South Iowa News

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Economic Development Authority recently announced $500,000 in grant funding for The Empower Rural Iowa initiative. 

The Empower Rural Iowa initiative was launched to encourage development in rural Iowa communities, according to a release from the governor's office.

"The Empower Rural Iowa Initiative has played a key role in transforming our rural communities by expanding broadband access and affordable housing options, which are essential to the growth and retention of our state," Reynolds wrote in a Jan. 20 Twitter post.

The grants will fund 38 projects across the state including an initiative led by Sac Development Corporation to conduct a feasibility study for a soon-to-be-vacated school building and adjacent green space and five innovative recruitment programs across the state, including a business incentive strategy in Jefferson.

"These programs help turn innovative ideas into reality for small communities across Iowa, paving the way for opportunity and prosperity for generations to come," Reynolds said.

In addition to the Rural Return and Rural Innovation grants, some cities received Rural Housing Assessment grants. 

"Rural communities are the backbone of our state, and this latest round of grants will help them tackle tough challenges like housing, childcare and recruitment," Lt. Gov.Adam Gregg said, according to the release. "The Empower Rural Iowa initiative looks forward to building on this success and further ensuring opportunity and prosperity are present in all corners of Iowa." 

The Empower Rural Iowa Initiative has led to the creation of several grant programs for rural communities including: the Rural Innovation Grant program which supports innovative solutions to overcome rural community development challenges; the Rural Housing Assessment Grant program which supports efforts to expand access to quality community housing; the Rural Return program which supports creative programming to attracts new residents to rural communities; and the Rural Child Care Market Study grant program which works with First Children’s Finance to use a data analysis based approach to determine the specific needs and solutions for their area.