Contest in Ames seeks to spruce up power plant

The City of Ames unveiled the finalists today in what’s become a worldwide competition to spruce up the city’s power plant. Ames Public Relations Officer Clare Bills has been coordinating the competition.The power plant sits at the east end of Main Street in Ames and is one of the largest buildings in the city. Bills says people have long talked about ways to improve the appearance of the building, and this contest was conceived to do just that. Bills says they received 115 entries in what is called the “Landmark Challenge.” Judges for the competition narrowed the field to five finalists and each finalist will receive one thousand dollars. The finalists will come to Ames April 14th, 2003 to further explain their entry in hopes of winning the top prize of 10-thousand dollars. Bills says the five finalists use a variety of materials. She says one from and ISU student uses brick and L-E-D light panels, another uses tubes of light, one is a giant slip-and-slide, and another uses a ring of steam that’s lit up at night. Bills says the winner will be selected in July.