Volunteer with Keep Iowa Beautiful at the 2021 Iowa State Fair
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Keep Iowa Beautiful is seeking volunteers to join us at the 2021 Iowa State Fair! 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!
If you’re interested in volunteering at the 2021 Iowa State Fair, sign up below!
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Become a Hometown Pride Community! |
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Want to make a difference in the future of your hometown? Keep Iowa Beautiful’s Hometown Pride program was developed to assist Iowa communities in the implementation of community plans and visions. The program was established in 2012 and has served ten (10) counties and 68 communities.
Hometown Pride brings community members together to improve their hometown. The community coaching approach provides technical and financial assistance to local residents, city councils, city clerks and managers to support the plans and visions for the future of the communities both culturally and economically. It builds a sense of community pride and respect along with a sense of vitality and action.
What can Hometown Pride do for your community?
- Provide professional assistance through community coaching,
- Furnish a toolkit of programs that can help activate community pride and volunteerism,
- Increase the effectiveness of local community programs,
- Involve youth through service learning,
- Build stronger, more vibrant communities,
- Support and grow investments in the local community foundation,
- Empower local citizens and provide needed skill training,
- And MORE!
Contact Keep Iowa Beautiful today and arrange for a presentation on Hometown Pride program. Our staff will be happy to meet with your county economic development group, board of supervisors, community foundation or other groups or individuals to discuss the program and provide complete details on how to apply.
For information, check out our website.
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Karris Cart Fleet Adds Four More Litter Carts |
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At the recent dedication of the Founders Statue of John Karras and Donald Kaul, founders of RAGBRAI, the Karris Cart prototype was unveiled. The concept was offered to cyclists as a birthday present to celebrate John Karras on his 91st birthday. The fleet shown here it can be towed behind a bicycle and provide both supplies (water, bags and gloves) plus haul bags of litter to spots where bags can be collected along bike trials.
With a generous donation to the Friends of Des Moines Parks from Carl Voss of Des Moines, support from Bike World and other donations the Karras Cart fleet now boasts five carts!
The base of these carts is currently located with the Des Moines Park and Recreation and can be checked out by individuals, clubs or organizations in the Greater Metropolitan area. The grabbers can also be attached to the cart in such a way that will allow riders to stay mounted and still pick up litter.
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Anamosa Beautifies Main Street |
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Anamosa Hometown Pride joined volunteers and city staff to help beautify their Main Street and downtown area. The group enjoyed their time planting flowers and cleaning up the area during United Way’s Day of Caring on Friday, May 14th!
Way to go Anamosa!
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Pick-Up Iowa Efforts Continue to Improve Iowa Communities |
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Thank you to Adair community and 4-H members for participating in Pick-Up Iowa! The 60-person group picked up the Adair City Park on April 3rd.
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Back Country Horsemen of Iowa |
Thank you to the Back Country Horsemen of Iowa for helping to keep our parks and trails clean! We can all make an effort to help Keep Iowa Beautiful! |
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Maquoketa Summer Concert Series Returns for 2021 |
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The 2021 Maquoketa Summer Concert Series returns after a one-year hiatus to bring music, food, and fun to downtown Maquoketa.
Concerts will be held at the Downtown Green Space (137 S. Main St.) on the 1st and
3rd Thursdays of June, July and August. Food from Tri-M BBQ’s food truck will be available from 5:30 pm, with music starting at 6:00 pm and lasting for about 2 hours. At most concerts, one of our sponsors will offer treats for a freewill donation. On June 3rd, enjoy ice cream floats provided by the Maquoketa Optimist Club. These are free, family-friendly, live music events. Bring a lawn chair and enjoy Maquoketa’s summer evenings.
This year’s concert line-up consists of:
- June 3 - Nutsy Turtle & Lori G
- June 17 - Amber & Adam
- July 1 - Big John Hammer & the Rusty Nails
- July 15 - Shake, Rattle and Roll
- August 5 - The Lonely Goats
- August 19 - The Matt McPherson Band
The Maquoketa Summer Concert Series is presented by the Maquoketa Hometown Pride Committee with generous support from community groups and businesses including Maquoketa Community Services, Maquoketa Optimist Club, Maquoketa Rotary Club, Maquoketa State Bank, and the Walmart Community Grants Program.
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DART Bus Shelters to Feature Iowa Artists’ Work |
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More than 70 bus stops around the Des Moines metro will soon be transformed into one-of-a-kind bus shelters designed by Iowa artists!
A $250,000 investment from Bravo Greater Des Moines has allowed DART to move forward with its plans to incorporate public art into its growing network of bus shelters. The locations targeted for a makeover include high-ridership stops on major routes and areas undergoing streetscape improvement projects, according to a Monday news release.
Matthew Harris, DART's business and community partnerships manager, said the effort reflects community support for more bus shelters. "Shelters are DART’s most requested service amenity and we’re excited to collaborate with our community partners to unite creativity and accessibility in this unique way," Harris said in a statement.
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Fort Dodge Youth Lead the Way With Anti-Litter Initiative |
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Fort Dodge young people have taken the lead in a unique project to keep the downtown area clean and free of litter.
Industrial technology students at Fort Dodge Senior High School have made 26 metal trash receptacles that are now starting to appear on downtown sidewalks. A total of 22 will be placed around downtown, with four held in reserve in case one of the others gets ruined. The containers will soon be decorated with artwork by students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
The Pick It Up Fort Dodge initiative got started in December 2018 when the city received a $10,000 Arts Build Communities grant from the Iowa Arts Council. Local leaders applied for the grant, demonstrating unique, out-of-the- box thinking. After all, how many communities turn to artists and designers when confronted with a litter problem?
While the adults applied for the grant and developed the Pick it Up Fort Dodge concept, it is the youths who made it happen. Students in the industrial technology class got some real world experience in skills like welding while manufacturing the containers. They can take pride in their craftsmanship, which is on full display to everyone moving about downtown.
The younger kids entered an art contest to decorate the containers. A total of 36 entries were received and 26 designs were picked. All of the young people involved in this project have made a valuable contribution to our community. Thanks to their hard work and creativity, the rest of us have no excuse for dropping litter on the ground downtown Fort Dodge!
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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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