The Dutch Ambassador to America is sending tulip bulbs to Pella and Orange City. Ambassador Boudewinjn van Eenennaam says he learned about the town’s tulip festivals while traveling in Iowa with Senator Grassley and wanted to find a way to celebrate the agricultural links between Iowa and the Netherlands. The Ambassador says the other reason is that Pella and Orange City are two cities with a “strong Dutch heritage.” The Ambassador says tulip bulbs are a major industry for his country. The Netherlands export nine billion tulip bulbs every year, and Ambassador van Eenennaam says tulips are a sort of trademark for the country. The Dutch are the world’s third largest exporter of ag products, and the Ambassador says the Netherlands are the third largest foreign investor in the United States. Ambassador van Eenennaam says the bulbs will be shipped to Pella and Orange City in the fall.The Ambassador hopes the bulbs will bear blossoms for the tulip festivals in Pella and Orange City next year. Ambassador van Eenennaam will present a certificate to Senator Charles Grassley in Washington this morning to commemorate the tulip bulb shipment. The Ambassador says one of the reasons his country’s making the gift to Pella and Orange City is because Grassley invited a representative from the Netherlands to participate in the “Ambassadors Tour” of the state Grassley sponsors each year.
