[1] Iowa historian, Harvey Ingham, wrote a history of the college in 1925[2][full citation needed].
According to Ingham, the Upper Des Moines newspaper mentioned on March 10, 1875, that Congress had allocated $150,000 to buy seed grain for the farmers in the affected areas of Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota.
[2] Ingham concluded that "it is easy to see that soliciting for college endowments was not an encouraging prospect in the grasshopper years.
[2] Another factor contributing to the college's closure was the community's disagreement over the licensing of saloons in what was formerly a "dry" county.
In December 1872, the college newspaper, the "Algona Collegian", reported the following tuition rates:[2] Board (lodging) was available with families in the community for $2.00 to $3.00 per week.