Twenty-one Iowa communities will receive Rural Innovation and Rural Housing Assessment Grants through the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), totaling $400,000. Manning and Jefferson are included in this first year of the program grants developed as part of Gov. Kim Reynolds’ Empower Rural Iowa initiative in 2019. The Rural Innovation Grants support creative, non-traditional ideas that focus on current issues and challenges faced by rural communities. They are categorized under the themes of community investment, growth and connection. The Rural Housing Assessments support the use of publicly available online information through the Profile of Iowa tool as well as interpretation of the hard data. It can also be used to help implement changes to development codes, local ordinances and housing incentives specific to a community’s needs in partnership with Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach. “We do big things in rural Iowa, and public/private partnerships continue to open new doors to the creative thinking and entrepreneurial spirit that exists in all corners of the state,” Reynolds says. […] “I believe these unique projects will serve as a growth model for even greater prosperity in our small towns and rural communities.” Manning has been awarded $10,000 from the 2020 Rural Housing Assessment Grant program and Welch Avenue LLC in the city of Jefferson will use a $20,000 Rural Innovation Grant to support a $95,000 connecting project for the development of co-working space in one of the community’s historic buildings.
