and furthering the implementation of community and county plans and ideas in a coordinated strategy with the assistance of a community coach.  

“Keep Iowa Beautiful is excited to expand our partnership with ECIA and leaders in Dubuque County and Jackson County,” said Kevin Techau, Executive Director of Keep Iowa Beautiful. “With today’s expansion, 14 communities will now have the potential to increase their cultural and economic vitality, improving them as great places to live, work and raise a family.” 

“We are thrilled to help KIB expand the Hometown Pride program to 13 new communities in Dubuque and Jackson Counties,” said Kelley Deutmeyer, Executive Director of East Central Intergovernmental Association. “Hometown Pride has proven it strengthens our communities and betters their chances for not only survival but growth and increased pride.”

Amanda Dupont, Dylan Michels and Tricia Wagner will serve as Hometown Coaches for the participating communities in Dubuque County and Jackson County. Dupont is a Grant Writer/Inspector and has worked in community outreach throughout her professional career. Dupont notes that “Keep Iowa Beautiful’s expansion in Dubuque and Jackson Counties brings new opportunities to better the local communities so many Iowans call home.”

Dylan Michels has over 8 years of experience working with communities on various projects including transportation, hazard mitigation, Brownfields, housing and transit. “We look forward to developing local committees in each town. Each member is assigned distinct roles and duties to act on the community’s plan, creating an engaged and active group,” added Michels.

Tricia Wagner brings over five years of experience on community and economic development. Wagner stated that “Our goal as Hometown Pride Coaches is to give technical guidance and provide assistance to local committees. We aim to deliver a sense of stability and empowerment for all those involved in Hometown Pride.” 

The Hometown Pride program has operated in 15 Iowa Counties and 112 Communities.

Diamond Vogel and Keep Iowa Beautiful announced the grant awards for the 2022 Paint Iowa Beautiful program.  The program provides free paint to a wide variety of public service projects throughout Iowa.

 “The partnership with Keep Iowa Beautiful allows Diamond Vogel to assist and work with many local volunteers that help build communities, making Iowa one of the best states in the nation to live,” said Doug Vogel, Vice-President, Marketing, of the Iowa based company. “Governor Reynolds will be signing a proclamation designating April as Keep Iowa Beautiful month and we are pleased to do our part by awarding paint to 154 community projects in Iowa.”

“Over the years, the Paint Iowa Beautiful program has awarded paint grants to projects in every county in Iowa,” said Kevin Techau, Executive Director of Keep Iowa Beautiful.  “The program provides the paint for beautification and clean-up projects that improve the economic vitality and cultural climate of Iowa communities in every corner of Iowa.”

In the 19-year partnership with Keep Iowa Beautiful, Diamond Vogel has awarded over 12,564 gallons of paint for 1,286 community projects in Iowa.

In addition to paint projects, join over 50 communities participating in Keep Iowa Beautiful’s Pick Up Iowaannual program by cleaning up litter and trash along Iowa’s roadsides, neighborhoods, streets, school grounds, parks and streams.  Encourage your community mayor, city council or county supervisors to announce several days or a week as PICK-UP YOUR COMMUNITY.  Pick-Up Iowa is being held through June 30^th, 2022 on any dates that work for your community.  To participate you must register your group/organization at https://keepiowabeautiful.org/get-involved/community-outreach-opportunities/pick-up-iowa/. Registered participant groups are eligible for a limited supply of free cleanup supplies donated by Keep Iowa Beautiful.

