Silos & Smokestacks Funds Projects Telling America’s Agricultural Story

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 06, 2016

For more information:
Candy Streed, Program & Partnership Director
Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area
cstreed@silosandsmokestacks.org
Office: 319.234.4567; Cell: 319.404.0115

Jori Wade-Booth, Marketing & Communications Manager
Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area
jwadebooth@silosandsmokestacks.org
Office: 319.234.4567

 

Silos & Smokestacks Funds Projects Telling America’s Agricultural Story

Northeast Iowa–Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area (SSNHA) has awarded

$50,000 to 10 Heritage Area sites, communities and organizations. Projects funded through the General Grant Program are dedicated to telling America’s agricultural stories, both past and present. Recipients of SSNHA’s 2016 General Grants include:

• Country Heritage Community, Clermont, $5,900

The 17^th Annual Maize Maze will provide the story of agriculture within a corn maze with interpretive stories from the Maze Master.

• Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, $4,000
  Bringing American Agriculture to Life Through Art project tells the story of 21^st century American agriculture through art, exploring such topics as wind energy, farm to table and agribusiness.

 

• Four Mounds Foundation, Dubuque, $3,790
  The Farm to School at the Driftless Farm & Food Fest will engage multiple sectors of the Heritage Area in free, educational activities connecting citizens and youth to farms, focusing on the growing Farm to School Movement.

 

• Grout Museum District, Waterloo, $10,000
  The Farm Stories Kiosk will showcase the Grout Museum Districts many farm and agribusiness interviews.

 

• Iowa State Fair, Des Moines, $5,930
  The Iowa State Fair Panorama will document the Iowa State Fair’s agricultural history through stories and portraits of 700-800 fairgoers in a 140’-long panorama by artist Tim Olson.

 

• Jackson County Historical Society, Maquoketa, $475
  Interpretive signs will be fabricated for an outdoor exhibit area for guests to learn more about the La Motte Narrow Gauge Depot.

 

• Living History Farms, Urbandale, $3,491
  Living History Farms will replace their tractor cart after more than 50 years of heavy use with a safer, more accessible, and reliable cart.

 

• Motor Mill Foundation, Elkader, $10,000
  Sustainable agriculture’s earliest roots in Iowa will be unearthed at the Motor Mill Historic Site through the development and installation of an interactive exhibit that interprets agricultural stories captured in stone.

 

• The Sawmill Museum, Clinton, $2,000
  The weekly winter series How Clinton Has Built and Fed The World will showcase Clinton’s agriculture and other industries, past and present, and the connections between them

 

• UNI – Northern Iowa Food & Farm Partnership, Cedar Falls, $4,234
  The Northern Iowa Farm Crawl Tours will introduce and educate residents to local foods and farms through a series of farm crawls in three counties in northern Iowa.

 

“When we fund these projects we are not just building an exhibit or putting up a sign. We are introducing many to a world they may be unfamiliar with, but that they are so deeply ingrained in. Teaching people the story of modern agriculture and where their food comes from inspires them, and the next generation of Iowa farmers and workers to take an active role in shaping the world’s agricultural future,” said Cara Miller, SSNHA President.

 

Projects funded through SSNHA Grant Programs must provide a 1-1 non-federal match to the grant award. Since the program began in 2001, Silos & Smokestacks has funded over $1.9 million to non-profit organizations, local governments and communities with projects dedicated to preserving America’s agricultural heritage.

 

Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area is one of 49 federally designated heritage areas in the nation and is an Affiliated Area of the National Park Service. The Heritage Area covers 37 counties in the northeast quadrant of Iowa. Interstate 80 borders it on the south and Interstate 35 borders it on the west. Through a network of sites, programs and events, SSNHA interprets farm life, agribusiness and rural communities – past and present. To learn more about Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area, please visit www.silosandsmokestacks.org.

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