After more than five years of renovations, the State Historical Building of Iowa, Museum and Research Center fully reopened this October with the unveiling of their new exhibition Civics in Action, focusing on significant events, court cases, caucuses and issues that shaped the future of Iowa and the U.S.
State Curator Leo Landis joins Talk of Iowa host Charity Nebbe to discuss the exhibit, and one of the Iowans it features, Mia Peterson.
As a person with Down syndrome, Peterson was a pioneer in the self-advocacy civil rights movement, who died at the age of 47 from Alzheimer's disease in 2021.
Her younger sister, Jana Peterson-Besse, joins the conversation to share more about Mia's life and accomplishments. The State of Iowa is also proclaiming November 24th as Mia Peterson Day, on what would have been her 50th birthday.
Later in the episode, we’ll talk with IPR's Lindsey Moon about the music memoirs that Studio One wants to read in the remaining weeks of 2023.
Guests:
- Leo Landis, state curator, State Historical Society of Iowa
- Jana Peterson-Besse, sister of Mia Peterson and program manager, Oregon Office on Disability and Health
- Lindsey Moon, senior digital producer and All Access executive producer, IPR
