Greetings friends,

Colin Gordon and University of Iowa professors expertly describe the importance of the State Historical Society of Iowa's research facility in Iowa City in an opinion piece published in the Des Moines Sunday Register on December 21, 2025.

https://www.pressreader.com/usa/the-des-moines-register/20251221/282548729618697

Please help others understand the educational value of locating primary source materials where they can be used by students of all ages, and especially close to students enrolled in higher education programs.

Frequently, research projects and class visits bring in undergraduate or graduate students, along with faculty, from a variety of disciplines including history, museum studies, music, law, business, art, urban planning, communication studies, and the natural sciences.

Award-winning National History Day junior and senior high school students from eastern Iowa and elsewhere have utilized resources at the Iowa City facility to explore collections of photographs, diaries, maps, newspapers, and other evidence for myriad projects ranging from posters to media programs to theatrical pieces.

Members of the public often lack complete knowledge of how incredibly informative pieces of the past can be in helping us to discover connections and shape the future. We urge you to continue this conversation with others in your community - neighbors, teachers, storekeepers, Scout leaders, and anyone willing to learn more about what is at risk.

We need a renewed, generational investment if we wish a complete record of Iowa's heritage to exist for all.

Join us as we are look forward to building a proactive, collaborative effort to rescue what we can from the destruction already perpetrated by DAS and SHSI Administrators. We are grateful for your support.

[Julia Hansen's photo from the Iowa City Press-Citizen shows Iowa Prison Industries supervisor and worker removing collections from State Historical Society of Iowa's Centennial building in Iowa City, October 6, 2025.]