Nov. 4, 2026, CRESTON, Iowa—Northwest Bank has awarded a $12,000 Community College Arts and Culture Grant to Southwestern Community College (SWCC) to enhance activities provided by the college’s art and professional music departments.
Dr. Michael Johnson, SWCC professional music instructor, and Kelly Devitt, SWCC art instructor, wrote the grant, titled Guest Artist & Musician Residency Series, to connect students and the broader community with professional artists and musicians through campus residencies, workshops, lectures, and public programming, as well as off-campus field trips to live performances and art galleries.
The mission of the Community College Arts and Culture grants is to provide community colleges in cities of less than 30,000 populations, which have a Northwest Bank, with grants to support new initiatives in arts and culture. Arts and culture are defined as art (visual or applied), dance, theater/drama, vocal music, band, and speech.
Northwest Bank is a $3.0 billion community-focused financial institution providing a comprehensive range of services, including business, agricultural, mortgage, consumer deposit and lending solutions, as well as wealth management services. With locations across Iowa—Afton, Algona, Ames, Ankeny, Arnolds Park, Creston, Estherville, Fort Dodge, Humboldt, Le Mars, Milford, Shenandoah, Sioux Center, Sioux City, Spencer, Spirit Lake, and West Des Moines—and in Nebraska—Omaha and La Vista—Northwest Bank is dedicated to serving its communities. Member FDIC. 
Pictured above (L to R): Cait Maitlen, Education Foundation executive director, SWCC; Lindsay Stoaks, president, SWCC; Dr. Michael Johnson, professional music instructor, SWCC; Kelly Devitt, art instructor, SWCC; Dan Waigand, bank president, Northwest Bank in Creston and Afton; Julie Lanning, director of operations, EVP, Northwest Bank; and Susan McNichols, compliance officer, VP, Northwest Bank.
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