Photo Credit: William Beardsley, Iowans in Action 2nd Place

13th Annual Keep Iowa Beautiful Annual Photography Contest Submission

September 2023 Newsletter

Get Involved: Hometown Pride Program Seeking New Communities

We’re looking for a new crop of communities to join the Hometown Pride program!

Your hometown can join the 100+ communities who have used Hometown Pride to help grow local leadership, create new community amenities, enhance civic pride, and increase economic vitality. New communities typically join as a group of 7-10 towns in a county/region.

For more information and program details, visit https://keepiowabeautiful.org/programming/hometown-pride/.

Questions? Reach out to Lorin at [email protected].

Keep an eye out for other upcoming programs: applications for scholarships and Paint Iowa Beautiful grants will be opening soon!

Iowa Communities Utilize

Paint Iowa Beautiful Grants

Through Keep Iowa Beautiful's longstanding partnership with Diamond Vogel, the Paint Iowa Beautiful program awards paint grants to volunteers and organizations for community improvement projects. This furthers Keep Iowa Beautiful's belief that well-maintained and painted buildings reflect pride in our communities.

Schori Park in Elgin, Iowa, has new life thanks to a recent Paint Iowa Beautiful grant.

All the park shelters were repainted, including the big shelter near the playground area, the picnic shelter with built-in bathrooms and the concessions stand.

The horse barn at the Tracy House Museum in Ocheyedan, Iowa, has a new coat of paint thanks to a Paint Iowa Beautiful grant.

The horse barn, one of the oldest buildings in Ocheyedan, was donated to the Tracy House Museum and moved to the museum's property. After making much-needed repairs to the roof, volunteers used a Paint Iowa Beautiful grant to give the structure a new coat of red paint over the summer.

The Solon Public Library in Solon, Iowa, is now enjoying a fresh coat of paint in its community meeting room and kitchen area.

It had been at least 10 years since these areas were painted, and the old pink/beige color has been replaced with a bright cool-toned paint. It's the perfect update to rooms that are used daily as free meeting spaces for library programs, organizational meetings, and community celebrations.

Learn More

Hometown Pride Updates

Keep Iowa Beautiful's Hometown Pride program brings community members and volunteers together to drive positive change in Iowa’s hometowns. Check out some of the great work happening in our Hometown Pride Communities!

Maquoketa Hometown Pride Holds Fifth Annual Maqtoberfest

Our Hometown Pride contingent in Maquoketa held its fifth annual Maqtoberfest this month!

This annual fall event is a great opportunity for community members to come together for a day of fun and community celebration.

Luxemborg Hosts "Sunday Funday" Fundraiser Event

Volunteers in Luxemborg, Iowa, hosted a "Sunday Funday" event in the park, including inflatable activities, train rides and a food truck.

The event was a success, and money raised will go toward future community events and the installation of a trail in the park.

Manchester Raises Funds for New City Dog Park

Work is underway on a new dog park in Manchester, Iowa! This Hometown Pride initiative will provide a community space for pups and their owners in Manchester.

The area has already been seeded, signage put up and fundraising is underway for this great project.

Social Media Submissions

Keep Iowa Beautiful wants to share your community’s good news!

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!

Submit Your Stories

You Can Stop Litter!

You can help reduce litter in Iowa!

When you see litter happening on Iowa’s roadways, call 1-888-NOLITTR (1-888-665-4887) to report littering from a vehicle.

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)

Reported offenders will receive a warning letter from Keep Iowa Beautiful drawing attention to their offense. This sends the message that people, like you, are watching.

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

Donate

KEEP IOWA BEAUTIFUL

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

www.keepiowabeautiful.org