Bill authorizing Eisenhower statue at Statehouse goes to governor / LJWorld.com
Bill authorizing Eisenhower statue at Statehouse goes to governor
Topeka  The Kansas House on Thursday passed and sent to Gov. Jeff Colyer a bill authorizing the placement of a statue on the Statehouse grounds honoring former President and five-star Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The statue will be a replica of one designed by the late Lawrence artist Jim Brothers. The original bronze sculpture currently stands in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. A second, taller version stands at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va.
The statue depicts Eisenhower in his military uniform as Supreme Allied Commander of the European Expeditionary Force, speaking to U.S. troops just before the launching of the D-Day invasion in June 1944.
Plans for the statue were included in the original master plan for the Capitol complex that were drawn up just before the start of a 13-year renovation project that began in 2001.
The Capitol Preservation Committee, a volunteer group that oversees the Statehouse grounds, voted in December to formally request legislation authorizing the statue.
Brothers, who died in 2013, was a nationally renowned sculptor, known primarily for his contributions to national war memorials and his depictions of American historic figures.
The bill authorizing the statue passed the Kansas Senate by a unanimous vote on Jan. 30, one day before Colyer was sworn into office.
In his inaugural address, Colyer said he looked forward to making the bill one of the first pieces of legislation he signs into law as governor.
Plans for Eisenhower statue at Kansas Capitol move forward
Colyer approves Eisenhower statue for Kansas Statehouse grounds