NEW BOOK ABOUT RURAL IOWA OFFERS 'SCRIPTURE FOR THE FUTURE'

Renewing the Countryside—Iowa
Available October 11, 2003

Iowa’s First Lady, Christie Vilsack, will be on hand to help launch a new book about Iowa’s quiet rural revitalization. Written by Iowans about Iowans, Renewing the Countryside—Iowa is a collection of 38 stories and eight essays highlighting those who have found a way to make a living in the countryside while supporting their communities and protecting the environment. Time magazine writer Hugh Sidey comments that “every American worried about the planet should use this as scripture for the future.”

The launch celebration is Saturday, October 11 at Des Moines’ Downtown Farmers Market from 8 am until noon and will feature the book and people, products and organizations in the book.

Sponsored by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, Iowa Rural Development Council and Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Renewing the Countryside—Iowa includes a foreword by Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack. In his introduction, Leopold Center director Fred Kirschenmann writes, “Through their imagination, dedication, and entrepreneurship [the people in this book] are each bringing new hope to the rural landscape -- a landscape that many have written off as being beyond hope.”

The eight chapters address conservation, farming, tourism and culture, marketing, innovative production, energy, community and learning. Essays by Michael Carey, Charles Carpenter, Mary Swalla Holmes, Paul Johnson, David Osterberg, John Schillinger, Mary Swander and David Williams conclude each chapter.

This is the second book in a series on rural revitalization. The stories included show how communities are taking action to ensure a bright future for their citizens. Illustrated with full-color photographs, the stories tell of “twenty-first-century pioneers” who are bringing new life to small towns -- from Spirit Lake to Wapello, from Shenandoah to Decorah, including

• Iowa’s sun-ripened hogs that are the rave of chefs across the country,

• Carl Kurtz, the photographer and conservationist who is bringing back the tall grass prairie,

• Seed Savers Exchange, the company that has built an international reputation for preserving heirloom plant varieties,

• the slow river towns of Van Buren County that are preserving their heritage and attracting tourists and

• a school in Spirit Lake that is powering its buildings with wind.
  

In addition to the major sponsors, support for the book comes from Practical Farmers of Iowa, Northwest Area Foundation, Northern Great Plains, Inc., Great Plains Institute for Sustainable Development, Humane Society of the United States and its Care4Iowa Campaign, Center for Respect of Life and Environment, and USDA—Cooperative Research Extension and Education Service.

Read review by Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack

• Shellie Orngard, Renewing the Countyside—Iowa Editor, 515-294-6998; 515-231-6996; 515-233-7180, or e-mail sorngard@iastate.edu
  

• Book Sponsor: Mark Ackelson, President, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, 515-288-1846, or e-mail mackelson@inhf.org
  

• Book Sponsor: Beth Danowsky, Executive Director, Iowa Rural Development Council, 515-242-4875, or e-mail Beth.Danowsky@ided.state.ia.us
  

• Book Sponsor: Fred Kirschenmann, Director, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, 515-294-3711, or e-mail leopold1@iastate.edu
  

Book flier [PDF]

Book specifications: 9.125 x 9.375, 160 pages, more than 120 full-color photographs, hardcover ISBN 09713391-2-0 $39.95, softcover ISBN 0-9713391-3-9 $24.95

Available at bookstores, or order online [http://store.rtcmarket.org]

Published by Renewing the Countryside, Inc., 2105 First Avenue S, Minneapolis, MN 55404, 1-866-378-0587, fax 612-870-4846, e-mail rtc@iatp.org