Funding Will Increase Access to Health Care, Education and Public Safety
DES MOINES, Iowa, Jan. 26, 2022 – United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Dr. Jewel Bronaugh today announced that USDA is investing $1 billion to build and improve critical community facilities in 48 states, Puerto Rico and Guam. This infrastructure funding will increase access to health care, education and public safety while spurring community development and building sound infrastructure for people living in rural communities.
Across Iowa, 43 communities will receive $42,483,800 in loans and $4,570,500 in grant funding for 55 different projects.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has made investing in infrastructure improvements a top priority,” Bronaugh said. “These loans and grants will help rural communities invest in facilities and services that are vital to all communities, such as health care facilities, schools, libraries, and first responder vehicles and equipment. When we invest in essential services in rural America, we build opportunity and prosperity for the people who call rural communities home.”
“Our programs at USDA Rural Development Iowa are at the forefront of creating more opportunities for rural communities,” said Theresa Greenfield, USDA Rural Development Acting State Director in Iowa. “To promote a better future for all Iowans, we must invest in projects that strengthen facilities in rural communities, foster equitable opportunities, and help bring prosperity to our nation.”
State Director Greenfield highlighted 56 projects that USDA is making in five programs that will fund essential community services to help rural Iowa build back better, stronger and more equitably than ever before. These programs include Community Facilities Direct Loans and Grants, Community Facilities Loan Guarantees, Community Facilities Technical Assistance Training Grants, Community Facilities Disaster Grants, and Economic Impact Initiative Grants. The projects will finance emergency response vehicles and equipment; build or improve hospitals and clinics and help fund other essential community facilities.
View the list of Iowa projects here. For example:
- Iowa Mennonite Benevolent Association in southeast Iowa will use a $10,000,000 Community Facilities Direct Loan to renovate the existing facility into 30 assisted living apartments. The project will include a 14-bed licensed memory care unit that provides 24-hour health care and support services to those with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Space in the skilled nursing facility will be renovated.
- City of Villisca in southwest Iowa will use a $494,100 Community Facilities Disaster Grant to make street improvements. Improvements will include concrete pavement in areas with deteriorating streets, asphalt resurfacing for roadways that can be salvaged, and curb ramps that support pedestrians with disabilities.
- Creative Adventure Lab in Jones County in eastern Iowa is receiving a $66,500 Economic Impact Initiative Grant to purchase equipment for the Monticello Creative Adventure Lab and the surrounding area to complete the build-out necessary to offer educational programs for kids and families and to help foster economic development by supporting entrepreneurs and existing business growth.
- Goldfield Volunteer Fire Department in north central Iowa will use a $36,400 Community Facility Grant to purchase turn-out gear, fire hoses, lighting, and radios. Current equipment is beyond use and expired past safety parameters. The Department also received a $75,300 Community Facilities Disaster Grant to purchase a fire truck and corresponding emergency equipment.
Background:
USDA Rural Development has 11 offices across the state to serve the 1.7 million Iowans living in rural communities and areas. Office locations include a state office in Des Moines, along with area offices in Albia, Atlantic, Humboldt, Indianola, Iowa Falls, Le Mars, Mount Pleasant, Storm Lake, Tipton and Waverly.
To learn more about investment resources for rural areas in Iowa, call (515) 284-4663 or visit www.rd.usda.gov/ia. If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page. View the Community Facilities Direct Loan Program Guidance Book for Applicants (PDF, 669 KB) for a detailed overview of the application process.
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, ensuring access to healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate, smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
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