The City of Kalona is about to begin a project to honor veterans, volunteer firefighters, and volunteer emergency service providers. According to City Administrator Ryan Schlabaugh, the city went through a Trees Forever visioning project over the last year, and came to a consensus with the community about a spot and design for the memorial. The memorial will be located near the new city hall on the southeast corner, and will be made up of three black granite monuments. Schlabaugh says the city has allocated $20,000 towards the approximately $60,000 project, and an additional $11,000 has already been raised through a capital campaign fundraiser. With those funds in hand, the city has ordered the granite, which will be shipped to a monument company for etching. The etching will include a three-paneled flag and a quote that has not been determined.

As far as start and completion dates for the project, Schlabaugh says, “Ideally, we would like to complete it over the summer. We’ve had a lot of interest from local contractors that would like to do some in-kind work on it, whether it be concrete, land pavers, landscaping and so forth. We think once we hit a financial threshold that we feel comfortable (with), that we’ll go ahead and start the project.” Based on initial figures and promises of support, Schlabaugh feels confident they will meet their financial goals for the project sooner rather than later.