2022 Paint Awards

COMMUNITY	ORGANIZATION NAME	LIST AREAS TO BE PAINTED	NAME OF PERSON SUBMITTING
Afton	Afton Development Corporation	Houses/Commercial Buildings	Mary Hill
Akron	Akron Historical Society	Exterior of the museum, garage and community room areas	Carla Winquist
Albia	Carnegie-Evans Public Library	Meeting Room and Trim of Children’s Area	Aimee R. Campbell
Algona	City of Algona	Homes within the Algona community	Barb Smith
Alta	Hanover Historical Society of Iowa	Hanover Grocery Store and the Mill House	Gene Suhr
Anthon	Anthon Community Center	Building Exterior	Adam Henderson
Audubon	Audubon Public Library	Exterior doors book drop and exterior trim	Gail P. Richardson
Barnes City	City of Barnes City Fire Department	Inside of the Fire Department Building	Nancy Reed
Bennett	Bennett Park Board	City Park Shelter House and picnic benches	Stephanie Kreinbring
Bondurant	Bondurant Community Foundation	City Crosswalk, Sidewalk Chalk Spray Paint	Allison Birdsall
Boone	Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad	Interior of the railcar, specifically walls, ceiling, and safety appliances.	Travis Stevenson
Brayton	City of Brayton	Welcome to Brayton signs, park bathroom, metal bin gazebo	Brooke Hansen
Buffalo Center	Buffalo Center Historical Society	Grant #5 rural schoolhouse	Pam Angstman
Burlington	Greater Burlington Leadership Class of 2022	408 N. Main Street, Burlington, IA 52601 – North Wall	Jessica E Gerling
Calamus	Calamus-Wheatland Hometown Pride	Historic Lincoln Highway ‘Waymarkers’	Lance Goettsch
Calhoun County	Calhoun County Conservation	Various Public Areas to include shelter houses, Bath/Shower houses, Vault Toilets	Abbey Conrad
Calmar	Calmar Community Club	Mural on the side of 106 N Maryville Street, Calmar	Sara Neuzil
Carson	Carson Fire Department	Carson Fire Department	Amy Spiering
Cascade	Cascade Public Library	Interior walls of the Library, bathrooms, behind circulation desk	Melissa Kane
Cedar Falls	Cedar Falls Historical Society	Interior of the Little Red Schoolhouse in Cedar Falls	Carrie Eilderts
Cedar Rapids	City of Cedar Rapids- Old MacDonald’s Farm	Old MacDonald’s Farm Barn|Old MacDonald’s Farm Sheds|Old MacDonald’s Farm Gateways	Lindsay York
Cedar Rapids	College District – Cedar Rapids	Janda Motor Services Building	Ali Hval
Centerville	Drake Public Library	3 Story Stairwell	JeNel Allen Barth
Central City	Central City Historical Society	Complete paint restoration of Sawyer House Museum	Rae Ann Holub
Chariton	Chariton High School	Walls of Johnson Auditorium at Chariton High School	Tyler Urich
Charles City	Floyd County Historical Society and Museum	One Exhibit Room|Community Room|Loading dock doors and frame|One Entrance door, frame, and the window frames.	Jennifer Thiele
Cherokee	Cherokee Trails System (Cherokee Parks and Recreation Dept.)	Historic red shed on new trail system Magnetic Park	Barbara Busch-Mott
Clarence	Clarence Main Street	Clarence Main Street 4 Lincoln Highway Logo Crosswalks	Michele Pisman
Clarion	Heartland Museum Foundation	Little church, schoolhouse, street	Melody Lager
Clear Lake	Clear Lake Public Library	Children’s Department	Bryna Walker
Clermont	Clermont Historic Preservation Commission	Businesses downtown, window frames on historic buildings.	Hannah Frederick
Clinton	Synergy	Midwest Pets for Life	Philip Swanson
Clinton	Clinton County Historical Society Museum	Exterior and interior of new expansion	Janice Hansen
Clinton Iowa	Downtown Clinton Alliance	Crosswalks	Karen Rowell
Colfax	City of Colfax	A concession stand	Wade Wagoner
Columbus Junction	Columbus Community Childcare Center	Walls	Marsha Gerot
Conrad	City of Conrad	City Park	Lori Stansberry
Coon Rapids	Main Street Coon Rapids	Grain Bins located on Main Street	Katie Mason
Council Bluffs	Harvester Artist Lofts	Concrete wall north side of building|Concrete stairwell	Emily Globe
Cresco	City of Cresco	Beadle Park Bathroom|Evans Park Bathroom|Kessel Park Bathroom|East Park Bathroom|Cresco Fitness Center Lobby, Hallway, & Fitness Room	Brandon Kerian
