ISU Rising Star Internship

08/10/2025

Ahhhh … now we know why we have our presentations here.

Today in Ames history: On August 7, 1890, construction began on Morrill Hall. It was named for Sen. Justin Morrill, who created the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act. The building was completed in 1891 at a cost of around $30,000.

Morrill was originally constructed to fill the capacity of a library, museum, and chapel. These original uses are engraved in the exterior stonework on the east side.

The building was vacated in 1996 when it was deemed unsafe. In 2007, Morrill Hall reopened after $9 million was raised to renovate the building. The building now houses the Christian Petersen Art Museum, once again fulfilling one of the original uses for the building.

This photo shows Morrill with the Dinkey in front of it, around 1900. Farwell T. Brown Photographic Archive, Ames Public Library.

08/06/2025

Perks of our presentation today? Bumping into President Wintersteen!

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Iowa State University

08/02/2025

Feeling loved 🫶🏼.

07/30/2025

On July 10 we attended the Hotel Winifred ‘Vision Northwood’ Iowa Economic Development Meeting with Debby Durham
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

07/21/2025

This week in Perry we took our chicken coop on the road last Thursday and brought it to the Perry Farmers Market! We set up so folks could check out the design up close from the easy-access nesting boxes to the predator proof frame. We loved seeing people peek inside, ask questions, and share their own coop ideas.
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

07/18/2025

This week has been one of my favorite moments of the summer so far. As part of my continued work with urban agriculture in Linn County, I spent time visiting three different community gardens around the area. Each garden offered its own unique atmosphere, purpose, and impact—but all shared the same mission: bringing fresh, healthy food to the people who need it most. These visits reminded me that gardens are more than just places to grow vegetables. They are places of hope, connection, and empowerment. I spoke with volunteers, peeked into pollinator beds, and walked through rows of tomatoes, squash, and greens, all carefully cared for by people who believe in the power of growing food locally.
Read about each of the Gardens in our Rising Star blog ⬇️
https://blogs.extension.iastate.edu/risingstar/

07/10/2025

Yessssss…

Shout out to our Rising Star interns who are helping build a !

Rising Stars engage in community service, support local communities, and help develop and implement ISU Extension and Outreach programs! 🌟

06/27/2025

⭐️Taylor and Natalie⭐️ are set up at Central Gardens today from 9-12🪴

06/26/2025

We have a super special program happening in Black Hawk County ✨

Our Experiential Learning Coordinator, Shari Sell-Bakker, coordinates with the Refugee and Immigrant Youth Organization (RIYO) in Waterloo to teach students about urban agriculture each week 👩🏼‍🌾

Our Rising Stars have been helping out with programming too ⭐️ Yesterday, Willa lead an activity about food access. Using maps of Waterloo, the students located grocery stores in their neighborhood. Then they had a discussion about food deserts and insecurity.

We ended the afternoon at the People’s Community Health Clinic garden and learned about urban agriculture for philanthropy 🍅🥕🥬

- with Black Hawk County Extension & Outreach

06/26/2025

Hello from Black Hawk County 👋🏻

We will be at the Dunkerton Farmer’s Market this Monday (6/30) meeting community members and giving away t-shirts. We would love to hear from you!

06/24/2025

In case you haven't seen it already, check out the Club Activity Competition, a fun opportunity for your club at the Story County Fair! Sign up by scanning the QR code and compete with other 4-H and FFA clubs to see who can host the best activity at the fair. Slots are filling up fast, sign up now! Thank you for supporting the Story County Youth Fair.