August 2021 Newsletter

Visit Keep Iowa Beautiful at the Iowa State Fair!

Since 2002, Keep Iowa Beautiful has exhibited in the air-conditioned Varied Industries Building for the 11 days of the Iowa State Fair.  Hundreds of Iowans have volunteered to greet fair-goers at the Keep Iowa Beautiful Booth. When you are at the Fair, stop by the booth, say hello and sign up for our newsletter.  When you register you will get a Keep Iowa Beautiful wild flower seed packet and be eligible to win 1 of 3 hand-set of garden tools! Winners to be announced on the last day of the Fair.

Capitol to Corndogs Clean 5K Run

On Thursday, August 19th at 6:00 pm, the Green Runners of Des Moines will lead a run from the State Capitol to the Iowa State Fair, collecting trash along the way. The event is free and open to anyone who wants to participate! The first thirty runners to sign up will receive free admission to the State Fair and a free beverage from the Budweiser tent. This marks the 8th year the event has taken place.   The event brings together Keep Iowa Beautiful (KIB), the Iowa State Fair, Doll Distributing, and the Green Runners of Des Moines with the shared goal of raising awareness about litter prevention and keeping both Iowa and the Iowa State Fair clean. The run combines the opportunity to improve your health and the health of the neighborhoods by cleaning up litter along the route.   “The Green Runners are elated to be, once again, participating in this fun event with such prominent local organizations with shared goals.” states Rachel Kautzky-Scheib, the founder of the group. “We hope the run will raise awareness for litter prevention and trash cleanup to keep all communities in Iowa safe and green.” “The Iowa State Fair is one of the cleanest in the nation,” said Kevin Techau, Executive Director of Keep Iowa Beautiful. “It’s through the efforts of all Iowans that make Iowa one of the most popular states to live, work and raise a family.”    The Iowa State Fair runs from August 12th through August 22th.  For a complete list of events and attractions, visit www.iowastatefair.org.  Runners should plan to arrive around 5:30 pm in running attire on the South side of the State Capitol. Bags and personal items will be transported to the State Fair from the Capitol.Bus rides are available from the State Fair to return to the Capitol.  To sign up for the Capitol to Corndogs Clean 5K run, email Rachel at rachelmscheib@gmail.com or call 515-238-1420.

Reports from the Field: Pick Up Iowa

Pay It Forward Day Five school buses full of students from Afton spent a day cleaning up the county fairgrounds, city parks, school grounds and surrounding areas. 225 volunteers collaborated to collect over 110 bags of trash. Great work!

Main Street Lansing Main Street Lansing organized a Pick Up Lansing event to clean up roads, neighborhoods, parks, and schools in the community. 42 volunteers worked together to remove 59 bags of garbage.

Fremont County Hometown Pride Awards

Percival Hometown Pride was presented the 2019 Keep Iowa Beautiful Robert D. Ray Award of Excellence. Following the devastation of a 500 year flood,  the local citizens created a vision, and with hard work and dedication developed grant writing and fundraising skills to complete dozens of projects with the help of many volunteers making this community of 87 a stronger and better place to live and work.  Governor Reynolds was scheduled to make the presentation at the State Capitol, however Percival was still under water and unable to make the ceremony. Honored this year by Keep Iowa Beautiful and Governor Reynolds was Fremont County Hometown Pride coach Doug Friedli with the Keep Iowa Beautiful Donald F. Lamberti Hometown Pride Vision Award for his excellent work as Hometown Pride Coach for Fremont County providing long-term technical and support assistance to the communities.  The results improved quality of life, increased cultural and economic vitality resulting in more community pride.

Keep Iowa Beautiful Former Executive Director Gerry Schnepf, Associate Director Bill Jackson and Coach Doug Friedli pictured here presenting award to Percival Hometown Pride Committee.

Keep Iowa Beautiful Associate Director Bill Jackson sharing a few good words about Coach Doug Friedli at their Hometown Pride celebration.

Keep Iowa Beautiful’s 12th Annual Photography Contest: Now Accepting Submissions

Iowans have the next five months to grab their cameras and enter the 12th Annual Keep Iowa Beautiful Photography Contest!  “This is a great way for Iowans to share what they 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 of December 18, 2021. Each of the five categories will be awarded 1stplace ($100), 2nd place ($75), and 3rd place ($50).    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 prize. 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.  Randi Ray, Robert and Billie Ray’s eldest daughter, has agreed to serve on a panel of judges. “Photography was one of my Dad’s favorite pastimes,” said Randi. “During his 14 years as governor, he and my Mother traveled to many places around the world and he always had a camera around his neck.” Randi added, “Dad was so proud of Iowans and their efforts to make Iowa a great place to live.” 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.  To view contest rules and entry guidelines, visit our website.

Learn More and Submit your Photos

Clarence Gives Crosswalks a Fresh Coat of Paint

The Lincoln Highway Logo crosswalks in downtown Clarence have been spruced up for the 2021 summer season! Clarence Main Street was the recipient of a Paint Iowa Beautiful grant, a partnership between Keep Iowa Beautiful and Diamond Vogel to provide paint for community enhancement projects and parks.  Volunteers from Clarence Main Street Design Committee made this project a reality in an effort to identify with its heritage as a throughway on the Lincoln Highway system and improve walkability in downtown Clarence.

Rolfe Hometown Pride Celebrates Completion of new ADA Accessible Sidewalks

Rolfe Hometown Pride members celebrated the completion of a new ADA accessible cement sidewalk and gathering area recently at the Farmer's Market in Heritage Park. This project was funded in part with a Pocahontas County Foundation grant award. Community volunteers provided labor to finish the project.

New Virginia Adds Beauty to the Streets with New Light Pole Banners

We LOVE the new look that these brand new light pole banners bring to the streets of New Virginia. The banners are now placed throughout town, so be sure to check them out. Great work to New Virginia Hometown Pride and the other sponsors that made this initiative possible!

Dew Tour Skateboarders Give Back to Des Moines

The Mountain Dew and Accelerate360’s annual summer Dew Tour moved to Des Moines this year, taking place May 20-23rd. The Event brought thousands of skateboarders and skateboarding enthusiasts to the city and coordinated with the opening of Des Moines’s brand dew Laruidsen Skatepark.  The attendees wanted to give back to Des Moines, and found time during the week to help pick up litter around the city’s Grays Lake Park! Thank you to all who helped out—Des Moines is excited to welcome the Dew Tour and its attendees back next year!

You Can Stop Litter!

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.

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

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 www.keepiowabeautiful.org

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