MASON CITY – A sculpture of late Mason City councilman Alex Kuhn will be placed at the public library.
Alex Kuhn served as a Mason City councilman and passed away on July 15, 2016. He was an outstanding public servant, liked by many in the community.
At a Mason City library board meeting held Tuesday night, Alex’s father, Mark Kuhn of Charles City, presented a small scale version of the proposed Alex Kuhn Memorial sculpture that will be given to and displayed at the Mason City Public Library. Mr. Kuhn requested that the small representation of the memorial sculpture is displayed at the library while funds are being raised for production of the life sized sculpture of Alex Kuhn reading to children.
Teachers from Jefferson Elementary school attended the meeting and spoke of how Alex read to children at the school each week and that he made a point of getting to know all of the children when he visited the classroom. They said that Alex was a thoughtful reader and he was committed to reading to the students in order to help them become lifelong readers.
City Administrator Brent Trout was in attendance, and said that he is impressed by the amount of support there is for this memorial.
Councilman John Lee said that a memorial for Alex has been discussed for the past year and that the proposed sculpture is a fitting tribute to Alex and his service to the community.
Mark Kuhn said that the sculpture will most likely be made of bronze.
“The statue will portray Alex’s commitment to our children’s future. Displaying the statue in the Mason City Public Library will honor his legacy of integrity and civility in public service,” Mr. Kuhn told NIT Tuesday evening.
Board member Dave Moore said that he supports the proposed sculpture but wanted to make sure that the Kuhn Family understands that the library has a gift policy that states that the gift becomes the property of the library and that the library has sole discretion over its property.
The motion carried unanimously.
Mark Kuhn tells NIT that there has been a fund-raising effort all summer, but a second fund-raising effort is about to kick off. $11,616 has already been raised. He says local resident and friend to Alex, Peter Children, has helped “tremendously” with the process and has put the family in touch with an outstanding sculptor. NIT will publish information as soon as it is available on how to contribute to the fundraising effort.
