The State Historical Society of Iowa Board of Trustees presented the annual Excellence in Iowa History Awards during a ceremony on June 14, 2023, at the Lakeview Community Center in Clear Lake in which they honored individuals, organizations and communities that make outstanding contributions to the field of Iowa history. Among the award winners was Don Doxsie of Davenport, whose cover story for the Sept/Oct 2022 issue of Iowa History Journal, Trice-Slater: Cy-Hawk Gridiron Legends” won the George Mills & Louise Noun Popular History Award. 

 

“One of the most important aspects of history is its ability to inform and shape the future,” said Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg in a written statement, who joined the SHSI Board of Trustees to present the awards. “I would expect that there are students out there who will read the honorees’ works, study them in school, attend their events and exhibits, and see Iowa history that they have preserved. So, most of all, thank you to the award winners who are inspiring and empowering the next generation of Iowans to ensure that our state’s history and legacy continues.”

 

Doxsie, who covered sports in Iowa for the Cedar Rapids Gazette and Quad City-Times for more than 40 years before retiring in 2021, told the Mason City Globe Gazette last week that his dual biography of Jack Trice and Duke Slater for Iowa History Journal told the stories of the two prominent Black athletes 100 years after their trailblazing careers. 

 

“Both these men — they weren’t Heisman trophy winners or anything like that — but they made enough of a contribution to their universities to have them honored,” he said. 

As Doxsie wrote for Iowa History Journal, Iowa State University’s Jack Trice Stadium in Ames and Duke Slater Field at the University of Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, are two of only four collegiate football programs to have facilities named for black athletes. 

 

The George Mills & Louise Noun Popular History Award recognizes the most significant popular history article on an Iowa history topic published during the previous calendar year. It is named in honor of George Mills, a journalist and popular historian, and Louise Noun, a philanthropist and scholar of women’s history. Doxsie is among a growing list of contributors to Iowa History Journal who have won the award or received honorable mention in the category. 

 

Other winners include Pamela Riney-Kehrberg of Ames for her book “When a Dream Dies: Agriculture, Iowa, and the Farm Crisis of the 1980s” (Benjamin F. Shambaugh Award); Iowa Gold Star Military Museum (Loren Horton Community History Award); Des Moines Film for their Varsity Cinema project (Excellence in Archaeology and Historic Preservation Award); and Anthony Miller’s article for The Annals of Iowa (Mildred Throne & Charles Aldrich Scholar History Award). 

 

“Each year, we recognize those who have made outstanding contributions to the study and practice of Iowa history,” said Tyler De Haan of Van Meter, chair of the State Historical Society’s board of trustees. “These winners have made remarkable achievements that focus on Iowa history. We appreciate their contributions and congratulate them on their success.” 

 

This year’s list of award winners includes individuals and projects from across the state – Ames, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Des Moines, Dubuque, Iowa City, Johnston, and Laurens – and around the country. 

 

“Iowa’s early founders recognized the importance of recording and sharing Iowa’s history for the future, and this work builds on that foundation they created 166 years ago,” State Historical Society of Iowa Administrator Susan Kloewer said. “I encourage our award winners and others to keep preserving and sharing our history as we know firsthand the importance history has to the identity of our fellow Iowans and how it helps enrich our communities.”

 

Iowa History Journal congratulates this year’s award winners and those who received certificates of recognition. For more information visit iowaculture.gov. For a list of this year’s award winners visit https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/IACIO/bulletins/360ddb9. 

 

Copies of Doxsie’s cover story for Iowa History Journal are available at iowahistoryjournal.com.