STORY CITY, Iowa — The Bertha Bartlett Public Library in Story City is preparing for a three-million-dollar expansion thanks to a familiar name.

The three million dollars will go towards a new wing to be named in honor of Francis Bartlett Kinne, who passed away in 2020 and left a large sum to be used by the city for improvements.

“When she passed away, she left various organizations approximately the total of $5 million and this is one of the things, that when you’re saying about how somebody from Iowa would never leave Iowa, her heart was always here in Story City,” said Mark Jackon, City Administrator to Story City.

Kinne also asked that her 1950’s Steinway piano be moved to the library, where it now rests among the nonfiction collection and periodically hosts special recitals, performances, and piano clinics.

Kinne moved to Florida to become the president of Jacksonville University but always kept the library in her heart. The library was named in honor of Francis’s mother, Bertha Bartlett, to honor her 40 years as the library director in Story City.

The new wing is expected to be completed later in 2025.