New book about rural Iowa
offers 'Scripture for the Future'

Renewing the Countryside: Iowa

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This article was written and posted on INHF's website in July 2003, prices updated March 2005.

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."

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.

Available at bookstores or you can order online or at 1-866-477-1521 at the new sale price of $20 for paperbacks (was $24.95) or $30 for hardcovers (was $39.95). Published by Renewing the Countryside, Inc., 2105 First Avenue S, Minneapolis, MN 55404, fax 612-870-4846, rtc@iatp.org.

Product description: 9.125 x 9.375, 160 pages, more than 120 full-color photographs, hardcover ISBN 09713391-2-0, softcover ISBN 0-9713391-3-9.

“Renewing the Countryside” is not only a book but a nonprofit organization that “strengthens rural areas by championing and supporting rural communities, farmers, artists, entrepreneurs, educators, activists and other people who are renewing the countryside through sustainable and innovative initiatives, businesses, and projects.” Learn more about this organization and click the “stories” button to read about people throughout the U.S. who are using innovative and sustainable methods to preserve and promote healthy rural communities.

For more information, e-mail Cathy Engstrom, director of communications, or call (515) 288-1846.

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