Ken and Rosemary Hanson – contributed photo

In breaking news, the $150,000 matching grant challenge for the new Washington auditorium project has been met by the community. New Auditorium Honorary co-chairs are Ken and Rosemary Hanson who provided the matching funds for the Washington Area Performing Arts and Event Center Project. Jan Gallagher with the project explains the matching grant challenge fills the monetary gap that had to be filled before Vision Iowa would officially fund the project.

The $7.1 million project will go to bid in early May with construction slated to begin in mid-July. The auditorium attached to the Washington High School is set to be complete in September of 2016.