Here are the most important updates this week:
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- Save the date for 2027 Iowa Travel Guide webinar.
- 2027 Iowa Travel Guide media kit is now available!
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Iowa Tourism Marketing Grant application is open!
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Save the Date: 2027 Iowa Travel Guide Webinar
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Join us Thursday, September 10, at 2 p.m. for an Iowa Travel Guide webinar with People Inc., the new publisher of the Iowa Travel Guide. Learn about advertising opportunities and exciting improvements to the 2027 guide, including refreshed editorial content. The webinar will review advertising options and the process to provide ads to ensure the highest-quality guide.
The 2027 media kit is now available, and the deadline to reserve advertising space is November 13. Contact MaryPat Moore marypat.moore@people.inc for more information.
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Thank You to Volunteers at the Travel Iowa State Fair Booth!
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The Iowa Tourism booth has been a busy place at the Iowa State Fair. Volunteers have been welcoming visitors from around the world. Pictured above Delaney Lynch & Susan Cory of Greater Des Moines Botanical Gardens (L) Todd & Lu Peverill of Hillsdale Lily Garden, Mills County (R). The volunteers smiled, engaged, marketed, invited as they elevated local businesses, destinations, communities and regions. The comments below from volunteers inspire us!
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- I absolutely loved my time at the booth and getting to talk with and hear from so many people who love exploring Iowa!
- We loved being there and interacting with people from all over the state and country.
- I love reminding visitors that coming back isn’t just about revisiting, it's about discovering what’s new!
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It’s wonderful to reach folks beyond the great state of Iowa and have them see that there is so much to experience here!
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Iowa Welcome Center in Lamoni
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Tourism Marketing Coordinator Jim Lee recently visited Iowa welcome centers in Lamoni, Cedar Falls and Harrison County. Jim visits all 16 official state welcome centers annually and takes some amazing photos while he's there.
Tourism partners can reach out to this network of welcome centers to get pre-approved for placement of specific brochures and printed materials. The state sets standards for what is allowable and then each welcome centers decides materials they will accept. Brochures must be shipped directly to the welcome centers after the approval process is completed. Find out more about each welcome center, how the process works and get contact information on the Industry Partners page or contact Jim.Lee@IowaEDA.com for more information.
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Art Experiences in Maquoketa Align with Trends
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Lora Friest recently visited Maquoketa, one of the communities on the Grant Wood Scenic Byway, to explore three of Iowa's unique art experiences.
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Old City Hall Art Gallery (photo above) houses original oil paintings by Rose Frantzen and her partner C.A. Morris. Rose is the 28th Annual International Portrait Competition 2026 Grand Prize and People's Choice Award winner.
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D'Arte Manor Art Gallery and Bed & Breakfast artist owners Naser and Patricia Shahrivar own an art-centric B&B that is filled with their art and historic paintings.
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The Maquoketa Art Experience rotates local artists. Maquoketa native photographer Phil Roeder and the abstract art of Andrew Raeside from Dubuque were featured.
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According to ArtMachineGallery.com, art collectors have shifted their buying preferences. Instead of buying art for status, they are seeking out and purchasing art that reflects identity, place, memory, and taste. Art buyers ask, "Who made this? What is happening in the work? Does it represent the kind of world I want to support?
Those questions lead collectors toward original works created by living artists, especially artists they can meet in person.
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Tourism Liaison Stephanie Neppl, and Executive Director at the Decatur County Development Corporation Cierra Fountain "Travel Decatur"
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Stephanie Neppl, Tourism Liaison, visited Decatur County with Cierra Fountain of the Decatur County Development Corporation to see firsthand all the new visitor enhancements taking place throughout the county.
The duo visited Lizzie's Kitchen and Café, saw the new Savanna Hills Learning Center at Little River Recreation with Decatur County Conservation, and visited the bustling Amish Country Store/Lamoni Welcome Center. The DCDC recently created a tourism committee and was a FY25 Iowa Tourism Grant recipient for its “Travel Decatur” campaign that helped tell its stories through videos and social media posts.
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Iowa Tourism Marketing Grant is Open for Application!
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The FY27 Iowa Tourism Office Marketing Grant, provides funding to market Iowa's places, attractions and events. The grant may not be used for infrastructure and is not intended to pay expenses associated with the implementation of an event. Applications will be accepted via the Slideroom grant application platform. A link to the Slideroom application page is available on the Travel Iowa Industry Partners Page. This application cycle closes September 30, 2026. Email Lora.Friest@Iowaeda.com for additional information.
Reading the scoring Rubric is a critical first step for anyone considering applying for this grant. Potential applicants should refer to the rubric when meeting with partners and team members before they develop their project to guide marketing campaign discussions and grant proposal discussions. Below are a few tips for understanding and utilizing the Rubric.
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Read the FY27 Guidelines before you develop your project. The rubric refers to it, especially as the project relates to the section about the IEDA/Iowa Tourism Office Marketing Plan.
- The rubric provides details regarding how points are assigned within large categories including: 1) Project Description 2) Economic Impact & Ability to Promote Tourism Industry Growth 3) Innovation 4) Need 5) Sustainability 6) Budget 7) Collaboration
- Each category has a table. The table provides point benchmarks in columns, with highest to lowest points by column from left to right respectively.
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Reviewers can assign points between columns. If point columns are 15/10/5 for example, they could award 13 points because you have met some but not all criteria in the highest category. Strive to build a project/campaign that aligns with the first column.
- As you read the rubric left to right, the column on the far right is actually providing input about conditions that greatly reduce your likelihood of funding. The minimum successful score in FY25 was over 78 points.
- Several questions in the grant are associated with each category but the rubric and grant application questions do not always directly correlate. Therefore, keep the rubric handy as you work through the questions to make certain you address all the scoring criteria within each category.
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All projects must be implemented between January 1 and December 31, 2027. Even if the rest of your application scores well, going outside these dates can greatly reduce your points and/or even your eligibility.
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Iowa Tourism Office
1963 Bell Avenue, Ste 200 | Des Moines, IA 50315 US
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