Keep Iowa Beautiful

09/04/2026

📸✨Flashback Friday to this winning photo from 2021!

Could you capture the next winning view of Iowa? Here’s your chance to show us what makes our state shine. The Keep Iowa Beautiful 17th Annual Photography Contest is officially OPEN!

Submit your best shots of Iowa landscapes, towns, people and nature now through December 11.

👉 Enter here: https://keepiowabeautiful.org/photography-contest/

📷 Photo Credit: “Horseshoe Bluff” by Brian Abeling, First Place in Iowa Water in 2021

09/03/2026

🎨 Community Opportunity! 🎨

Iowa Economic Development Authority is offering an opportunity through the Iowans Create Community Mural Program. Through this initiative, the Iowa Arts Council matches a selected Iowa artist and community to plan, design and create an original mural that showcases the community’s unique creative and cultural identity and builds civic pride and engagement.

📅 Application Deadline: October 28, 2026
🔗 Learn more and apply: https://opportunityiowa.gov/community/arts-culture/grants-programs/iowans-create-community-mural-program

At Keep Iowa Beautiful, we love seeing how creative placemaking breathes new life into public spaces across our state. If your community (population 20,000 or fewer) is ready to elevate its shared spaces, check out this grant opportunity!

A selected Iowa artist and community are matched to create an original mural that showcases the community’s unique creative and cultural identity.

09/02/2026

We are thrilled to celebrate the completion of three fantastic Paint Iowa Beautiful projects in Minden, Clarion and Columbus Junction (through ISU Extension and Outreach, Louisa County)! Dedicated volunteers and community leaders in these towns rolled up their sleeves to refresh and revitalize local buildings.

Beyond a fresh aesthetic, investing in our downtown buildings improves public spaces, builds deep community pride, and creates momentum for economic growth. When visitors and residents see vibrant, cared-for buildings and storefronts, it signals a thriving community open for business, investment, and new opportunities.

Thank you to everyone involved in Minden, Columbus Junction/Louisa County, and Clarion for your hard work, and a special thank you to our incredible partners at Diamond Vogel for helping make these transformations possible!

City of Minden Iowa
Clarion Locker
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Louisa County
City of Columbus Junction, Iowa - City Government
Louisa Development Group
Iowa State University Extension Community and Economic Development

09/01/2026

🚨JOB POSTING 🚨

Are you passionate about small-town development and making a lasting impact right here in Iowa? We are looking for a dedicated Community Coach to join our Hometown Pride program in Hamilton County!

https://keepiowabeautiful.org/job-openings/

This unique 5-year contract role supports nine amazing communities as they launch and grow volunteer-driven local improvement projects.

Are you a fit? We are looking for someone who:
• Has experience in small-town community development
• Is skilled at building consensus and energized by working with volunteers
• Is self-driven and possesses exceptional communication skills
• Can travel frequently to participating communities (residing in Hamilton County is not required!)

Sound like you? We would love to hear from you! Sound like someone you know? Please share!

Visit the link above for more details! 🔗

08/31/2026

Big shoutout to City of Lake City, Iowa and Ferguson Community Center - Iowa for completing their Paint Iowa Beautiful grant projects this summer. Both communities used their grants to give their well-loved playground equipment a vibrant, brand-new look.

At Keep Iowa Beautiful, one of our core goals is improving public spaces, like local parks. Playgrounds see a lot of daily action, and high-usage amenities can easily start to show their age. But as these projects prove, a fresh coat of paint can transform the entire landscape, turning a worn play area into an inviting, colorful destination for local kids and families.

Beyond the physical transformation, there is an incredible ripple effect: building community pride. When a neighborhood invests in a shared space, it sends a powerful message. It says our children deserve the best, our public spaces matter, and we take pride in where we live.

Thank you to everyone involved in making these projects a reality and for helping us keep Iowa vibrant, beautiful, and connected. Special thanks to Diamond Vogel for their longstanding sponsorship of the Paint Iowa Beautiful program.

08/29/2026

🌟 Saturday Sponsor Spotlight: Chemorse! 🌟

Thank You, Chemorse for your commitment to keeping Iowa beautiful! As a first-time sponsor, you are helping us foster civic pride and drive impactful community enhancement programs forward. We are proud to welcome them into the Keep Iowa Beautiful family and look forward to a bright partnership ahead.

08/28/2026

🌳🐟 Congratulations to Laurens Hometown Pride and the entire community of Laurens on the dedication of the Sportsman's Park Pond Restoration Project during their Summer Celebration.

Beyond the environmental upgrades, this project is a great example of how investing in our local outdoor spaces builds community pride and brings people together. Visitors can even check out the brand-new interpretive signage along the pond's edge to learn all about healthy aquatic ecosystems.

Here’s to creating beautiful, thriving spaces across Iowa! 💧🏡



Laurens Hometown Pride Committee City of Laurens

08/27/2026

08/25/2026

We’re hiring! Keep Iowa Beautiful is seeking a Community Coach for the Hometown Pride program in Hamilton County — a 5 year contract role supporting nine communities as they launch volunteer driven improvement projects.

If you’re passionate about small town community development, skilled at building consensus, and energized by working with volunteers, this role is for you. We’re looking for an experienced, self-driven community development professional with strong communication skills and the ability to motivate others.

Click for details: https://keepiowabeautiful.org/job-openings/

Candidates should be able to travel frequently to the participating communities, but do not need to reside in Hamilton County.

08/24/2026

That’s a wrap for the 2026 Iowa State Fair!

Keep Iowa Beautiful was proud to continue our annual partnership with the Iowa State Fair by supporting the "OK Crew," the dedicated team responsible for keeping the grounds pristine every day. If you attended the fair, you may have seen this group, sporting their custom lime-green Keep Iowa Beautiful shirts, picking up litter all over the fairgrounds. 💚

HUGE THANKS to Prairie Meadows Casino, Racetrack & Hotel for supporting this partnership! Through a Prairie Meadows Community Betterment Grant, we were able to fund this collaboration which included the t-shirts, buckets and trash grabbers, making the important work the OK Crew does a little easier.

The Iowa State Fair is nationally recognized as one of the cleanest in the nation! Please join us in thanking the OK Crew and Prairie Meadows in the comments for helping keep this tradition going!