Photography Contest Social Media Favorite Award |
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Thank you to all of the talented photographers who entered the Keep Iowa Beautiful 20th Anniversary Photography Contest!
Now it’s your turn to vote on which photo is YOUR favorite! The first, second, and third place winning photos in each of the five categories (Iowa landscape, Iowa water, Iowa cities, Iowans in action, and Iowa wildlife) will be announced on Keep Iowa Beautiful social media on Monday, January 18th.
To vote for your favorite, visit Keep Iowa Beautiful on Facebook, view the announcement post, and “like” your favorite photo. You can also help your favorite photo win by “sharing” the photo to your timeline and encouraging your friends and family to vote as well!
The photo with the most “likes” by Sunday, January 31st will win the Social Media Favorite Award!
Voting starts on Monday, January 18th! Keep up-to-date with the photo contest and check out more about Keep Iowa Beautiful by liking us on Facebook.
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2021 High School Scholarship Deadline Approaching |
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Don’t wait to apply for the Keep Iowa Beautiful 2021 High School Scholarships! Applications are due February 12, 2021.
Keep Iowa Beautiful will award three $1,000 scholarships to Iowa high school seniors in 2021 who plan to enroll in an Iowa college or university. The scholarships are in honor of three pioneers in Keep Iowa Beautiful’s 20-year history: Bob Byers, William Fultz, and Gerald Schnepf.
The Byers scholarship is supporting high school students who plan to enroll and study environmental science, community development, landscape architecture or architecture (historical emphasis) or community planning and sustainability.
The Fultz scholarship will be awarded to a senior planning on studying communications, public relations and/or marketing.
The Schnepf scholarship will be awarded to a senior who has a record of community service and a desire to continue to support and contribute to the enhancement of the place they live and work. College programs could include community & regional planning and volunteer management.
Keep Iowa Beautiful is proud to continue supporting Iowa students. Since the founding of the scholarship program, Keep Iowa Beautiful has awarded $48,000 to 58 students.
Remember, the application deadline is approaching! Applications are due February 12, 2021 with notification in March.
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2021 Paint Iowa Beautiful Application Deadline Approaching |
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The deadline to apply for the 2021 Paint Iowa Beautiful Grant is quickly approaching! Don’t miss out on this opportunity to bring a fresh coat of paint and a fresh outlook to your community. The online grant application deadline is Friday, February 15th, 2021.
Paint Iowa Beautiful is an 18-year partnership between Keep Iowa Beautiful and Diamond Vogel Paint. The program provides free paint to a wide variety of community projects throughout Iowa. Administered through Keep Iowa Beautiful with the paint provided by the Diamond Vogel Paint Company.
“The partnership with Keep Iowa Beautiful allows Diamond Vogel to assist and work with many local volunteers that help build communities, making Iowa the number one state in the nation to live,” said Doug Vogel, Vice President, Marketing, of the Iowa based company. This is a great opportunity for Iowans to improve the attractiveness and beautiful of their community.”
Kevin Techau, Executive Director of Keep Iowa Beautiful added, “The Paint Iowa Beautiful program helps increase our assistance to communities, neighborhoods, historic projects and volunteer organizations improve attractiveness and beauty across Iowa.”
In the 18-year partnership with Keep Iowa Beautiful, Diamond Vogel has awarded over 11,165 gallons of paint for 1,000 community projects in Iowa.
Don’t forget – the online application must be completed and submitted by February 15, 2021. To learn more and apply online, visit our website.
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Delmar, Calamus-Wheatland, and Lost Nation Awarded Non-Profit Organizations of the Year by the LincolnWay Community Foundation |
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Congratulations to the Delmar Development Company, Calamus-Wheatland Hometown Pride, and Lost Nation Hometown Pride for being awarded Non-Profit Organizations of the Year by the LincolnWay Community Foundation!
Each year, The LincolnWay Community Foundation awards the Non-Profit Organization of the Year to exceptional non-profit organizations helping communities in Clinton County grow and thrive. The award-winning organizations will receive a $500 grant to support the good work they are doing in their hometowns.
Thank you to Delmar Development Company, Calamus-Wheatland Hometown Pride, and Lost Nation Hometown Pride for your commitment to the improvement and sustainability of your communities. Keep up the good work!
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Apply Now for the Iowa Derelict Building Grant Program |
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The FY22 application deadline for the Iowa Derelict Building Grant Program is Friday, February 26th for applicants who are seeking funding assistance with conducting asbestos inspections, asbestos abatement, structural engineering analysis, phase I and phase II site assessments, building deconstruction and building renovation expenses.
The Derelict Building Program, available through the Iowa DNR is available for Iowa towns for 5,000 or fewer residents’ to address neglected commercial or public structures that have sat vacant for at least 6 months.
The Program’s main focus is landfill diversion through the recycling and reuse of building materials and the elimination of hazards both inside and out posed by these empty structures. Since the establishment of the program in 2011 through 2019, the program has assisted 153 communities, diverted over 70,604 tons of materials and saved over $2.6 million in landfill disposal costs.
Learn more about the Derelict Building Program and complete your application online on the Iowa DNR website:
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Gowrie Library Boasts New Mural Thanks to Paint Iowa Beautiful |
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Driving down Market Street in Gowrie, a new sight has emerged near the city’s public library. In fact, it’s exactly what you’d see if you walked in the library’s doors — a shelf full of books. Only these books are about five feet tall and are the work of local artist Haley Studyvin.
Studyvin started painting a mural on the east exterior wall of the library in April. She worked on it through the spring and summer, eventually finishing it in early November.
The mural was a project funded through Keep Iowa Beautiful’s Paint Iowa Beautiful Grant.
“I just happened to see the grant online last winter,” said Gowrie Librarian Lacey Spece. “The grants can be artistic or they can be something in your community for upkeep.”
The Gowrie Public Library’s grant was one of 114 community projects
awarded the Paint Iowa Beautiful Grant for 2020.
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Build with Bags Grant Program Applications Open Until March 30th
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Have you submitted your application for the Iowa Grocery Industry Association’s Build With Bags Grant Program? You still have time - The application deadline is Tuesday, March 30th!
The primary goal of Build with Bags is to tackle an environmental concern that has been receiving a great deal of attention – the use of plastic (and to some degree) shopping bags. To address this issue, the Build with Bags program has defined four primary goals:
- Reduce the consumption of plastic bags,
- Encourage the use of reusable bags,
- Increase the amount of plastic bags recycled, and
- Establish and a grant program to aid parks and schools in purchasing products made of recycled plastic bags
The grant program is available to any governmental entity, organization (i.e. service clubs, non-profit organizations) within Iowa that purchase the items for a park or school. The items must be made of recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic (the base material for making plastic shopping bags). Those receiving grant awards must acquire the items and then show proof of purchase and payment before receiving reimbursement of the award.
To learn more and apply, visit the Iowa Grocery Industry Association’s website:
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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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