The Greene County Historical Society is starting up its programming for the year this weekend.

The first program will be on Iowa’s role in the Civil War and the impacts of that on the state. Des Moines Area Community College Professor John Liepa will be giving a free presentation on Sunday at 2pm at the Historical Museum in Jefferson. Liepa will talk about the changing of attitudes and events from 1830 up to the start of the Civil War in 1861 had influenced Iowa’s role in the conflict. He will also go over the evolution and changing laws for black Iowans and other key roles that individuals had, including women. 

Liepa taught US and Iowa history at DMACC for 40 years and he was last in Jefferson in 2018 when he covered how baseball came to Iowa. There is no registration for the free program on Sunday.