August 2025 Newsletter

Photo Credit: “Fall in Elkader,” Trent Hanselmann of Dubuque, 3rd Place Iowa Cities

15th Annual Keep Iowa Beautiful Photography Contest Submission

All Fair, All Fun, All Clean

Keeping Iowa Beautiful at the Iowa State Fair

Every August, more than a million people pour into the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Thanks to the hard work of the OK Crew, guest are able to leave behind memories, not messes.

Keep Iowa Beautiful proudly partners with the Iowa State Fair to support the OK Crew, a team dedicated to keeping the grounds clean throughout the event. Through this partnership, we provide OK Crew members with tools, gear, and Keep Iowa Beautiful branded shirts that represent a shared commitment to maintaining a clean, welcoming environment for fairgoers.

This initiative is part of Keep Iowa Beautiful’s broader commitment to community pride and sustainability through the Keep America Beautiful's Greatest American Cleanup, the nation’s largest community improvement program. The goal is to make our communities cleaner, greener, and more beautiful for America’s 250th celebration; removing 25 billion pieces of litter from parks, waterways, and public spaces by July 4, 2026.

Thank you to the Iowa State Fair for your partnership, and thank you to Keep America Beautiful for your support!

Together, we’re keeping Iowa beautiful.

16th Annual Photography Contest will be opening in September!

Keep Iowa Beautiful’s Annual Photography Contest is coming soon. From rural landscapes to vibrant city streets, we want to see Iowa through your eyes. Grab your camera and get ready to share your story.

#HometownPride Highlights

Hometown Pride Communities Shine at the Iowa State Fair

Congratulations to all of the winners and participants in the 2025 Big Pumpkin Contest at the Iowa State Fair! Special thanks to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s Weights and Measures team for serving as the official weighers of this year’s pumpkins.

A big shoutout to Pete Caspers and his daughter Alba of Peosta, who grew the first-place pumpkin and set a new State Fair record at 1,409 lbs! Peosta is a Hometown Pride Community!

This year’s Super Bull, Bud took the title, weighing in at an impressive 3,110 pounds! Bud is a Black Angus Composite owned by John & Bridget Costello and Mark Till of Delmar, Iowa (a Hometown Pride community). Photo provided by the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association.

More Hometown Pride Highlights from the Iowa State Fair can be found on social media. Did we forget to share a highlight from your Hometown Pride community? Send it over to info@keepiowabeautiful.org!

'Field of Dreams' Mural in Holy Cross

The Holy Cross Hometown Pride Committee recently celebrated a new mural, revealing their ‘field’ of dreams, designed by Beau Thomas of Trackside Design. This project showcases the power of Hometown Pride in bringing new energy and visitors to the community. Pictured are Holy Cross Hometown Pride members in front of the new mural.

Celebrating 8 years of success in Clinton County

Clinton County Hometown Pride celebrated eight years of successes on July 30th at the Hall of Fame Restaurant in DeWitt. Over 60 volunteers and supporters attended to thank out-going Community Coach Francis Boggus for his work in the county. During the eight years of Clinton County Hometown Pride, the committees worked on 58 projects with total costs of over $4.5 million. We look forward to many more years of success for Clinton County’s Hometown Pride!

Learn more about Hometown Pride Communities

#PaintIowaBeautiful Progress

Above: The City of Essex got a fresh look to the exterior of the park restrooms and to the park bandstand.

Left: The Lamoni

Trails Commission was able to paint center lines around all of the blind corners of a local bike trail.

Iowa Downtown Conference

August 5-6, 2025 Muscatine, Iowa

Andy and Lorin joined community leaders from across the state at the Iowa Downtown Conference this month, exploring new ideas and strategies to strengthen downtown economic development. Their participation reinforces our commitment to helping communities thrive, grow, and showcase the best of what Iowa has to offer.

2025 Build With Bags Grants

Two Keep Iowa Beautiful Hometown Pride Committee's were awarded a 2025 Build with Bags grant. This program provides new park benches, picnic tables and trash cans will help to beautify parks and schools throughout Iowa.

Congratulations to the City of Havelock Hometown Pride Committee and Pocahontas Hometown Pride Committee!

Keep Iowa Beautiful is a proud partner of the Iowa Grocery Industry Association’s Build with Bags program.

Your Support Matters!

Consider supporting Keep Iowa Beautiful to help us continue our work improving Iowa communities! Remember: donations to Keep Iowa Beautiful are tax deductible!

Donations can be made online or checks can be mailed to our office:

Keep Iowa Beautiful

2910 Westown Pkwy. Suite 302

West Des Moines, IA 50266

Support Iowa Communities

KEEP IOWA BEAUTIFUL

2910 Westown Parkway, Suite 302 | West Des Moines, IA 50266

www.keepiowabeautiful.org