Hometown Pride Welcomes Communities in Delaware and Cedar Counties |
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Keep Iowa Beautiful (KIB) has announced a new partnership to expand the Hometown Pride program with the East Central Intergovernmental Association (ECIA), the Board of Supervisors of Delaware Counties, Cedar County Economic Development and 14 communities: Edgewood, Manchester, Delhi, Ryan, Dundee, Delaware, Hopkinton, Colesburg, Greeley, Earlville and Masonville, Mechanicsville, Stanwood, and Tipton. Through the Hometown Pride program, Keep Iowa Beautiful is building strong communities with sustainable futures.
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 for five years with the assistance of a community coach.
“Keep Iowa Beautiful is excited to partner with ECIA and leaders in Cedar County and Delaware County,” said Kevin Techau, Executive Director of Keep Iowa Beautiful. “As a result, 14 communities will have the potential to increase their cultural and economic vitality improving them as great places to live, work and raise a family.”
“We are very excited to help KIB expand the Hometown Pride program to 14 communities in Cedar County and Delaware County,” said Kelley Deutmeyer, Executive Director of East Central Intergovernmental Association.
Marla Quinn and Jennifer Walker (pictured below) will serve as Hometown Pride Coaches for the participating communities in Cedar County and Delaware County. Marla Quinn has been with the East Central Intergovernmental Association (ECIA) for 19 years as the Grants and Municipal Coordinator. “Keep Iowa Beautiful offers an exciting opportunity to enhance the appearance of local communities and improve the overall quality of life,” said Marla Quinn.
Jennifer Walker has been with (ECIA) for 13 years as the Development Coordinator and Consultant. “Each community will have a local committee selected by their mayor,” added Jennifer. “Our goal is to provide long term technical and support assistance to our help our communities grow and thrive.”
The Hometown Pride program is operating in Clinton, Dubuque, Jackson, Jones Pocahontas and Warren counties with 51 communities participating. Thirty-nine communities in Fremont, Jasper, Louisa and Sac have participated in the Hometown Pride program.
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Marla Quinn
Hometown Pride Coach
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Jennifer Walker
Hometown Pride Coach
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Keep Iowa Beautiful 12th Annual Photography Contest
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Iowans have the next six months to grab their cameras and enter the 12th Annual Keep Iowa Beautiful Photography Contest!
“This is a great way for Iowans to share what they like about Iowa,” said Kevin Techau, Keep Iowa Beautiful Executive Director. “There are five categories to enter your favorite photo of what makes you proud to be an Iowan and captures the beauty and spirit of Iowa,” added Techau. “Again, this year our contest will feature over $2,000 in cash awards.”
The two-phase contest begins now with entry deadline of December 18, 2021. Each of the five categories will be awarded 1stplace ($100), 2nd place ($75), and 3rd place ($50).
The five first-place winners will be featured on Keep Iowa Beautiful social media for voting and selecting the Public Favorite Photo. The winner will receive an additional $100 prize. The Robert D. Ray Best of Show Awards, determined by a distinguished panel, will also be announced at that time. The Robert D. Ray Best of Show award amounts are as follows; 1st place: $500, 2nd place: $250 and 3rd place: $100.
Randi Ray, Robert and Billie Ray’s eldest daughter, has agreed to serve on a panel of judges. “Photography was one of my Dad’s favorite pastimes,” said Randi. “During his 14 years as governor, he and my Mother traveled to many places around the world and he always had a camera around his neck.” Randi added, “Dad was so proud of Iowans and their efforts to make Iowa a great place to live.”
The five categories are:
Iowa Landscape: Capture Iowa’s beauty through depictions of Iowa’s landscape, including but not limited to: farm fields, rolling hills, and wooded forests.
Iowa Water: Feature Iowa’s beautiful water systems with depictions of Iowa rivers, streams, ponds and lakes.
Iowa Cities: Iowa’s urban centers are hubs of history, culture, and beauty. This category features depictions of Iowa’s cities, street scenes, and urban landmarks.
Iowans in Action: This category aims to capture the spirit of Iowa through depictions of the people that live, work, and play in Iowa. All means of action that can be captured: biking, running, fishing, hunting and hiking are but a few.
