FM-SIRRC gets behind Old Fort rehab

FORT MADISON – A non-eventful easy Thursday evening in downtown Fort Madison turned into an eventful one thanks to the generous contributions of Fort Madison’s SIRRC board.
The Southeast Iowa Regional Riverboat Commission made a $101,000 contribution to Old Fort Madison Preservation, Inc. at OFMP’s new digs at 705 Avenue G.
Steve Link, Chairman of FM-SIRRC, said the group is proud to be able to look at projects like this.
“Fort Madison SIRRC over the years has invested more than $8 million into our community and the riverfront. Old Fort Madison speaks volumes to what Fort Madison is and we support projects like this that have tremendous passion and leadership,” he said.
“This is the backbone of Fort Madison and that is what Old Fort Madison Preservation is doing here to build back better our community and the Old Fort. If you look at the community involvement and the volunteers, it shows how much it means to the community and SIRRC wants to be involved with it.”
FM-SIRRC is a member of the Southeast Iowa Regional Riverboat Commission, the non-profit sponsor of the former Catfish Bend Casino’s license. That casino was recently purchased by Elite Resorts, but the philanthropic arm remains intact.
Funds received by SIRRC from the casino are distributed to agencies within the organization including Lee County and Des Moines County Boards of Supervisors; Burlington; Keokuk; and Fort Madison SIRRC (made up City of Fort Madison, Fort Madison Chamber and Fort Madison Economic Development Corp.)
Bill Napier, president of OFMP, Inc. has been a full-throated advocate for preserving the Old Fort since the City of Fort Madison was considering shuttering the museum and potentially tearing it down unless a community group took ownership and formulated a plan to resurrect the 38-year-old museum.
Napier was on hand to accept the check Thursday night along with about 15 other board and FM-SIRRC board members.
“We’re so happy to have this support of SIRRC. Not just the monetary support, which was quite significant, but the recognition of what Old Fort Madison Preservation will do for the city of Fort Madison,” Napier said.

“Over the last number of years, there’s been a mixed bag of people who were ready to see the end of the fort, and those sad to see it come to end. But I think before this over, everybody in Fort Madison will be proud of what they own. This doesn’t belong to us, it belongs to everybody.”
The city owns the land and will own the Fort. The OFMP board serves as the trustees operating the fort for what Napier said would be 100s of 1,000s of people coming to the city to visit.
Napier said the group is at about 70% of their fundraising goal and work will be starting very soon.
“When people see it happening, I think the interest will grow even more than it is at this point, which has been nothing short of incredible,” Napier said.
OFMP board member Becky Rump said there have been more than 300 private donations and another 35-40 pledged donors. She said others are gifting services and materials to the project.
Link said a lot of the applications that come to SIRRC don’t carry the community support that OFMP has generated over the past several years.
“The community’s behind it and that means a lot to what we want to be involved with,” he said.
Schickedanz Construction is the construction manager for the project and Rump said work could begin in February or March of 2027. The rest of the Old Fort that is still erect will be taken down and the entire footprint will be moved to the north about five feet to allow for an elevation and sloping to take the museum out of the floodplain.
OFMP has plans to make the tours self-guided AI-generated history lessons with state-of-the-art graphics and digital presentations. Their hope is also to try and lure Mississippi River cruise lines back to Fort Madison. The Old Fort was a main stopping point of American Cruise Lines when they stopped in Fort Madison for a couple years along the riverfront for bus tours.
Donations to the OFMP project are still being accepted as they close in on the $3.5 million fundraising goal. Connection Bank donated $100,000 to the work a week ago. Committee member Dana Rheinschmidt and her brother Tim Coffie kicked off the fundraiser with a $700,000 donation.
Donations can be made at https://historicoldfortmadison.org/get-involved/donate