Iowa Flags To Be At Half-Staff In Honor Of Former Clinton Mayor, LaMetta Wynn
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has ordered flags across the state to be at half-staff on Saturday, July 3 in honor and remembrance of LaMetta Wynn. Wynn was Iowa's first African-American elected Mayor and served three terms as Clinton's mayor.
On Friday, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announced in a press release that she has ordered flags across the state of Iowa to be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Saturday, July 3rd, 2021 in honor and remembrance of LaMetta Wynn. Wynn served as the mayor of Clinton and became Iowa’s first African-American woman mayor when she was elected in 1995.
LaMetta Wynn passed away on June 24, 2021 at the age of 87 from complications of Alzheimer’s Disease.
According to her obituary from Lemke Funeral Service, LaMetta Karen Johnson was born on August 4, 1933, in Galena, Illinois. In 1955, LaMetta moved to Clinton, where she eventually took a job at Mercy Hospital and met and married her late husband, Thomas Wynn, Sr.
Wynn's political career began in Clinton as president of the PTA at Kirkwood Elementary School in the 1960s. Later, she went on to serve on the Clinton Community School Board for 12 years, 3 years as president.
In 1993, LaMetta ran for mayor of the city of Clinton and lost. She came in third out of five candidates. Wynn ran again in 1995 and had strong public support. She won the mayoral race in Clinton that year by winning 54% of the vote against four men. By winning, LaMetta became the first African-American woman to hold the office of mayor in any Iowa municipality. LaMetta would go on to serve two subsequent terms and would win those races easily.
In her press release, Kim Reynolds said,
“Serving as a mayor, school board member, and a role model for the community, LaMetta Wynn’s life was dedicated to helping others. Her list of accomplishments along with the historical significance of being the first African-American female mayor in Iowa’s history blazed a trail for others to follow. Her legacy will serve as a powerful reminder to the greatness of Iowans and the values and ideals embedded so deeply in America’s DNA: character, determination, and hard work are what count.”
Visitation will be held at Church of the Open Door in Clinton on Friday, July 2nd from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. and on Saturday, July 3rd from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Funeral services will immediately follow the second visitation with burial in Springdale Cemetery.
Flags will be at half-staff on the State Capitol Building and on flag displays in the Capitol Complex. Flags will also be half-staff on all public buildings, grounds, and facilities throughout the state.
Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties, and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flags at half-staff for the same length of time.