Iowa communities, cities receive $185 million USDA rural development investment grants
(The Center Square) – Four cities, two medical centers, a school district, and a cultural center in Iowa are among the recipients of $185 million in rural development investment grants, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced June 23.
The city of Sabula was the Iowa community receiving the largest grant: $127,000. The city will used the money to purchase its own street sweeper after sharing services with the city of Savanna, Ill., for several years after Sabula’s prior street sweeper became outdated and the city couldn’t get parts for it, Sabula Mayor Troy Hansen told The Center Square.
Hansen said that while the cities had a “good working relationship,” scheduling the work was an inconvenience.
“It was kind of hit or miss whether our streets would get clean, and being [an] on a river town, we try to pride ourselves with our perception of being a clean environment for not only our citizens but our tourists that come to town, so we decided that maybe we’d look at some other options,” he said.
The city found private options “were kind of not cost effective” so they considered grants to fund the purchase of its own equipment, and City Clerk Lynn Parker applied for the USDA grant, he said.
“This is win-win for the city side and our public works department, but it’s also a huge win for our citizens,” Hansen said. “Basically, we got a brand-new piece of equipment, which was very expensive, for a fraction of the cost of that equipment. We were very fortunate to be awarded this grant and then also the opportunity to put very little city funds toward the purchase of it.”
The city of Maquoketa received the next highest amount, $56,600, for pants, coats, hoods and gloves for its 35 volunteer firefighters.
“Firefighters are currently utilizing gear that is past its useful life and out of compliance with [National Fire Protection Association] NFPA guidelines,” Fire Chief Matt Tranel told The Center Square in an email.
Tranel said the city’s budget for gear replacement was insufficient for replacing all the gear at once and that the gear replacement project would have been staggered over several years without the grant.
“The receipt of the grant funds will allow the city to appropriate funds to other needs going forward instead of on gear replacement. … Other options for funding were to stagger the replacement over several years, pull funding from other projects within the budget or to continue operating outside of NFPA guidelines and not replace outdated gear, which puts firefighters in danger of injury and the City in danger of liability,” he said.
Cardinal Community School District in Eldon received $42,000 for a school bus and the city of Manson received $36,400 to replace a police vehicle and buy an emergency generator.
In the Third Congressional District, Shenandoah Medical Center received $50,000 toward the purchase of a new ambulance for $218,000 while Southwest Iowa Families, Inc., in Clarinda received $50,000 for equipment and furnishings for a new child and family center. The city of Atlantic received $26,300 for upgrades including flooring and computer equipment for its library, and the Corning Opera Cultural Center received $24,900 to build gutters.
Eligible applicants for the grants include public bodies, nonprofit organizations and federally recognized Native American tribes in rural areas with a maximum population of 20,000 residents, the USDA release said.
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