Knapp to receive state’s top citizen award
William Knapp will receive the “Iowa Award” in a public ceremony in January, the Iowa Centennial Memorial Foundation Board said. The award, which represents the state’s highest citizen award, was established in 1948 by Governor Robert Blue and the Iowa Legislature. The award’s purpose is “to encourage and recognize the outstanding service of Iowans in the fields of science, medicine, law, religion, social welfare, education, agriculture, industry, government and other public service” and to recognize the “merit of their accomplishments in Iowa and throughout the United States.” The Iowa Award is made approximately every five years and financed through the foundation’s trust fund. The most recent recipient was artist Grant Wood, who was a posthumous honoree in October 2009.