In the future, visitors to the Iowa Judicial Branch Building in Des Moines will be able to learn about civics and civil rights in a special area named after the late Iowa Supreme Court Justice Mark Cady, a Fort Dodge resident who died Nov. 15.

Days after Cady’s death, state judicial officials announced plans to create the center and name it after him. It will be called the Chief Justice Mark S. Cady Learning Center.

The center will have interactive exhibits to show the progress of a case through Iowa’s court system. It will also highlight the state’s civil rights history. And it will show the importance of fair and impartial courts.

Graphic design, industrial design and interior design students at Iowa State University in Ames have been charged with developing the blueprint for the center.

We believe this is a fitting tribute to Cady, who never lost his desire to talk to people about the importance of the courts and the law.

Cady was the chief justice who took the Iowa Supreme Court on the road, holding oral arguments in different communities so that people could see firsthand how the court works. He also served on the iCivics Board of Directors.

One of his goals was to create a learning center at the Judicial Branch Building. That goal will now be fulfilled.

When the center opens, Cady’s legacy to the state will extend beyond the thousands of rulings and opinions he wrote. His desire to talk to people about courts and the law will live on in the new center that will bear his name.

It will certainly be a fitting tribute.