The Vision Iowa Board has approved grants totaling just over $119,000 to help 13 tourist attractions around the state with advertising. Vision Iowa spokesperson Jessica O’Riley said four projects were awarded the maximum marketing grant of $15,000 — including the Dubuque County Historical Society for promotion of the National Mississippi Museum and Aquarium.
“They’ll be placing radio and television advertisements in Madison, Wisconsin,” O’Riley said. Another $15,000 marketing grant was directed to a new attraction in northwest Iowa. The City of Storm Lake will use the funding to promote the indoor/outdoor water park King’s Pointe Resort.
The Mason City Chamber of Commerce Foundation was awarded a marketing grant of nearly $7,000 to promote the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Park Inn Hotel. “They’ll be placing ads for the hotel in preservation and architectural magazines, certainly drawing those architectural enthusiasts to the Park Inn Hotel,” O’Riley said.
The other marketing grants are directed at projects in Des Moines, Ellsworth, Council Bluffs, Cedar Rapids, DeWitt, Manning, Waterloo and Garner. Grant recipients are required to match at least 50% of their request.
Projects approved for marketing grants:
Dubuque County Historical Society (National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium) – $15,000
Mason City Chamber of Commerce Foundation (Historic Park Inn Hotel) – $6,827.50
Blank Park Zoo Foundation, Des Moines – $15,000
Iowa Valley Community College District and Ellsworth Community College (Equine Center Agricultural and Renewable Energy Center) – $5,500
Science Center of Iowa, Des Moines – $15,000
City of Storm Lake (King’s Pointe Resort) – $15,000
Edmundson Art Foundation (dba Des Moines Art Center), Des Moines – $14,500
Pottawattamie County Conservation Board (Hitchcock Nature Center and Mid-America Center) – $8,000
National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library, Cedar Rapids – $7,500
City of DeWitt (Central Performing Arts Center) – $4,000
Manning Heritage Foundation (Manning Hausbarn-Heritage Park) – $1,022.75
Grout Museum District (Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum) – $10,000
City of Garner (Veterans Memorial Recreation Center and Garner Aquatic Center) – $2,200