Thirty-two Iowa towns were awarded federal grants Monday totaling $9.6 million.
Brooke Miller is a spokesperson for the Iowa Economic Development Authority, which selected the recipients of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. “The federally-funded grants are awarded for community facilities, downtown revitalization, and single-family owner-occupied rehabilitation projects,” Miller said.
Ottumwa is getting the largest grant among the 32 mostly rural Iowa cities. “The City of Ottumwa has received an $800,000 grant for stormwater, green streets, and streetscape improvements to their downtown,” Miller said. Four communities will receive between 450-and-500-thousand dollars each to rehabilitate the facades of downtown buildings.
Those grants are going to Carson/Macedonia, Creston, Maquoketa, and Oskaloosa. Miller said the IEDA received 48 applications, totaling $14.1 million in funding requests. The CDBG program is federally funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.