Friends of Jones County Conservation and Nature Center

Project 1. Establish Keith C. Dirks Scholarship

Keith Dirks was 58 when he died of lung cancer Aug. 15, 2015.

      Jean Meehan, who delivered the eulogy, called Dirks a “master of humility.”

      “Keith had no time to take credit for his successes,” she said.

      Meehan said his classmates will remember his great smile, his considerate sense of humor and his intelligence. She compared him to the Gandalf character in “The Lord of the Rings.”

      “Warm and eager was his spirit, and he sought neither praise nor power."

            “Keith was a friend to people in all walks of life,” Meehan said. “I will miss him so much.”

       Dirk’s political career started young as a leader in the student council. He went on to serve on the Jones County Board of Supervisors.

      “Who on earth would schedule their chemotherapy on Wednesdays so they wouldn’t miss their supervisors meetings on Tuesday?” she asked, highlighting his dedication.

      The Rev. Wade Reddy, who officiated the funeral, talked about Keith’s environmentalism.

      “Keith sought to help others and to better the Earth,” Reddy said. “He made it his personal goal to put into practice prairie restoration on highways and byways and even in his own backyard.”

It is in this spirit that we have established a scholarship in perpituity. See HOME PAGE

One $500 scholarship will be awarded to a graduating senior from a Jones County high school who has indicated an interest in pursuing a post secondary degree, both four and two year programs, relating to science, technology, math , or engineering. The candidate must have a GPA of 2.5 or higher.

Project 2. Donation to the Central Park Renovation

The man-made lake at Central Park in Jones County, near Center Junction, opened about 50 years ago. After years of silt and sediment, the quality of the water is low and the lake is too shallow these days. That’s the reason behind a renovation plan that kicks into high gear after Labor Day 2016.

The plan calls for both draining and dredging the lake and also moving some of the fish to a new location.

The county acquired nearly 80 acres next to the lake to create wetlands to filter out nutrients that foul the water. A second, smaller lake just completed by the county will also help clean the water before it reaches the larger, main park lake.

But that smaller lake will help in another way during the renovation plan.

After Labor Day, workers  drained the main lake to prepare for dredging. Fish were moved to the new lake and other lakes that needed stocking.  After the ground froze restoration work began. Central Park had its grand reopening in September 2019.

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Project 3. Become part of the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque Endowment

On July 21, 2016 we met with Amy Manternach and Sherri Hunt of the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque to start the process of becoming an endowed organization. Being part of this means many different ways to give and getting an Iowa Tax and Federal Tax credits. If you have some philanthropic bones in you body, you will love this!  As of February 2017 we are  FULLY endowed.