Mia Peterson

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has officially declared Friday, November 24, 2023, Mia Peterson Day in Iowa, marking what would have been Mia’s 50th birthday.

Born in Sioux City in 1973, Mia grew up in Webster City, graduated from Webster City High School in 1993, and went on to become what Reynolds called “a model of public service.” She was recently honored in a new exhibit at the State Historical Museum in Des Moines as one of “ten Iowans of action,” whose life work of advocacy on behalf of others, made an important difference in Iowa history.

The governor’s proclamation cited some of Mia Peterson’s many accomplishments, including her appointment to the Iowa Planning Council for Developmental Disabilities in 1996, her distinction as the first person with Down Syndrome to sit on the board of the National Down Syndrome Society, and her 1997 plenary address to the National Down Syndrome Congress.

Peterson later testified in front of a U.S. Senate committee, attesting to the value of the Americans with Disabilities Act to the developmentally-disabled.

As her career progressed, a clear theme emerged from Mia Peterson’s work: that self-help is the best help. Speaking to those with developmental disabilities, their parents, friends, and caregivers, her uplifting message, “if I can do it, you can do it,” was an inspiration to thousands across the nation.

Today, at 10 a.m., Jana J. Peterson-Besse, PhD, Mia Peterson’s younger sister, and Leo Landis, state curator, State Historical Society of Iowa, and museum curator, State Historical Museum of Iowa, Des Moines, will be guests on Iowa Public Radio’s “Talk of Iowa” program, hosted by Charity Nebbe. The show airs on station WOI AM640, and online at Iowapublicradio.org. Those unable to listen to the live broadcast may hear the program via podcast, on iowapublicradio.org, posted a day after airing.

A formal reading of the governor’s proclamation will take place Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the State Historical Building, 600 E. Locust St., Des Moines. The State Historical Building houses the State Historical Museum of Iowa, open Tuesday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is closed Sunday and Monday. Admission is free.