IADG Honors Adams Community Economic Development Corporation

Pictured from left: Phil Kinser, General Manager, Southwest Iowa REC; Bruce Nuzum, Vice President Finance, IADG; Beth Waddle, Executive Director, ACEDC; Donna Hogan, Board President, ACEDC; and Scott Akin, Board Member, ACEDC.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
 

Contact: Kay Snyder, Director of Marketing & Communications
Iowa Area Development Group
2700 Westown Parkway, Suite 425
West Des Moines, Iowa 50266
800-888-4743  email: ksnyder@iadg.com

Corning, Iowa - Iowa Area Development Group (IADG) and its member electric utilities honored Adams Community Economic Development Corporation (ACEDC) with the Silver Shovel Award on January 25th at the development group’s annual meeting in Corning.

The Silver Shovel Award honors outstanding leadership, innovation and achievement in business and community development and collaboration with IADG and its utility partners. In presenting the award Mr. Bruce Nuzum, IADG vice president of finance highlighted numerous accomplishments of the organization including regional and statewide leadership by Executive Director, Beth Waddle in economic development matters as well as other strategic investments, marketing initiatives, and accomplishments for business and community development in the Adams County region.

Nuzum singled out the extraordinary leadership of past and present boards of directors and the current Executive Director, Beth Waddle. He praised Waddle and her staff for their enthusiasm and dedication to growing and diversifying the economy of the community and region. ACEDC has had several accomplishments including community development initiatives and business and industrial expansion projects in recent years. ACEDC was nominated for the award by Southwest Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative.

The Silver Shovel Award also brought with it a $1,000 contribution from the Iowa Area Development Group Community Foundation. The financial award will allow ACEDC to advance economic development through contributions to local 501c3 organizations. The IADG Community Foundation was established to facilitate community based philanthropy throughout rural Iowa, promote entrepreneurship and advance economic development.

The Silver Shovel Award recognition was established to help commemorate the 25th Anniversary of Iowa Area Development Group and its economic development mission. IADG is the business and community development leader for Iowa’s rural electric cooperatives, member municipal electric systems and the independent telephone companies in Iowa.

Iowa Area Development Group was established in 1985 to help its utility sponsors and their communities promote and foster economic development. The organization and its utility sponsors have been instrumental in facilitating over 1,600 projects, $5.6 billion in investment and creating over 40,000 jobs for Iowa.

CIPCO Loan Provides Avenue for Corning Jobs

CORNING, IOWA, Oct. 3, 2011 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced funding awards that will support rural communities, help create jobs and build regional economies in 34 states.

Under the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program, USDA provides grants to local utilities which use the funding to establish revolving loan funds. Loans are made for projects that will create or retain jobs in rural areas. Of the loans awarded, Central Iowa Power Cooperative will receive $702,000 as a zero-interest pass-through loan to Blue Grass Building Corporation. Blue Grass will purchase the Wausau Building at the Blue Grass Industrial Park and make the necessary improvements to the building. The 93,000 sq ft. building will then be leased to Precision, Inc. for an expansion of their idler product line.

Alec Turner, President of Blue Grass said, “This is a great project and asset for our community and region. Precision Pulley has been a tremendous community partner for a number of years, and we are pleased about their expansion.”

“The Precision project not only creates additional jobs in our community, but also creates additional revenue for local services providers, especially Southwest Iowa REC who provides utilities for the industrial park,” said Donna Hogan, President of the Adams Community Economic Development Corporation. “Our Industrial Committee has worked for several months on this project, and we’re delighted that this expansion can happen here in Adams County.”

“We are excited about our expansion project in Corning,” said Jeff Bokhoven, Manager of Manufacturing Services. “Working with the Adams Community Economic Development Corporation and Blue Grass Building, Inc. we are able to expand into a larger space allowing us to add 10 – 12 jobs in the near future. We appreciate the support, knowledge and leadership provided by ACEDC and Blue Grass which allows us to tap into local, private and governmental resources to create opportunities for growth.”

Precision Pulley and Idler (PPI) was founded in 1977 with the goals of providing high-performance conveyor components and competitive pricing, both combined with unparalleled customer service. They opened their first plant in Corning in 1986-87.
 

CIPCO Rural Economic Development Grant Approved for Earlville Projects

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Economic Development Funding To Create Jobs In Rural Communities In 11 States

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2011 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the selection of 21 utilities in 11 states for loans and grants to help rural businesses expand and create jobs.

"These loans and grants help cooperatives and utilities support local projects that create jobs and improve rural economic conditions," Vilsack said. "USDA is proud to be a partner in the effort to bolster these cooperatives and help them win the future by increasing the value and appeal of the products and services they deliver."

The loans and grants are being provided through USDA Rural Development's Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program. Recipients are rural utilities program borrowers that pass the funds to local organizations for projects to retain and create jobs, upgrade public infrastructure, improve service delivery and improve the quality of life for area residents and visitors.

Central Iowa Power Cooperative was awarded a $300,000 grant to construct a community-owned aquatic center and the purchase of a building to become city hall in Earlville, Iowa.

