Iowa Has A Lighthouse?
By Sue Clark on May 12, 2009 in The Light Side 
Print This Post
Why, yes it does. Even though Iowa is landlocked, and better noted for its cornfields, their citizens shouldn’t be denied a lighthouse. And even though they have one, a mostly decorative lighthouse at Weed’s Park in Muscatine, IA, it’s been unlit for quite some time. That is, until its dimness inspired an Eagle Scout to be to take it on.
A 15 year old boy scout, Kyle Juszczyk, has been fascinated by the lighthouse on the lagoon as long as he could remember. But he would also wonder why it was unlit. So, as a civic project, and to earn Kyle his Eagle Scout ranking, he is lighting the lighthouse, using solar panels for electricity. He has been working on this project for over a month, including time spent talking to managers at stores getting them to donate supplies towards the light. He and his family and other members of his scout troop, have also cut down overgrown weeds (wait a sec, it’s Weed’s Park, isn’t it?) and repaired a rickety swing.
An excellent job, Kyle, for a budding pharologist you surely are. Lighthouse preservation groups, snap up this young man now. He’s got it all. 
Added: Well, Iowa has two lighthouses. A friend on Twitter, @tooroji, pointed me to this page at Roadside America about the landlocked lighthouse in Iowa. Surrounded by soybean and corn fields, there is actually a lake nearby (one of the few in Iowa). And then, looking for a photo, I discovered another Iowa lighthouse! What’s going on, do we have a secret cabal of pharologists in Iowa? And about those Singing Lighthouses, there are actually three on the lake. They’re so-called because they play music as people walk past. Two of them are pictured below after the one at Storm Lake.
Storm Lake Lighthouse, Iowa
Singing Lighthouse 1
Singing Lighthouse 2
Sheesh, who knew a landlocked state would have so many lighthouses? I sure didn’t. If there are more, please let me know. And for those of you wanting to get in touch with Kyle, the original story is here at the Muscatine Journal, and says his parents are Dan and Laura, and he’s in Boy Scout Troop 173. Should be easy to look up online.
I just keep adding to this post. There’s yet another lighthouse in Iowa. What are we up to, six? I’m losing count. Well, this one is a Bed and Breakfast near Dubuque, but it does have a 61 foot lighthouse attached to it. And even more interesting, it turns out to be for sale. So if you have the asking price of $660,950, you might be able to buy yourself a lighthouse. It’s cheaper than the one for sale in Maine, the Isle Au Haut Lighthouse Station, and this one actually includes a lighthouse (the other one doesn’t).
Keep up with Lighthouse News. Get articles by 
Email or in a 
Reader.
November 22nd, 2009 at 7:47 pm
When I read the headline about the landlocked lighthouse in Iowa, I expected something to do with those little lawn ornaments. But, those singing lighthouses look like they are actually intended to be lit.
January 9th, 2010 (5 weeks ago) at 1:42 am
The “singing” lighthouses shown are not on a lake. That’s the Mississippi riverfront in Clinton.