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History Center tells Linn County supervisors how $33,000 in county funds were spent and seeks continued support
Summary
History Center executive director Jason Wright reported to the Linn County Board that $33,000 in county funding supported collections care, exhibits and expanding programs; he highlighted a quarter‑million TikTok views, rising program participation and a growing endowment that keeps the nonprofit cash‑positive.
Jason Wright, executive director of the History Center, summarized how the center used a $33,000 county award in fiscal year 2025 and outlined programs intended to expand countywide engagement.
Wright told the Linn County Board that the center’s collections now total about 9,000 items and that staff completed a three‑year inventory project to better preserve and catalog artifacts. He said the center received 71 accessions this past year and described an agreement to serve as repository for items from the Cedar Rapids Community School District to provide humidity and temperature‑controlled storage.
Wright listed recent exhibits and partnerships, including a photography exhibit featuring Bob Campania, an exhibit for Mercy’s 125th anniversary, and displays about the local cereal‑processing history. He described rotating small‑gallery shows and special interactive exhibits intended to bring visitors from throughout the county.
On programming and outreach, Wright said the center fulfilled roughly 2,600 research requests, served more than 10,000 in‑person visitors this year (about two‑thirds from Linn County) and saw program attendance rise. He noted the center’s social media reach, including a series of TikTok posts that together reached about a quarter‑million views. Wright attributed a drop in gallery admissions to a lost grant that had funded a free month and a weather‑related reduction at a major event.
Board members thanked Wright and the History Center trustees for programming that reaches rural and urban audiences; one supervisor asked Wright to clarify how the center defines “in town” (Wright said that refers to the Cedar Rapids Community School District) and another praised the center’s financial stewardship and volunteer leadership.
The board offered its appreciation but took no formal action on funding at the meeting. Wright asked to be included on a future consent agenda for a staff‑proposed funding request; county staff did not provide a numerical recommendation at this session.
