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/.

The Keep Iowa Beautiful Board of Directors announced the following award winners for 2022.

Governor Kim Reynolds will present the awards at a ceremony at the State Capitol on Thursday, March 31, 2022 at 12noon.  The Governor will be signing a proclamation kicking off April as Keep Iowa Beautiful month.

“The Keep Iowa Beautiful award program is designed to recognize exceptional people and organizations that have gone the extra mile to help build stronger Iowa communities,” said Reo Menning, Chair of the KIB Board of Directors.  “A more attractive community improves the economic vitality and cultural climate where we live, work and raise a family.”

The Keep Iowa Beautiful Corporation Award goes to the RAYGUN for partnering with Keep Iowa Beautiful on the Karras Bike Cart trash removal project.   

The Keep Iowa Beautiful Organization Award to the IOWA BICYCLE COALITION for promoting safe and enjoyable bicycling as an economic benefit and tourism attraction making communities better places to live.

The Keep Iowa Beautiful Robert D. Ray Award of Excellence to the COMMUNITY OF BELLEVUE  for the remarkable partnerships and projects that enhanced the quality of life in the community.

The Keep Iowa Beautiful Donald F. Lamberti Hometown Pride Vision Award selected PATTI HARDIN-MAYOR OF DELMAR for being an outstanding leader that has inspired many in making Delmar a great community to live. 

For more about the Keep Iowa Beautiful Awards, https://keepiowabeautiful.org/keep-iowa-beautiful-awards/.

Keep Iowa Beautiful (KIB) announced the winners of the 12^th Keep Iowa Beautiful Photography Contest aimed at raising awareness of Iowa’s natural and environmental beauty.  KIB wants to learn what resonates with Iowans based on the photographs they share through this annual photography contest.

“This is a great way for Iowans to share what they like about rural and urban Iowa,” said Kevin Techau, KIB Executive Director.  “This photo contest offers both amateur and experienced photographers an opportunity to tell Iowa’s story in a fun, engaging way.”

There were 601 photos entered in five categories capturing the beauty and spirit of Iowa reflecting why our citizens are proud to be Iowans.  Winners 1^st, 2^nd & 3^rd won $100, $75 and $50 respectively in each category.  To see all of the winning photos go to https://keepiowabeautiful.org/photography-contest/.

Beginning Monday, January 17 through January 31 the five first-place winners will be featured on Keep Iowa Beautiful Facebook page for voting and selecting the Public Favorite Photo.  To cast your vote visit http://bit.ly/KIBvote2022  

The winners in the five categories are:

Iowa Landscape

1^st Place:  Wilford & Yoder of Iowa City—“Cutting & Stacking Oat Bundles”

2^nd Place:  Brian Gibbs of Elkader—“Rainbow Over Motor Mill at Sunset”

3^rd Place:  Dave Austin of Ankeny—“A Season Begins”

Honorable Mention—Shelley Gerjets—“Icy Start”

Iowa Water 

1^st Place:  Scott Hoag of De Witt—“Port of Debuque”

2^nd Place:  Josh Meier of Tipton—“Macbride Rainbow”

3^rd Place:  David Smith of New London—“Nightfall”

Honorable Mention:  Trent Hanselmann of Dubuque—“Fall Over the Mississippi”

Iowa Cities

1^st Place:   Sharon Scarff of Wayland—“Snake Alley in Bloom”

2^nd Place:  Drue Powers of Red Oak—“Beauty in the Storm”

3^rd Place:  Justin West of Des Moines—“Winter Capitol Bridges”

Honorable Mention:  Jesse Streinz of West Branch—“Christmas Past”

Iowans in Action

1^st Place:  William Beardsley of Estherville—“Okoboji Regatta”

2^nd Place:  Lee Navin of Ankeny—“Dayton Rodeo”

3^rd Place:  Will Hunter of Council Bluffs—“Singing, Dancing, Playing, Socializing & Happiness”

Honorable Mention:  Aaron Miller of Carlisle—“Cattle Drive in Warren County”

Iowa Wildlife

1^st Place:  William Beardsley of Estherville—“Take-Off”

2^nd Place:  Tana Tesdall of Ames—“Curious Fox”

3^rd Place:  Rui Chen of Ames—“Night Owl Basking in the Sun”

Honorable Mention:  Emily Harper of Des Moines—“Buffalo”

Honorable Mention:  Jesse Strenz of West Branch—“Flying Low”

To view the photos visit https://keepiowabeautiful.org/photography-contest/.