Davenport	City of Davenport (Riverfront Improvement Commission)	LeClaire Park Bandshell	Steve Ahrens
Decorah	Porter House Museum	Early 1900s stucco and wood garage, designed in Prairie Style architecture	Wanda Gardner
Delhi	City of Delhi	City Park Shelter|City Park Equipment|City Park Restrooms and wellhouse	Brianne Wulfekuhle
Dubuque	Dubuque Arboretum & Botanical Gardens	Japanese Garden Fence|Japanese Garden Gate|Packard Pavilion Ceiling|Gazebo|Office’s	Jenna Hirtz
Eldora	Eldora Public Library	Community Room /Adult/Teen Area walls	Joan Grothoff
Elk Horn	Public Library	Teen section of the library	Alissa LaCanne
Ellston Iowa	American Legion & Auxiliary Post 541	TBD	Julie Derscheid
Emmetsburg	City of Emmetsburg	Harrison Park shelter	Gretchen Reichter
Essex	City of Essex	Historical opera house	Mary Ohnmacht
Estherville	City of Estherville	A city owned maintenance building	Greg Van Langen
Everly	Everly Public Library	Front area and middle teen section	Jeannett Palmer
Farmington	Pioneer Historical Society, Inc.	4 Walls of a one room museum and 8′ square entry way	Heidi Schutt
Fertile	Fertile Little League	Fertile Little League Concession Stand	Kim Severson
Forest City	Winnebago Historical Society	Winnebago Historical Society’s heritage Park of North Iowa facility in Forest City.	Jim Oulman
Fort Madison	Fort Madison Food Pantry	All interior walls of Fort Madison Food Pantry building	Vicky Lundeby
Franklin County	The Range at North Hansell	Three Shooting Shelters|Outhouse|Admission Building|Tables	Madison Alert
Gilbert	Gilbert Parks and Rec	Lion’s Park Fence Mural	Lacie Moore
Gilmore City	Gilmore City Hometown Pride	Gilmore City entrance sign	Lavonne Hoover
Goodell	City of Goodell	New City Hall/Museum	Daisy Huffman
Gowrie	Gowrie Swimming Pool		Emily Larson
Guthrie Center	FireFly Creek Ranch, LLC	Exterior front & exterior (partial) side of old state mental institution in rural central Iowa	Brenda Rose
Guttenberg	City of Guttenberg	Schiller/2nd St; Schiller/River Park Dr; Herder/River Park Dr; Goethe/River Park Dr; Pearl/River Park Dr; 3rd St (between pool and Darwin Duwe park).	Denise Schneider
Halbur	Halbur Development Corporation	Concession Stand|Open shelter house|Play house at the park|picnic tables|Doors on community center	Tonia Ortner
Hampton	Harriman-Nielsen Historic Farm/Franklin County Historical Society	Exterior of Barn	Doreen Petersen
Hartford	Hartford Betterment Committee	Boulder at the entrance of Hartford under Flag Poles	Jordyn Sandy
Hawarden	Hawarden Historical Society	Mercantile building and north and west sides of Post Office	Jan Cain
Hills	City of Hills	102 E. Main Street, Hills Iowa	Kelley Schlitz
Hopkinton	Keep Iowa Beautiful Committee and City of Hopkinton	Downtown cement lattice walls	Sarah Helle
Hull	Hull Historical Society	Old railroad shed and enclosure on east end of museum	Loren Reyelts
Janesville	Janesville Public Library	Mural on Library at 319 Main Street	Lisa Biersner
Jewell	Jewell Historical Society	Museum Building north and south exterior walls.	Bruce Johnson
Kanawha	City of Kanawha	Clerk’s office, hallway, copier room, council room, hallway, community room and kitchen	Sharon Grimm
Keokuk	Great River Players, Inc.	Exterior metal wall	Merissa Lewiston
Exterior cinder block wall
La Porte City	La Porte City FFA Historical & Ag Museum	White trim on the town’s original Fire Station and Jail.	Sherry Sheffler
Lake City	Opportunity Living	Indoor therapeutic pool area, Locker room hallway, Entry / viewing room to pool area	Jayne Wilhelm
Lamoni	Lamoni Parks and Recreation	George Foreman North Park	Tim Brunner
Larchwood	Larchwood Public Library	Interior walls and ceiling of the library	Sylvia Vant Hul
Le Mars	Le Mars YMCA	Outdoor Pool Bathrooms and Main Pool	Jack Eckstaine
Letts	Letts Hometown Pride	Base coat on a side of a building for a mural in our main part of town.	Karen Koppe
Little Rock	Little Rock City Council	City Park shelter house	Diane Peters
