Thank You for Making the Inaugural Keep Iowa Beautiful Golf Tournament a Success

The inaugural Keep Iowa Beautiful Golf Tournament on June 14 was a huge success! 128 golfers gathered at Copper Creek Golf Club in Pleasant Hill for the 4-person best shot tournament. The event raised $11,000 to support Keep Iowa Beautiful programs. 

The event included a silent auction. The auction roster had several exciting items, including tickets to Drake men’s women’s basketball, Des Moines Buccaneers, Iowa Wild, Iowa Cubs, and the Barnstormers. 

Also active on the auction block were sports legends to include in the bidder’s own golf foursome at a future date: Bobby Hansen or Chuck Long or Casey Blake.  

Keep Iowa Beautiful’s 13th Annual Photo Contest is Now Open!  

Summer is here and Keep Iowa Beautiful is announcing the 13th Annual Keep Iowa Beautiful Photography Contest. Iowans have the next six months to grab their cameras, or phones, and enter one or all of the five categories.   

The two-phase contest begins now with entry deadline on December 17, 2022. Each of the five categories will be awarded 1st place: $100, 2nd place: $75, and 3rd place: $50.   

From January 15-29, 2023, 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. 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. 

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. Contest rules and entry guidelines are on KIB’s website: www.keepiowabeautiful.com/photograph-contest/  

Pick Up Iowa May and June Recap

Pick Up Iowa events are happening all over the state! Read about a few communities below! 

DNR Derelict Building Grant Program awards Grants to Rural Communities

The DNR Derelict Building Grant Program awarded seven grants to six small, rural Iowa communities to help deconstruct or renovate abandoned structures, remove asbestos, and limit construction and demolition materials going to the landfill. Keep Iowa Beautiful is a partner of the DNR Derelict Building Grant Program and helps select grant recipients.

The DNR Derelict Building Grant Program was instituted by statute to help rural communities with populations of 5,000 or less remove environmental hazards, improve community appearance and minimize costs by recycling and reusing building materials through deconstruction or renovation of abandoned, derelict buildings. 

DBGP funding is awarded annually on a competitive basis with cash matches required. Applications for the next funding round will be due on Feb. 24, 2023. 

The following projects will receive a total of $400,000 as reimbursement grants: 

• City of Carson, Pottawattamie County — $69,891 to abate asbestos and deconstruct an old commercial building at 119 Broadway St.City plans to redevelop the space into a new daycare center. 
• City of Carson, Pottawattamie County — $66,884 to abate asbestos and deconstruct an old commercial building at 121 Broadway St.City plans to redevelop the space into a new daycare center. 
• City of Corydon, Wayne County — $43,200 to abate asbestos and deconstruct an old commercial building. City plans to redevelop the space into a pocket park for citizens to enjoy. 
• City of Griswold, Cass County — $94,625 to abate asbestos and deconstruct an old commercial building. City plans to redevelop the space into a new daycare center. 
• City of Hopkinton, Delaware County — $22,225 to abate asbestos and deconstruct an old commercial building. City plans to redevelop the space into a new medical clinic. 
• City of Mapleton, Monona County - $22,900 to abate asbestos and deconstruct an old commercial building. City plans to have a new space for commercial redevelopment. 
• City of Sac City, Sac County — $80,275 to abate asbestos and deconstruct an old commercial building. City plans to develop the area into a trail head and green space for farmer’s market. 

For more information about the grant program, application forms and resources, visit: www.iowadnr.gov/Environment/LandStewardship/WasteManagement/DerelictBuildingProgram.aspx. 

A Fun-Filled Summer with Warren County Hometown Pride!

Warren County Hometown Pride is hosting several exciting events this summer! Plan your visit today! 

• July 16 - Hartford BBQ Bash (Smoking/grilling competition) 
• July 18 and August 10 - "Front Porch" Nights (Norwalk & Cumming) 
• July 18 and August 15 - Hartford Music in the Park 
• July 30 - Celebrate Warren County Parade (Sign up: https://bit.ly/WCparade) 
• September 4 - Norwalk Music Fest 

Don’t forget to check out the new additions to Warren County while you’re there: 

• Musical instruments in Milo City Park 
• Yard of the month in Indianola and Cumming 
• “Welcome home” park and sign in Hartford 
• Park wayfinding signs in Indianola 
• Rest station at Milo trailhead 
• Mini murals on the Depot in New Virginia 
• New benches for City Park in Norwalk 
• Adopt-a-brick fundraiser for maintenance of Warren County Veterans memorial in Norwalk 
• Produce exchange cart in Milo 
• Warren County Summer BINGO 

Paint Iowa Beautiful - City of Clarence

The City of Clarence completed a great Paint Iowa Beautiful project at the end of May! A team of volunteers for showed up the morning of May 27 to paint the four Lincoln Highway Biway logo crosswalks! 

This project was made possible through a grant received from Paint Iowa Beautiful, Keep Iowa Beautiful and Diamond Vogel. Clarence Main Street was awarded 3 gallons of Diamond Vogel paint to complete our design project. The remaining paint was purchased by Clarence Main Street. 

Social Media Submissions - 4th of July Edition

In honor of the 175 anniversary of Iowa’s Statehood, send in a photo of your community! Whether is a photo of your local park, your favorite town garden, a mural that inspires you, or other areas unique to your town, you can click the button below to share short descriptions and photos of what makes your town beautiful. Keep Iowa Beautiful will share your post on our social media!