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Update: Fort Des Moines Museum

Rick Fredericksen
/
Iowa Public Radio
Woman soldier in Iowa National Guard

The historic Fort Des Moines Museum is formally reopening tomorrow morning (11-11-14)  with a Veterans Day program and public tours. Iowa Public Radio’s Rick Fredericksen has the story.

The first class of black officers graduated at Fort Des Moines in WW1. The Army’s first women trained there in WW2. Despite its rich background, the Fort Des Moines Museum went into debt and even closed for a time. A Veterans Day ceremony will announce its rebirth, according to curator Jack Lufkin.

“At 11 o’clock in the morning we’re going to have a color guard and we’re just basically announcing to the public, hey we’re open again, we closed, had some difficulties, kind of an open house.”

To celebrate the military’s early racial and gender integration, Lufkin says the ten-year old landmark is planning an upgrade of its exhibits. The Fort Des Moines Museum is open Thursday through Saturday and admission is free. I’m Rick Fredericksen, Iowa Public Radio News.