Plans for the Iowa County Courthouse Grounds Revitalization Project are underway in Dodgeville, Jacob Tarrell, Iowa County Facilities and Grounds director, said. The project will have different objectives, but a major focus will be to update Veterans Memorial Plaza. Ensuring courthouse grounds are accessible to all is another initiative. Fundraising efforts are progressing. The project’s completion will be celebrated in 2029 when the county’s 200th anniversary is commemorated.
Former Iowa County Administrator Larry Bierke first authorized research to begin for the project in 2021, but final approval for the revitalization can only be made through the county’s long-range Capital Improvement Plan, CIP, Tarrell said. The project was first presented for long-range planning in January 2023. The project’s ideas and plans were later presented to the full Iowa County Board of Supervisors in January 2025, he said.
Because revitalizing the grounds around the courthouse is a capital improvement, no funds have been allocated for the project. The county facilities and grounds department, VFW Post 7345, American Legion Post 97, and Iowa County Veterans Service Office are project partners. “This (revitalization) will be considered a capital improvement project, and any funds toward the project will be determined based on what can be donated and/or fundraised through the VFW and American Legion,” Tarrell said, “The VFW and Legion want to fund as much of the project they can before the 200th anniversary,” he said. Currently, the project’s estimate is $500,000,” Tarrell said.
The revitalization team has consulted with the Dodgeville Area Chamber of Commerce, City of Dodgeville and its mayor, and the Iowa County Historical Society. The project is a collaborative effort. Team leaders welcome input. For more information about the project or to donate funds, contact Tarrell, 608-341-8592, or Dawn Foreman, grounds coordinator, 608-341-8675, county facilities and grounds department; Commander Terry Wilkinson, VFW, 608-553-1837; Commander David Bell, American Legion, 608- 935-5090; or Veteran Service Officer Jeffrey Lindeman, Veterans Service Office, 608-935-9865. Anyone wanting to help with the project should contact one of the team’s leaders.
Tarrell presented a PowerPoint at the courthouse Wednesday morning, April 1, detailing the grounds revitalization project. Foreman, Wilkinson, Bell, Lindeman, Nicole Welsh of the American Legion Auxiliary, and Lily Tarrell, who is assisting with the group’s social media presence, attended the meeting. Lily is completing a junior project on social media to meet her graduation requirements at Highland High School, Highland, Wisconsin.
The overall revitalization project will include landscaping and grounds upgrades around the courthouse with themes inspired by elements on the official Iowa County seal: mining, history, agriculture, and scenic views. Veterans Memorial Plaza on the north side of the courthouse and the small “pocket park” on the south side will receive special attention.
Plans are progressing to extend tribute to the six branches of the United States Armed Forces – Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, and Space Force – at Veterans Memorial Plaza. Special bricks to help pave the plaza may be purchased through fundraising activities. Benches, ledges, three flags, cannons, a Korean-era military jeep that Lindeman helped secure, a metal memorial statue of a soldier possibly saluting or standing at attention, a designated area and platform for guest speakers to use during special observances, a separate area allowing the public to exercise its freedom-of-speech rights, and potential shaded areas in the plaza are among the current plans. A story walk and special lighting around the courthouse and in Veterans Memorial Plaza are also in the works. Present plans could be changed or tweaked while ideas are being developed.
Tarrell discussed the metal statue. “I’m trying to get an actual standup, a soldier standing at attention, or maybe saluting,” he said. Tarrell has consulted with a sculptor who could create the statue “out of scrap metal or tools or pieces of either farm equipment or mining equipment.” By melting down metal from county farming or mining equipment, Tarrell believes some themes depicted in the county seal would be unified and create meaning.
The “pocket park” was discussed at the meeting. Tarrell suggested that information on the Iowa Native Americans, sometimes known as the Ioway tribe, somehow be included in the park. He reminded project team leaders that the tribe was here long before miners and settlers inhabited what became Iowa County. Other county history could be included in the park. Welsh offered an idea for indigenous perennial plants to grow in the small park. The small park most likely will receive a name.
Wisconsin Surplus Online Auction has partnered with the county facilities and grounds department, VFW, and American Legion for fundraising auctions to support upgrades at Veterans Memorial Plaza. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to the project. For information on donating large items to sell, please contact Tarrell at Jacob.Tarrell@iowacounty.org. Contact designated team leaders if you have general questions about an auction or wish to donate smaller items.
Members of the Iowa County Board of Directors have been or will be assigned to the project. Those names will become available after the upcoming election April 7.
The Iowa County Facebook page has Veterans Memorial Plaza and courthouse images by Jewell Associates Engineers and project plans posted online. Please see https://www.facebook.com/p/Iowa- County-Courthouse-Landscape-Project-61574918017902/.