USDA Rural Development invests nearly $13M into Iowa communities
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Healthcare, manufacturing and community projects in rural Iowa are set to receive millions in loan and grant funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development office.
USDA announced investments of more than $12.9 million in Iowa cooperatives to help support their pass-through and revolving loan funds.
Rural Business Cooperative Service Administrator Gimmie Jo Jansonius said USDA highlights rural cooperatives each October to showcase the role they play in "driving economic development across the county."
"We celebrate our partnerships with cooperatives and continue moving forward with them to build local prosperity, strengthen farmer profitability, and encourage innovation in job creation," Jansonius said in a statement.
Funding went to more than a dozen Iowa energy cooperatives, some of which, including Midland Power Cooperative and Central Iowa Power Cooperative, received multiple allocations for various projects.
Four awards will help support coop loans to expand and modernize hospitals in Humboldt and in Montgomery County. Another will help update equipment at a dentist office in Garner.
Corn Belt Power Cooperative and Midland Power Cooperative each received a $1 million loan to fund a pass-through loan to Humboldt County Memorial Hospital in Humboldt. This project will enable the hospital to expand and modernize its radiology and surgical services. This project will create four new jobs.
Lyon County Rural Electric Cooperative and L&O Power Cooperative each received loans for $1 million to facilitate pass-through loans to the city of Larchwood to build a new community center.
A $300,000 grant to Coon Valley Cooperative Telephone Association in Menlo will help establish a revolving loan fund that will assist with the construction of a new childcare center serving Adair and Guthrie counties.
Six cooperatives received USDA loans to help support manufacturing or industrial facilities in the communities, including support for a mold pressing company, a pipe fitting manufacturer and a grain elevator.
Mike Sexton, Iowa's USDA Rural Development director, said the federal agency's partnership with rural cooperatives "champion investment in rural hospitals, manufacturing, and ag infrastructure, all to help uplift local economies."