The Vision Iowa Board is considering a three million dollar grant to help Boone County become the permanent Iowa home to the Farm Progress Show. The show is held annually, either in Iowa or Decatur, Illinois. Vision Iowa Board chairman Andy Anderson says, up to now, the Iowa location has varied from year to year.
"(Boone County) is looking to put together an 8 million dollar site, where the Farm Progress Show can come, every other year, for the next 20 years," Anderson says of the land located near the city of Boone.
The site would require various infrastructure, plus improvements in drainage and electricity. Anderson says over 250,000 people attend the Farm Progress Show over a three day period. The Vision Iowa Board could take action on the proposal at its meeting set for September 12th in Decorah.
Anderson says the board will visit with Boone County officials and try to negotiate a deal over the next month. The Farm Progress Show has been held at several different locations in Iowa, with varying degrees of success. Anderson says heavy rains have canceled the show in the past – despite the large crowd and investment – because the site did not have proper drainage.
The Vision Iowa Board Wednesday approved over 552 thousand dollars in grants to five different projects around the state.
Here are the details on the awards: $130,000 for Bellevue for a pedestrian trail system with a total cost of $426,725; $225,000 for a new community center in the city of Aurelia, the total cost is near $1.1 million; $50,000 for a gazebo and garden, that’s part of a renovation project to a 1908 Victorian-style house in North Liberty. The home is being turned into a "Welcome and History Center," with a total project cost of $530,000; $47,765 for Adams County to improve campgrounds around Lake Icaria. The project cost is $417,000; $100,000 for a new building on the Madison County Fairgrounds in Winterset. The project cost is $742,847.