The Iowa Tourism Office awarded $398,800 in Iowa Tourism Grants to support 45 organizations in the state. These grants are designed to fund various tourism-related activities and events that will “change the perception of tourism in Iowa and encourage more out-of-state visitation,” said Amy Zeigler, manager of the Iowa Tourism Office. Arts initiatives, chambers of commerce and visitors bureaus in the state will benefit from the awards, which range from $2,500 to $10,000 and require a 20% cash match from the recipients.

The Central Iowa recipients are:

• Catch Des Moines: $10,000
• Des Moines Metro Opera: $10,000
• Science Center of Iowa: $10,000
• Discover Ames: $5,000
• Indianola Chamber of Commerce: $8,000
• Madison County Chamber of Commerce: $9,300
• Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce: $7,500

Visitors to the state spent over $6.9 billion in 2022, an increase of 13% compared with 2021, according to a press release from the Iowa Economic Development Authority. This spending supported more than 68,600 jobs and generated $1.1 billion in state and local tax revenue in 2022, the release said. The full list of recipients is available here.