Refinished Delta Shield up at Voyage Home museum

By Christine Kirkwood
Posted 5/10/23

In 2018, Mike Meinders designed and constructed a Star Trek Delta Shield out of bicycles for RAGBRAI as Riverside was one of the towns on the route that year.  It was placed behind the new …

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Refinished Delta Shield up at Voyage Home museum

Posted

In 2018, Mike Meinders designed and constructed a Star Trek Delta Shield out of bicycles for RAGBRAI as Riverside was one of the towns on the route that year.  It was placed behind the new statue of Captain Kirk by the tennis courts in time for both RAGBRAI in July and Riverside’s annual Trek Fest celebration in June.  

Lots of selfies and photos were taken that year by riders and visitors in front of the statue and shield backdrop.  Across Iowa, there are over 50-60 such ‘monuments’ erected by towns who have been on the route or hosted the riders overnight, and it has become a beloved ritual for many riders to find and photograph them.

For anyone who is not a Star Trek fan, the Delta Shield is the insignia on the uniforms of Star Fleet characters who appeared in the Star Trek television series.  A t-shirt was designed in 2018 for Trek Fest using the Delta Shield design.  

This July, RAGBRAI will pass through Coralville and another t-shirt is already in the works to celebrate the Delta Shield in Riverside.

After the Captain Kirk statue was moved to its permanent location in Railroad Park on Hwy 22, the Delta Shield was to have been moved with it as a backdrop. 

“Late in 2019 the Delta Shield was removed by the city from the fence and at that point I lost track of it and was not able to find out where it was until 2022 when my grandson helped me locate it.  I was very upset to see the state of its condition,” Meinders said.

Fast forward to 2023.  After talking with the city about getting it repaired and repainted for installation, the city council voted it down and did not wish to continue with it.  Meinders then brought the issue to the Voyage Home Riverside History Center, and they voted to take over the refurbishing project and the Riverside Area Community Club (RACC) agreed to help finance it.  

Meinders then contacted RPM Revival LLC, a company in Tipton that did the sandblasting, priming, and painting after he replaced missing letters and did some structural reinforcement.

On Wednesday, May 3, the Delta Shield was installed on the east side of the Voyage Home Museum and History Center by Terry and Mary Jane Stumpf and Mike and Carol Meinders.  

Stumpf Construction’s SkyTrak made quick work of lifting the heavy structure into place where the men bolted it down.  Meinders has also installed back lighting which adds to the effect.  It turned out beautifully and the hope is that RAGBRAI riders and visitors to the museum will use it for the backdrop for selfies and photos for many years to come.