Iowa Wildlife:Iowa is home to a variety of beautiful critters. This category aims to showcase Iowa’s beauty through depictions of Iowa’s wildlife animals: mammals, fish, birds, bugs and more!
A $5 fee is required for each photo entered. To view contest rules and entry guidelines, visit our website.
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Volunteer with Keep Iowa Beautiful at the Iowa State Fair |
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There’s still time to sign up to volunteer with Keep Iowa Beautiful at the 2021 Iowa State Fair, taking place August 12 – 22, 2021. Volunteers will have the opportunity to help out at our booth inside the air-conditioned Varied Industries Building, picking up trash throughout the fairgrounds, and more! Keep Iowa Beautiful will provide a free gate admission (a $14 value) as well as a t-shirt.
If you’re interested in volunteering at the 2021 Iowa State Fair, sign up below!
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Pick-Up Iowa Efforts Continue to Improve Iowa Communities |
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Friends of Carlisle Parks |
Amazing job by the Friends of Carlisle Parks, Boy Scout Troop 133, and all the other volunteers who participated in Pick-Up Iowa! A
truckload of trash was picked up from North River and Highway 5.
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A big thanks to the 24 volunteers in Dedham who helped cleanup a park, ball field, and several areas around town!
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Updates from Hometown Pride Communities
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Audubon residents are enjoying their brand new mural that was completed in June! The “Audubon Wings” Mural (pictured) was made possible with generous contributions by Jodi, artist/owner at OM MY GOD Tattoo, Keep Iowa Beautiful and Diamond Vogel’s Paint Iowa Beautiful grant, Lori’s Flowers, and other local donations.
Be sure to get a picture in front of the wings and tag #AudubonWings on social media!
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George Swimming Pool Reopened for July 4th Festivities
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Residents of George, IA in Lyon County are thankful for the return of the community’s swimming pool after being closed for nearly a month. Having identified a leak in early June, city officials began work to make sure the pool was operational for July 4th festivities.
The leak repair was not the only maintenance work done at the George pool this year! In fact, Keep Iowa Beautiful, in partnership with Diamond Vogel Paints, awarded George a Paint Iowa Beautiful grant, which helped the community add a new coat of paint to the pool in late April/early May.
We are happy to be a part of the efforts to bring back this awesome community resource and help beat the heat in George this summer!
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#WanderWarrenCounty this Summer With Warren County Virtual Bingo |
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Warren County Hometown Pride is partnering with Warren County Tourism to bring summer Bingo to the community!
This interactive Virtual Bingo program features 25 unique activities and ways to engage with your community throughout the summer months! Participation is easy:
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View the Warren County Virtual Bingo Card.
- Check out the activities and explore Warren County.
- If you get Bingo (5 activities in a row), be sure to share on social media and you could win one of the great prizes offered by Warren County Tourism and Warren County Hometown Pride.
What a great way to get out and #WanderWarrenCounty this summer!
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When you see litter happening on Iowa’s roadways from a vehicle, Call 1-888-665-4887
Please provide as much detail about the incident as possible:
- License plate number
- Time and specific location (street & city)
- What was thrown from the vehicle
- A vehicle description (color, make and model)
Call 1.888.NOLITTR (1-888-665-4887) to report littering from a vehicle.
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Social Media Submissions
Keep Iowa Beautiful wants to share your community’s good news!
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Are you proud of a completed project in your town? Do you want to show off a new mural in your downtown? Did you host a fun, exciting event for your community? We want to know about it!
Click on the button below to share short descriptions of events, projects, or news from your town! You can include pictures and captions as well. Keep Iowa Beautiful will share your post on our social media!
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Your Support Matters!
Keep Iowa Beautiful is a non-profit organization and, as such, relies on your support to ensure the success of our environmental education and community outreach programs.
Donations will help KIB's efforts to support our community. Any amount is valued and appreciated.
Donations can be made online or checks can be mailed to our office:
Keep Iowa Beautiful
2910 Westown Pkwy #302,
West Des Moines, IA 50266
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KEEP IOWA BEAUTIFUL
2910 Westown Parkway, Suite 302 | West Des Moines, IA 50266
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