Attorney General’s office to give $500,000 to the National Cold War Center

The office of the Arkansas Attorney General will donate $500,000 during the two years to support the continued development of The National Cold War Center to be located at the former Air Force Base in Blytheville.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin approved The National Cold War Center’s request for funding and enclosed a check for $250,000, intended to “continue the development of the museum.”

“I will donate an equal amount next year, bringing the total donation to $500,000,” Griffin wrote in a letter to the Museum’s Board of Directors.

Mary Gay Shipley, chair of The National Cold War Center Board of Directors, thanked Attorney General Griffin for his office’s investment in the future of the center.

“We greatly appreciate Attorney General Griffin’s incredible generosity and his valuable vote of confidence in our effort to build a world-class tourist attraction here in the Arkansas Delta,” said Shipley. “These donations will go a long way in helping us become the world’s premier destination for Cold War history and a major contributor to our local and state economies.”

The National Cold War Center is located on the campus of the former Blytheville Air Force Base (originally known as the Blytheville Army Airfield), which opened in 1942 as a training facility for World War II pilots. In 1958, the base was converted to a Strategic Air Command alert mission and remained a key U.S. military command for three decades – through events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the signing of the treaties that officially ended the Cold War in the early 1990s.

During the height of the Cold War it was one of the Soviet Union’s top five military targets.

The Museum is a $20 million project that when completed is projected to lure 50,000 tourists to Mississippi County each year. It was originally slated to open this year, but the COVID-19 Pandemic slowed fundraising and building efforts. Officials are hopeful the project will be completed in 2024.