HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

    COUNTY – Shelby County is celebrating 100 years of organized county extension work this year, and was honored with a plaque presented by Dr. John Lawrence, Vice President for Extension and Outreach, during the Shelby County Fair held July 8-16 in Harlan.
    Lawrence lauded the long-established partnership Iowa State University has provided local citizens through Shelby County Extension, with access to education and university research.  Shelby County Extension is celebrating the milestone with all of its partners during the year.
    Lawrence explained that it all began back in 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln and Congress pointed American education in a new direction when the Morrill Act became law, establishing the land grant university system.  Lincoln inspired the nation to think and act anew by creating a university for the study of agriculture and mechanical arts.
    Extension became a new way of thinking, beginning in 1903 when a group of Sioux County farmers cooperated with ISU to improve seed corn.  Together they established the extension idea, taking the land grant university out to the people.
    By 1912, counties were beginning to organize for extension work, and the land grant university was extending throughout the state.  Today it serves all 99 counties, connecting the needs of Iowans with Iowa State University research and resources.