A public hearing will be held in the House Chambers of the Iowa Capitol tomorrow (Saturday) to determine what, if anything, should be done to save a collection of deteriorating battle flags Iowans carried during the Civil War. Jerome Thompson is bureau chief of the museum and archives of the State Historical Society of Iowa. He says a preservation expert examined the collection of 140 tattered flags earlier this year. They’re behind glass in the capitol rotunda and are falling to pieces. Thompson says state legislators approved a measure and sent it to the governor to allot 150-thousand dollars to start the restoration process. He hopes Iowans who have opinions on whether more money should be spent on the historic relics come out to the hearing. He says a four-year initial stabilization project would cost one-point-three million dollars. The hearing is scheduled to run from 10 a-m until noon.
