Photo Credit: Justin Rogers, 3rd place winner, Iowa Landscapes category.
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September 2021 Newsletter |
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Keep Iowa Beautiful Rides in the Iowa State Fair Parade |
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Did you see the five cyclists representing Keep Iowa Beautiful in the Iowa State Fair Parade? Each pulled a Karris Cart, a lightweight cart that is towed and used to pick up trash along bike trails! The Karris Cart is named in honor of John Karris, one of the founders of RAGBRAI.
Pictured below (L-R) is Tim Lane-Program Coordinator, Kevin Techau-Executive Director, Tyler Weig, Linda and Dave Gobberdiel.
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Try out the Karris Carts for yourself! The carts can be checked out at the Des Moines Parks and Recreation, 1551 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Prkwy. For more information call 515-248-6373. |
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Thank you Iowa State Fair Volunteers! |
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The Keep Iowa Beautiful Board of Directors and staff would like to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to the many Iowans who volunteered their time at the Keep Iowa Beautiful booth during this year’s Iowa State Fair. Thousands of fair-goers were greeted by 57 volunteers and staff giving out information about our programs that are helping build stronger communities.
Thank you to our wonderful volunteers:
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Bev Allbaugh
Marv Allbaugh
Brenda Barnett
Jim Barnett
Marjorie Best-Peterson
Francis Boggus
Kristie Carr
Don Cavanaugh
Drue Cavanaugh
Angela Cooper
Thom Davis
Tom Devine
Lorin Ditzler
Heath Ellis
Pam Ellis
Lisa Folken
Hannah Gebhart
Shirley Holm
Elaine Idso
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Bill Jackson
Debbie Jayne
Joe Jenkins
Lyn Jenkins
Kasi Krehbriel
Renee Kowlessar
Carrie Lane
Tim Lane
Wendy Lemke
Amy Lindgren
Mark Masteller
Angie McBride
Todd McBride
Kim McWilliams
James Michels
Karen Oberheu
Christie Petersen
Shannon Poe
Mike Richardson
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Gabrielle Riesterer
Jim Riesterer
Chris Schaefer
Kathy Seyfert
Rod Seyfert
Megan Simmons
Lanny Simpson
Ella Sperry
Lucinda Sperry
Judy Stammeyer
Cindy Starr
Roger Stowell
Kevin Techau
Sheila Tjaden
Alan Vander Linden
Sheryl Vander Linden
Emily Webb
George Wright
Jamie Xayavong
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Hometown Pride communities Maquoketa and Warren County each filled a day with volunteers from their respective communities. Maquoketa Hometown Pride day was Wednesday, Aug. 18th and Warren County was Saturday, Aug. 14th.
Special thank you to the parks department and citizens of Pleasant Hill. For at least 18 years they have volunteered for Monday of the State Fair.
And finally, a big thank you to Bev and Marv Allbaugh (pictured below) who have volunteered for at least two shifts for over 15 years. The Allbaughs are from Humboldt and are campers during the Fair, volunteering their time for several Fair organizations.
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Again, our thanks for helping get the word out about Keep Iowa Beautiful and our programs that make Iowa communities more attractive places to live, work and raise a family. |
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Keep Iowa Beautiful State Fair Garden Tools Winners—Congratulations! |
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Thousands of Iowa State Fair visitors came through the Varied Industries Building to stop by the Keep Iowa Beautiful booth and over a thousand signed up to win one of three sets of garden tools! Winners were drawn early Sunday evening, the final day of the State Fair.
Congratulations to our winners!
Carolyn Greenfield from Scotch Grove
Alice Morris from Des Moines
Vicky Spoon from Belle Plaine
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Capitol to Corndogs Clean 5K Run |
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On Thursday, August 19th, the Green Runners of Des Moines led a run from the State Capitol to the Iowa State Fairgrounds, collecting trash along the way.
