Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Prairie Heritage Center receives large contribution for future upgrades
Visitors check out the outdoor exhibits at the Prairie Heritage Center on June 29.
A visitor looks over conceptual designs of proposed upgrades to the Prairie Heritage Center near Peterson.
Gregg Struve presents O'Brien County supervisor and conservation board member Sherri Bootsma with a check for $100,000 on Tuesday. The money will help finance future upgrades at the Prairie Heritage Center.
Gregg Struve discusses his donation to the Prairie Heritage Center on Tuesday, June 29.
A new endowment hopes to bankroll significant improvements to O'Brien County's Prairie Heritage Center.
Local officials on Tuesday announced the creation of The Dan and Jean Struve Charitable Fund Benefiting Prairie Heritage Center and The Dan and Jean Struve Charitable Endowment Benefiting Prairie Heritage Center. The accounts were made possible by contributions from Gregg Struve in memory of his parents.
"Dad felt very strongly that the center should exist, and he felt very strongly that it should exist in southeast O'Brien County," said Struve. "I'm really excited about what this [donation] will mean for the county."
The late Dan Struve, of Paullina, was a county supervisor for 32 years and was an advocate for conservation. He and Jean were frequent visitors to the Prairie Heritage Center near Peterson and believed it was a vital educational asset to future generations.
Current O'Brien County Supervisor Sherri Bootsma, who also serves on the conservation board, was over the moon about Struve's donation.
"We are extremely grateful and humbled to be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," she said. "Mr. Struve's donation has enabled us to take what we already have at the Prairie Heritage Center and enhance it in a way that will provide an even more engaging educational experience for our guests. We will be forever grateful."
Struve established both the fund and endowment through the Siouxland Community Foundation, with a donation of $100,000 over the next three years and an additional pledge of $200,000 to fully fund the endowment. The donations will provide funds for the Prairie Heritage Center to develop and enhance environmental and conservation education, and they will also help preserve and protect O'Brien County's natural heritage through things like educational and interactive displays, exhibits and educational materials.
The charitable fund is intended to be fully spent on a major redesign of the main gallery at the center over the next four years, while the legacy endowment fund has been established to accept gifts. Contributions to the endowment will be permanently restricted and will provide for an annual distribution gift to the Prairie Heritage Center.
The fund will eventually close, as it is intended to kick off a capital improvement consistent with the conservation board's vision. The endowment will begin generating once the grant can be $10,000 a year or $200,000 in the account, which ever happens first.
According to a press release, renovations are expected to begin as soon as spring 2023. Goals for the future display designs include freshening up the current experience, adding more interactive elements, fostering an opportunity for learning that engages all guests, and creating an experience that guests feel immersed in by multiple senses.
For more information on how you can give to the charitable fund or the endowment fund within the O'Brien County Community Foundation, contact the Siouxland Community Foundation at (712) 293-3303, email [email protected] or visit http://www.siouxlandcommunityfoundation.org.