This announcement, by Secretary Vilsack, is just one of more than $12.3 million in economic development loans and grants. For the complete story and list of funded projects, please select this link.

Source: www.usda.gov

Progress Continues at the Corning Opera House

Corning, Iowa: The Corning Opera House was built in 1902 and is a two and one-half story brick building with a theater located on the second floor and a first floor space previously used for a retail business. The Opera House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993 and has qualified for $760,000 in state historical tax credits and $1.5 million dollar I-Jobs Main Street Program award for the restoration. In 2001 Dan and Kathy Field donated the building to the City of Corning and the Corning Opera House Cultural Center, a 501(c)3, was established with a governing 15 member Board of Trustees. Restoration planning began in 2001 and the group has completed nearly $500,000 in acquisition, site work and architectural planning. They are prepared to move into final renovation and construction.

Due to the current condition of the Opera House, performing artists have had to use other local venues for productions such as the high school theater, churches, and the community center. Although these venues are functional, they are limiting and often distract from the performances. The restoration will provide a 400 seat theater with built in flexibility and restored historical charm and a large meeting room on the main level that could be used for a variety of functions (i.e. receptions, special exhibits, workshops). The neighboring 2nd story building was acquired to expand dressing rooms and provide for an off-site mechanical room for the HVAC.

CIPCO and Southwest Iowa REC loaned $200,000 each for short term construction loan financing that is necessary to begin the historical preservation. On April 11, 2011 the Corning Opera House and Cultural Center hosted a press conference and reception at the property to celebrate the culmination of all the funding necessary to complete the project. The renovation is targeted to be completed by February 2012.
 

Funds from USDA Rural Development and Farmers Electric Cooperative
Assisting with Renovation Project at Madison County Memorial Hospital
$360,000 Assisting with Costs to Renovate and Expand Health Trust Physicians Clinic

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Darin Leach, Public Information Coordinator
Phone: (515) 284-4747 (office); (515) 669-5691 (cell) E-mail: Darin.Leach@ia.usda.gov
 

WINTERSET, Iowa – January 2011 – Bill Menner, USDA Rural Development State Director in Iowa, along with representatives from Farmers Electric Cooperative, today presented leaders at Madison County Memorial Hospital with $360,000 in loan funds. The funds will assist with costs associated with the renovation and expansion of the Health Trust Physicians Clinic which will add more than 3,000 square-feet to the existing clinic.

“We are extremely pleased to be assisting Madison County Memorial Hospital in their efforts to provide top quality medical care in rural Iowa,” Menner said. “Helping to enhance the quality of life for rural Americans through improved health care opportunities continues to be a top area of emphasis at USDA Rural Development.”

Earlier this year, USDA Rural Development awarded Farmers Electric Cooperative with a $300,000 grant to support a revolving loan fund managed by the electric cooperative. Farmers Electric Cooperative contributed a 20 percent match to the revolving loan fund to bring the loan total to the hospital to $360,000.

Madison County Memorial Hospital has provided quality care to residents in and around Madison County since 1949. The renovation and expansion of the Health Trust Physicians Clinic is part of a more than $13 million project the hospital is currently undergoing to improve facilities and services.

The funds to Farmers Electric Cooperative are being provided through USDA Rural Development’s Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program. Under the program, USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to rural utilities, usually rural telephone or electrical cooperatives, which in turn provide loans to rural businesses and communities in their service areas.

During the past five years USDA Rural Development has awarded nearly $280 million in financial assistance to more than 80 hospitals, rehabilitation centers, healthcare office buildings, clinics, mental health facilities, nursing homes and assisted living centers in Iowa to improve, expand or build new facilities.

USDA Rural Development is an equal opportunity lender with a variety of grant and direct and guaranteed loan programs for single and multi-family housing, community facilities, broadband, electric, business and water and sewer development.

USDA Rural Development’s investment in rural Iowa has topped $801 million in 2010 thanks to additional funding made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These funds have allowed the agency to help create or retain more than 2,200 jobs in rural Iowa, aid 2,500 families in buying their own homes and assist more than 250 rural communities as they make improvements to their facilities, services and infrastructure.

“The impact of the Recovery Act in rural Iowa has been tremendous,” Menner said. “Since being signed into law by President Obama in February 2009, more than $364 million from the Recovery Act allowed our agency to provide affordable housing, build critical rural infrastructure, provide jobs and access to capital, and extend high-speed broadband services in rural Iowa.”

Contact USDA Rural Development:
For more information about finance programs through USDA Rural Development, please call the office located in Indianola at (515) 961-5365. This office serves communities, businesses and residents in Adair, Clarke, Dallas, Decatur, Guthrie, Madison, Polk, Ringgold, Union and Warren Counties.

USDA Rural Development has 11 offices across the state to serve the 1.9 million Iowans living in rural communities. 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.

Further information on programs available through USDA Rural Development is available by visiting the agency’s web site at www.rurdev.usda.gov/ia.