Livermore	City of Livermore	Livermore Legion and Annex	Megan Kellner
Lockridge	City of Lockridge	Old school gymnasium, foyer, hallway, kitchen and rest rooms	JOYCE LeDUC
Lynnville	City of Lynnville	Old Settlers Pavilion and City Hall	Bev Arthur
Madison County	Madison County Chamber of Commerce	Hogback Covered Bridge|Holliwell Covered Bridge|Roseman Covered Bridge|Imes Covered Bridge|Cutler-Donahoe Covered Bridge	Amara Huffine
Madrid	Ledges State Park	Oak Woods Shelter and Carl Fritz Henning Shelter	Andy Bartlett
Manilla	Manilla Chamber of Commerce	Main Street buildings	Virginia Rasmussen
Maquoketa	City of Maquoketa	Park benches, park shelters, playground equipment, Grove Street baseball dugouts	Chris Gockel
Maquoketa/Jackson County	Jackson County Agricultural District	New offices in our new Outreach Center	Laura Farrell
Marion	Marion Parks and Recreation	Signs, equipment, structures, and amenities throughout the park and urban trail system.	Drew Mollenhauer
Marshalltown	Marshall County Arts & Culture Alliance	Marshalltown, IA	Amber Danielson
Menlo	City of Menlo	16 Community Fire Hydrants, Parking Lines and Handicap Parking for our Downtown Streets	Carol Sheldahl
Missouri Valley	Missouri Valley Chamber of Commerce	2 cattle barns on the Harrison County Fairgrounds | 7 picnic tables in the Missouri Valley City Park	Jeannie Wortman
Mitchell County	Mitchell County Conservation Board	Milton R. Owen Nature Center	Chelsea Ewen Rowcliffe
Mitchellville	City of Mitchellville	Killinger Park Shelter Houses and Giving Box |Mitchellville City Park Shelter Houses and All Picnic Tables |Mitchellville Little League Ball Fields Concession Stand, Equipment Shed and Cinder Block Shed	Rahni Brose
Montezuma	CLG Group	Mural in the Downtown Historic Square	Becky Sincker
Monticello	City of Monticello	Monticello Community Building	Jacob Oswald
Montrose	Montrose Riverfront, Inc.	Floor of the Riverfront Landing building.	Elisabeth Chatfield
Moulton	PIC ME Foundation	T & L Deli store front on the Main Street of our community.	Carol Sue Howard
Mount Ayr	Mount Ayr Chamber of Commerce	Still Smokin’/Timberline|Country Blossoms|Aunt Jennie’s Attic|Ringgold County Development/Mount Ayr Chamber|Lefty’s Club Tavern|the vacant 106 E. Madison building	Karen Bender
Moville	City of Moville	Interior walls of Moville Fire Station|	Megan Cross
Nevada	City of Nevada Parks and Recreation Department	Safety lines and motivational sayings along trail system in Nevada.	Tim Hansen
New Sharon	City of New Sharon	East End Park Shelter House, City Hall interior	Lisa Munn
Newton	Project AWAKE	Learning Center (building), gazebo, bridge and fencing all need stained.	Jenni Patty
Northeast Iowa	ArtHaus	North side of ArtHaus’ building|Repairs on the east side of the ArtHaus building	Shannon Durbin
Northwood	Northwood Public Library	Exterior trim and interior paneling	Morgan Johnson
Norwalk	Norwalk Parks and Recreation	McAninch Sports Complex Equipment Garage|McAninch Sports Complex Irrigation Pump Shed	Adam Seibert
Oakland	Eckels Memorial Library	Children’s Room, Teen Area, Circulation Desk area, Computer room, Bathroom, Hallway, Front entry.	Kari Rose
Ocheyedan	Senior Activity Center	Main room of the senior center 24X60	Sue Brockshus
Odebolt	City of Odebolt, Iowa	Paint and refurbish the exterior of the city ambulance garage. Exterior walls and trim.	Rob Litzenberger
Onawa	Onawa Public Library	Outside windows and doors trim on the entire library building	Amy McDermott
Osceola	Clarke County Historical Society	Knox Township #8 country school, exterior 4 walls and front side of main museum building	Barry Mateere
Oskaloosa	City of Oskaloosa	Edmundson Park Restroom	Stephanie Faulkes
Paton	William Paton Public Library	Around the outside of the libraries windows	Kimberly Bohnet
Pella	Spirit of Pella	Mural on the side of the Work of Our Hands Building in the Klokkenspel Plaza	Christi Vander Voort