Keep Iowa Beautiful (KIB) will award three $1,000 scholarships to Iowa high school seniors in 2022 who plan to enroll in an Iowa college or university. 

The scholarships are in honor of three pioneers in Keep Iowa Beautiful’s 21-year history:

Bob Byers—Educator.  Through Bob’s leadership, KIB’s Litter-Free School Campus program was started in NW Iowa. His dedication to young people and environmental concerns was a driving force encouraging young people to help improve their community.

William Fultz—KIB Founding Board Member and artist. Bill started an advertising agency that became the largest agricultural advertising agency in the world.

Gerald Schnepf—KIB Founding Executive Director.  Gerry’s career spanned 50 years of making Iowa a better place to live, work and raise a family.

The Byers scholarship is supporting high school students who plan to enroll and study environmental science, community development, landscape architecture or architecture (historical emphasis) or community planning and sustainability.

The Schnepf scholarship will be awarded to a senior who has a record of community service and a desire to continue to support and contribute to the enhancement of the place they live and work.  College programs could include community & regional planning and volunteer management.

The Fultz scholarship will be awarded to a senior planning on studying communications, public relations and/or marketing.  

“KIB seeks to foster positive values in younger generations and reinforce them in older generations. We encourage respect for home, neighborhood, community and state,” said Kevin Techau, Keep Iowa Beautiful Executive Director.

Since the founding of the scholarship program, Keep Iowa Beautiful has awarded $51,000 to 61 students. Applications are due February 11, 2022 with notification in March.

For more information or to apply on-line go to:https://keepiowabeautiful.org/grants-awards/scholarship/

Keep Iowa Beautiful and Diamond Vogel Paint are pleased to announce the 2022 Paint Iowa Beautiful program.  The program provides free paint to a wide variety of community projects throughout Iowa. Administered through Keep Iowa Beautiful with the paint provided by the Diamond Vogel Paint Company.

“The partnership with Keep Iowa Beautiful allows Diamond Vogel to assist and work with many local volunteers that help build communities, making Iowa a great place to live,” said Doug Vogel, Vice President, Marketing, of the Iowa based company.  “This is a great opportunity for Iowans to improve the attractiveness of their community.”

Kevin Techau, Executive Director of Keep Iowa Beautiful added, “The Paint Iowa Beautiful program helps increase our assistance to communities, neighborhoods, historic projects and volunteer organizations improve attractiveness and beauty across Iowa.”  

In the 19-year partnership with Keep Iowa Beautiful, Diamond Vogel has awarded over 11,860 gallons of paint for 1,132 community projects in Iowa.

The online grant application is now open to Iowans and can be completed and submitted by February 14, 2022.  Access the Paint Iowa Beautiful application at: https://keepiowabeautiful.org/grants-scholarships/grants/paint-iowa-beautiful/

About Diamond Vogel

Diamond Vogel is an Iowa based, family owned company started in 1926 by Andrew Vogel.  It serves 13 states with seven manufacturing facilities and 53 service center outlets providing Architectural Finishes, Industrial and Original Equipment Finishes and Home Decorating Products.  www.diamondvogel.com  

About Keep Iowa Beautiful

Keep Iowa Beautiful was established in 2000 by Governor Robert D. Ray and Donald F. Lamberti becoming the 23^rd State Affiliate of Keep America Beautiful.   It is a 501c3 charitable organization working with citizens, neighborhoods and communities in improving the vitality and cultural health of the state of Iowa.  KIB is helping build stronger communities to develop sustainable futures.  For more information see our web page at www.keepiowabeautiful.com