Help Preserve the USS Iowa

Governor Culver signed resolution in early 2010

On April 12, 2010 Governor Chet Culver signed a resolution to support preservation efforts for the Battleship USS Iowa.

The provisions of Senate Joint Resolution 2007 include:

• The state of Iowa supports the assignment of the USS Iowa as a permanent naval museum to an appropriate location.
• A committee of ten is created to be appointed by the Governor to support efforts for the preservation and relocation of the Battleship Iowa.
• A BB-61 fund is created in the State Treasury to be administered by the Department of Cultural Affairs. The fund’s proceeds shall be used for the purposes of preserving and relocating of the Battleship Iowa.
• The Department of Cultural Affairs shall provide all necessary administrative support for the committee and shall administer the BB-61 fund.

“As we honor the sailors who lost their lives on the USS Iowa, we are also taking a step to tell the story of this great ship,” Governor Culver said. “With my signature, the process of making the USS Iowa into a permanent museum begins. Thanks to the leadership of Senate President Jack Kibbie and Representative McKinley Bailey, the legislature passed language formally supporting the preservation and relocation of the USS Iowa, and giving resources to do that. We proudly honor the fact that this ship was named after the state we love, and that this ship will continue to educate Americans from all walks of life about our country’s rich military history, through the narrative of the Iowa.”

To Donate
The effort to preserve USS Iowa needs your help. If you would like to make a donation to this fund you may either send a check to "The Department of Cultural Affairs" with a memo of "USS Iowa" or call and donate via credit card.

Download the USS IOWA Donation Form

Contact person to donate for the USS Iowa Fund is:

Joan Kiernan/USS Iowa Fund
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
600 E. Locust Street
Des Moines, IA 50319
515-281-8741
Joan.Kiernan@iowa.gov