Peterson	Peterson Heritage LLC	1875 Gust House|First Frame House in Clay County|1882 Boarding House	Kelsey Roer
Pleasantville	Pleasantville Chamber of Commerce	Exterior walls of the Frank H. Jolly shelter house in Pleasantville’s Cora Shadle Park	Don Dursky
Pocahontas County	Pocahontas County Conservation	Wiegert Prairie Farmstead	James Conway
Pomeroy	City of Pomeroy	Entire exterior of Pomeroy Community Building (metal siding and metal roof) and the interior of the building	Cynthia M. Loots
Postville	Northeast Iowa Wellness and Recreation Center	Hallways, stairway, coat rack area	Melanie Bauch
Prairie City	City of Prairie City	City Cemetery Gazebo	Jodie Wyman
Prairie Valley	Prairie Valley PTA	Art on playground cement	Emily Larson
Prescott	City of Prescott	library/city hall	Lisa Wilkinson
Preston	City of Preston	Preston Town Hall Interior and the Main Exterior Entrance Area	Teresa Weinschenk
Remsen	Remsen St. Mary’s	Cafeteria	Kim Phillips
Ringsted	Ringsted Community Improvement Organization, Inc.	Downtown area from Maple Street and Larch Street on the east to Maple Street an Lexington street on the west. Also the downtown park and buildings around it.	Diane Holtzman
Rock Rapids	Mural Society	Windows on East side of 801 First Ave	Sandra Wynia
Rockwell	Rockwell Public Library	Wood fences on both sides of the library building	Caroline McManigal
Roland	Roland Park Board	Erickson Park	Nathan Hovick
Rolfe	Rolfe Hometown Pride	City of Rolfe– Main Street–Gazebo	Barbara Bennett
Ryan	CITY OF RYAN	City Hill/Council Chambers	LORI TUCKER
Sac City	Sac City Hometown Pride	Playground equipment in Chautauqua Park Historic District, including three swing sets, two slides, rocking horse, teeter totters, and climbinb sphere.	Bruce Perry
Sergeant Bluff	City of Sergeant Bluff Parks and Recreation	Community Center building and fire station	Tyler Tweet
Sidney	City of Sidney	Side of building next to City Hall	Kenneth Brown
Spencer	City of Spencer Parks and Recreation Department	Pedersen Park Baseball & Softball Complex	Jared Elbert
Steamboat Rock	City of Steamboat Rock	North and South entrances and hallways, new visitor’s center, 3 bathrooms, cafe, new museum, and city hall.	Renee Oltrogge
Storm Lake	Buena Vista County Historical Society	Country School house	Marjorie Neulieb
Story City	Story City Greater Chamber Connection	Westside of the brick building located at 515 Broad Street in the downtown business district of Story City	Shanon McKinley
Strawberry Point	Strawberry Point Public Library	Front walls in cove area and pillars.	Patty Lincoln
Sully	Sully Hometown Pride Committee	Sully Ballpark shelter houses, Sully Ballpark playground equipment-slide and swing structure, Sully Central Park light posts	Nicholas De Penning
Superior	City of Superior	Interior walls of Superior Municipal Building	Sandi Bueltel
Swisher	Swisher Community Library	Front of building	Laura Hoover
Ute	City of Ute	Park Benches-Playground Equipment; Ballpark Bleachers-Bathrooms-Dugout-Wellhouse	Megan Peitsch
Varina	Varina Hometown Pride	Town Fire Hydrants	Richard Farrell
Wall Lake	Twilight Acres	twilightacresnursinghome.com	Chris Rodman
Wall Lake	Wall Lake, City of	Walls in the entry to gymnasium	Chris Rodman
Washington	Washington Chamber of Commerce	Washington County Barn Quilts	Michelle Redlinger
Waverly	Waverly Leisure Services	Waverly Rugby Field Goal Posts	Paul Cheville
Webster City	City of Webster City	Senior Citizen Building	Breanne Lesher
West Branch	West Branch Community Development Group	106 E Main St.; West Branch, IA; 52358	Nick Shimmin
West Burlington	Homestead 1839	Exterior of the Leffler Barn	Tobin Krell
West Liberty	Muscatine County Fair	Hog Barn	Kelsey Meyers
Westgate	City of Westgate	Park shelter, park concession stand, park restrooms, parking area lines (handicapped accessible parking) 2 city owned buildings	Rhonda Harn
Whiting	Whiting Public Library	City Park – bathrooms, shelter, park benches Baseball/Softball fields – Concession stand/bathrooms Community Center	Dawn Teel