“The run raised awareness for litter prevention and trash cleanup to keep all communities in Iowa safe and green.” said Rachel Kautzky-Scheib, the founder of the group. “This marked the 8th year of the Capitol to Corndogs Clean 5K Run.”
After arriving at the Fairgrounds, the runners posed for a photo with the trash they had collected and enjoyed a beverage at the Bud Tent.
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Keep Iowa Beautiful Welcomes New Board of Director Members |
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The Keep Iowa Beautiful Board of Directors appointed two new board members at the August Board meeting. We are excited to welcome Nate Westre and Mark Wiskus to the Board and look forward to the good work we can do together. |
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Nate Westre: Nate grew up just west of Des Moines in the community of Stuart. After graduating from the University of Kansas with a degree in Business Administration and living in the Kansas City area for 10 years he moved back to Stuart and purchased Ruby's Pub and Grill, a local landmark since 1947. Back in Stuart, Nate became active in the local business and economic development community partnering with local organizations and serving a term as the Stuart Chamber of Commerce president.
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Mark Wiskus: is the President and Founder of the Wiskus Group, which offers estate and retirement income planning. His primary focus includes charitable and financial planning. Mark is a member of the Des Moines Estate Planners Forum and speaks frequently to non-profit organization donors on charitable giving strategies. Mark serves on several boards including the Unity Point Des Moines Foundation, the Pella Community Foundation, the Garden Chapel Funeral Charitable Endowment Fund, and Pella Kiwanis Club. As President of Wonder Spelen, Mark has been instrumental in building an inclusive playground in Pella. He also serves as Chairman of The Pella Opera House Board. Mark and his wife, Christine, live in Pella and have two daughters.
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Check out some of these Pick-Up Iowa highlights from this year! |
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Cedar Valley Cyclists’ Earth Day Pick-Up Iowa Event |
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Kirkwood Jones County Regional Center Pick-Up volunteers clean up the Willow Trail and Riverside Gardens in Monticello |
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United Way of Story County volunteers helping to keep the streets clean during their Pick-Up Iowa Event |
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Past Winner: Norman Ward, 2nd place winner, Iowans in Action category
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Keep Iowa Beautiful’s 12th Annual Photography Contest
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Fall will be here shortly and a great time to grab your camera, or phone, and enter Keep Iowa Beautiful’s 12th Annual Photography Contest.
“This is a great way for Iowans to share what you 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 on December 18, 2021. Each of the five categories will be awarded 1st place: $100, 2nd place: $75, and 3rd place: $50.
From January 17-31, 2022, 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 can be found on our website
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Maquoketa's Annual Maqtoberfest Returns for a 3rd Year
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The Annual Maqtoberfest fall festival returns after a one-year hiatus to bring music, food, and fun to downtown Maquoketa for its 3rd year.
A day’s worth of activities are planned for the downtown Green Space and the 100 block of S. Main St. to be held on Saturday, September 18, 2021 between 11:00 am and 8:00 pm.
Performances will take place all day on the Main Street Stage.
In the Green Space, there will be activities for kids of all ages, including face painting, fishing, a petting zoo, an activity from the Maquoketa Y, Make-and-Take Arts & Crafts, ImpactLife, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, educational & informational booths, and more.
Also on the Green Space sidewalk, 11:00-2:00, we host a Chalk Art Contest. Participants can register on site, use our supplies, or bring their own. Winners will be announced at 2:15 pm from the Main Street Stage.
In Main Street, vendors of handcrafted and homemade items will join with Maquoketa downtown businesses to offer a variety of unique wares for sale and exciting promotion for downtown stores.
Food and beverages will also be available from Tri-M BBQ, Happi Hibachi, and others. And don’t miss the chance to taste samples from Maquoketa’s Spelunker Coffee Company brewed from their custom roasted beans!
Maqtoberfest is presented by the Maquoketa Hometown Pride Committee with generous support from community groups and businesses.
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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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