Sunday, April 26, 2-4:30 pm
Expo Building on the Dickinson County Fairgrounds
1600 15th St., Spirit Lake, IA
The NWIABKA annual meeting is the opportunity for members to join in fellowship with beekeepers to celebrate beekeeping and the good work of the Association. What to expect at the 2026 annual meeting.
Guest Speaker:
Entomologist and 17 year beekeeping veteran, Ginny Mitchell of Boone, IA is our guest speaker. Ginny has an impressive background in teaching many aspects of beekeeping including the marketing of honey and value-added hive products. For the past 13 years she has judged honey shows at the Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa state fairs. She will be speaking on how to prepare honey and beeswax exhibits for the new Honey & Hive Products division at the 2026 Clay County Fair. You can bring a jar of honey to the annual meeting for Ginny to grade.
2026 Membership & Queen Bee Drawing:
To be eligible to vote at the annual meeting 2026 membership fees need to be paid. All paid membership will be eligible for a drawing for one Ellen Bell or Lloyd Street Bees VSH queen to be available in mid-May or early June.
Membership fees (cash or check only):
- $30 – single adult 19 years of age and older
- $50 – family membership of two or more adults, plus youth if applicable
- $15 – single youth 18 years of age and younger
Raffle & Silent Auction Sales to Support a New Teaching Apiary:
The NWIABKA Board is working in a collaboration with the U of IA Lakeside to launch a new honey bee teaching apiary on the campus of the U of IA Lakeside Laboratory on West Okoboji Lake. The Association will own the bees and equipment, with Lakeside Lab providing the apiary space and accessible parking. The apiary will offer an unique “in the bee yard” learning experience for beekeepers while practicing biosecurity protocols to diminish the transference of honey bee diseases between members’ colonies. The teaching apiary project will be presented at the annual meeting. All raffle and silent auction revenue will be used to financially support the launch of the teaching apiary.
Raffle & Silent Auction:
Several items are being collected to offer as raffle prizes including candy boards, mead, honey products, Premier Bee Products foundation, Bob Binnie 8-frame double screen board, Varroa trap drone comb, and more. A list of raffle prizes will be sent to members on April 24th. A four-frame double nuc hive with a 10-frame ultimate telescoping hive cover valued at $180 will be sold as a silent auction item. The reserve bid is $99.
Raffle Tickets (cash or check only)
- $5 – 1 ticket
- $20 – 5 tickets
- $40 – 11 tickets
Election of the NWIABKA Board of Directors:
To date, six current Board members will stand for affirmation for continuing service, and four Association members have been nominated to stand for election to the Board. Nominations will be taken from the floor.
Highlights from the 2025 and 2026 Projects:
- During the first quarter of 2026 Level 1, 2 & 3 classes were offered. 22 students from three states attended the Level 3 class.
- Collaboration with the U of IA Lakeside Laboratory to launch a teaching apiary on the research station’s campus.
- New Honey & Hive Products division at the Clay County Fair.
- Collaboration with U of MN Extension to host a 2027 Honey Bee Day at the SW Research & Outreach Center near Lamberton, MN.
- The NWIABKA has been invited to be part of a cold climate multi-state local Varroa resistant queen selection and breeding project.
- The Association will have beekeeping demonstrations and presentations at the Spirit Lake Hy-Vee May 2 spring celebration event and at EPAK in Estherville on May 5-7.
