Flags to be Lowered to Half-Staff In Honor of Coach Hayden Fry

Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered all flags in Iowa to be lowered to half-staff until sunset on Friday, December 20, in honor and remembrance of University of Iowa football coach Hayden Fry.

“Hayden Fry was an Iowa coaching legend who left it all on the field in every game, practice, and in all aspects of his life,” said Gov. Reynolds. “Born a Texan, he quickly earned his place among the greatest Iowans, by carrying Hawkeye football to new heights and connecting with our state on a level only few have. During the depths of the Farm Crisis of the 1980s, he popularized the ‘America Needs Farmers’ movement, showing farmers and rural America that he stood by them. Iowans always stood with Hayden Fry, and now they will honor his legacy and always remember him as a model for how coaches should be.”

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.

When flown at half-staff, the flag should be first hoisted to the peak for an instant and then lowered to half-staff position. It should again be raised to the peak before it is lowered for the day. Half-staff is one-half the distance between the top and bottom of the staff.

If the flag is an indoor flag or mounted on the side of a house where it cannot be lowered to half-staff, it is appropriate to tie a black ribbon above the flag, just below the ornament. The black ribbon should be no more than 10% the width of the flag and approximately twice its length.