Three high school seniors are receiving Keep Iowa Beautiful $1,000 scholarships toward their studies at an Iowa college or university.  Governor Kim Reynolds will make the presentations at ceremonies at the State Capitol on Thursday, March 31, 2022, at 12 noon.

“Keep Iowa Beautiful scholarships are awarded to graduating high school seniors who have a record of community service,” said Kevin Techau, Keep Iowa Beautiful Executive Director, “and a desire to continue to support and contribute to the enhancement of the place they live.”

SAUMYA BALAJI, Johnston, $1,000 Schnepf Scholarship.   Attending Iowa State, studying environmental science at Iowa State University.  Scholarship named after Gerry Schnepf, founding KIB Executive Director.  His careers spanned 50 years of making Iowa a better place to live, work and raise a family.  

MEGAN CLARK, Grand Mound, $1,000 Fultz Scholarship.  Attending Iowa State University, studying agriculture communications.  Scholarship named after Bill Fultz, founding KIB Board member and artist.  He started an advertising agency that became the largest agriculture advertising agency in the world.

EVELYN WERTZBERGER, Dubuque, $1,000 Byers Scholarship.  Attending University of Iowa, studying political science/environmental policy.   Scholarship named in honor of educator Bob Byers and his dedication to young people and environmental concerns has been a driving force encouraging young people to help improve their communities.

Since the creation of the scholarship program, Keep Iowa Beautiful has awarded $54,000 to 64 students.  There were 91 applications for this years three scholarships. 

For more information, visit https://keepiowabeautiful.org/grants-scholarships/scholarships/.