|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 1, 2020
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Iowa Tourism Office are wrapping up a successful introduction of the new State Park Passport by announcing grand prize winners to the 2020 promotion.
Sarah B., of Sumner, Iowa, won a two-night stay donated by Honey Creek Resort State Park in Moravia. Madeleine H., of Nevada, Iowa, won a state park print set donated by Bozz Prints of West Des Moines.
The free digital State Park Passport, created to mark the 100th anniversary of Iowa State Parks, encouraged Iowans to discover new state parks and enjoy the outdoors, plus provided discounts to restaurants and tourist attractions near each state park. For each park visit, travelers earned a digital stamp in the Passport app that qualified them for prizes. Since June, more than 13,000 travelers have checked in more than 25,000 times.
“Our centennial tagline has been ‘Celebrate. Connect. Inspire,” said Todd Coffelt, parks bureau chief at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “The Park Passport helped visitors do just that while enjoying all the beauty and fun Iowa state parks have to offer.”
Along with Honey Creek Resort and Bozz Prints, prizes were donated by Karen Musser Nortman, an Iowa author who writes mysteries set in Iowa state parks, and the Iowa Parks Foundation, which published a book in 2020 called “Iowa State Parks: A Century of Stewardship.”
Because of its innovative format and popularity, the Passport received national recognition from two travel organizations in November. At the eTourism Summit, held November 9-10 in Orlando, Fla., the passport received the eTourism Summit Excellence Award (eTSY) for “Best Campaign That Went Viral.” The Park Passport was also shortlisted along with three other campaigns for a Skift IDEA Award in the “Experience or Excursion” category. Presented by Skift, the biggest business intelligence brand in travel, the awards celebrate the innovation, design and experiences defining the future of travel.
“This year really shined a light on how valuable and vital Iowa state parks are to residents and travelers,” said Jessica O’Riley, Tourism communications manager at the Iowa Economic Development Authority. “We’re fortunate to have such an impressive range of parks to suit anyone’s passions. The parks provided the perfect venue to be active while still practicing social distancing.”
Because of the success in 2020, the Iowa DNR and Iowa Tourism Office plan to continue promotions using the Passport to connect Iowans with state parks. To learn more about Iowa state parks, visit www.iowadnr.gov. The Iowa Tourism Office is part of the Iowa Economic Development Authority. For more information, visit traveliowa.com.
The State Preserves Advisory Board of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources will meet via teleconference at 1 p.m., Dec. 11.
The public can listen to the meeting via Google Meet at meet.google.com/pju-kzwe-ftp or by calling 575-448-4054 and entering the PIN of 273713398, followed by the pound (#) sign.
Any person attending the public meeting and has special requirements such as those related to mobility or hearing impairments should contact the DNR or ADA Coordinator at 515-725-8200, Relay Iowa TTY Service 800-735-7942, or Webmaster@dnr.iowa.gov, and advise of specific needs.
Members of the State Preserves Advisory Board are Rebecca Kauten, Tony Caligiuri, Amy Crouch, Michael Sullivan, Perry Thostenson and Barbara Schroeder. The deputy director of the DNR is Alex Moon.
The following is the Dec. 11 agenda.
- Introduction of board members and staff
- Nomination and election of the Board chair
- Approve Agenda
- Approve Minutes of Past Meeting
- Overview of the State Preserves Act and the role of the State Preserves Advisory Board
- Proposed Cold Water Spring State Preserve forest management plan
- Proposed white pine cone collecting at White Pine Hollow State Preserve
- Fort Atkinson State Preserve rehabilitation grant update
- Turkey River Mounds State Preserve flagpole relocation
- Cayler Prairie State Preserve, rural water pipeline project
- General updates
A more detailed agenda is available on the Iowa DNR’s website at www.iowadnr.gov/spab.
For more information, contact John Pearson at 515-669-7614.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is working with state and local officials to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and has transitioned employees to work remotely. DNR offices are closed to the public during this time and only available by appointment.
In other efforts to further reduce the spread of Covid-19, the DNR is encouraging the use of the online services for purchasing licenses, submitting applications, payments and other daily tasks and interaction with DNR staff.
The FREE Go Outdoors Iowa app is available at the App store and Google Play. The Go Outdoors Iowa app allows users to purchase and view hunting and fishing licenses and submit harvest and quota reports, all from your cell phone.
Full list of DNR’s online services: https://www.iowadnr.gov/about-dnr/about-dnr/online-services-databases.
Up-to-date information on DNR services, facilities and events impacted by Covid-19: https://www.iowadnr.gov/About-DNR/Covid-19.
Technical information for regulated businesses in regards to Covid-19: https://www.iowadnr.gov/About-DNR/Social-Media-Press-Room/Disaster-Assistance#3057321-covid---19-outbreak.
Thank you for your patience and flexibility during this time. If you need to contact DNR staff you can reach them by email or phone or by calling (515) 725-8200.
|
