Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area Reauthorized

The Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area, headquartered in Waterloo, has been reauthorized by Congress for another 15 years. In one of the last acts in the 117th Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the National Heritage Area Act by a bipartisan vote of 326-95. Days earlier, the Senate passed the same bill without opposition. Silos & Smokestacks is one of 45 heritage areas that have been reauthorized. Silos & Smokestacks was established in 1996 and is the only National Heritage Area in Iowa. To date, it’s the only heritage area designated by Congress to tell the story of American agriculture.  President Ronald Reagan established the first National Heritage Areas in 1984. Rather than an enclosed park, NHAs are lived-in spaces that often span large geographic areas that cross multiple jurisdictions. Boasting more than 100 heritage area sites and attractions, Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area covers 21,000 square miles in 37 counties in northeast Iowa.   The act will authorize existing NHA’s through 2037.