STORIES

For an in depth look at all of the great projects and initiatives completed by ECICOG in 2024, check out our annual report. While much of...

ECICOG recently learned that all three 2024 Federal Home Loan Bank Affordable Housing Program applications were awarded, totaling over...

People in Johnson County have a new transportation option during evenings and weekends to access employment and education. Trip Connect...

The Region 10 Regional Planning Agency (RPA 10), which is staffed by ECICOG, recently awarded funding to several trails across the...

Five communities in East Central Iowa—Hills, Springville, Walker, Center Point, and Shellsburg—are marking their second year of...

Does your community have a need for more affordable housing options? Homes for Iowa is a public-private partnership with Iowa Prison...

Lindsey Given Egli has been promoted to the role of Iowa Waste Exchange (IWE) specialist and is available to help your company or...

Help us extend a warm welcome to Emma Harkins, who recently started as the new Housing Grants Administration Specialist. Emma will be...

On September 18th, EDA announced that the NewBo City Market was awarded a grant for a renovation to support small businesses. The EDA...

The City of Center Point recently had the honor of welcoming the Iowa EDA to celebrate the completion of a 42 unit housing development....

Businesses in Marion and Iowa City have recently utilized Revolving Loan Funds (RLF) administered by ECICOG to expand and enhance their operations. In Marion, Iowa Kids Pediatric Dentistry (pictured) utilized $50,000 from the ECICOG and Marion RLF programs to open a new clinic along 6th Avenue in Marion. In Iowa City, Colonial Bowling Alley secured $260,000 from the ECICOG RLF to expand food and arcade options at their facility, which is currently under construction. In addit

The City of Mount Vernon recently adopted a zoning amendment ordinance prepared by ECICOG that added accessory dwelling units (ADU) as a...

A group of regional leaders convened on November 20th and 21st to learn the Strategic Doing method of group facilitation. Strategic Doing...

ECICOG is honored to have been awarded a 2024 NADO ALICEANN WOHLBRUCK IMPACT AWARD for work completed by our staff lead Deanna Robinson on a Housing Needs Assessment for 14 cities within Linn County, excluding the metro area, and an Equity Analysis for Cedar Rapids, Marion, and Hiawatha. These first of their kind assessments, revealed that despite relatively low housing costs, affordability remains a challenge for many households, driven by factors unique to each rural commu

ECICOG successfully obtained an Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant to accelerate work related to Envision East Central Iowa, the region’s comprehensive economic development strategy. The goal of the grant is to create a shared problem-solving framework (Strategic Doing) and to advance the work of the Envision East Central Iowa action teams by assisting with team development, meeting facilitation and accountability structures. The grant leveraged matching funds fr

The City of Belle Plaine was recently awarded $390,000 in CDBG Disaster Recovery funding to rehabilitate the upper story of the historic King Theater building in downtown Belle Plaine. The City and the developer, Homeplace Ventures, Inc, intend to preserve as much of the building’s historic character as possible, while updating the upper story to make it decent, safe, and sustainable housing for the community. The project will result in 4 newly remodeled rental units for inco

Hiawatha was recently awarded a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to fund the second phase of a water main replacement project. The city also received CDBG funding for the first phase, which is currently under construction and involves replacing aging water mains along Robins Road and Pirie Drive. ECICOG assisted the city by writing both of the CDBG applications. Phase two of the project includes replacing undersized 4-inch water mains with 8-inch water mains

Since its launch in 2018 the 380Express bus service between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City has seen continued growth in ridership. The service has proven to be an affordable, convenient, and reliable option for commuters on both end of the Corridor, as well as students traveling to and from both the University of Iowa and Kirkwood. Daily ridership has surpassed 420 riders per day in 2024, which demonstrates the popularity of the service. Funding from the DOT to continue operating

Linn County and the City of Ely recently completed an update to their existing fringe area agreement, which guides development that occurs in unincorporated Linn County and within two miles of Ely. The County partnered with ECICOG to coordinate the planning process and draft the update to the agreement. Working with County and City staff, the partners adjusted the boundaries of the area within the County best suited for city development in the next ten years and reduced the t

ECICOG is announcing the opportunity for local governments to apply for regional Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) and Transportation Alternative Program (TAP) funds. The STBG program is intended to aid jurisdictions with funding for any road or bridge projects on the federal-aid system. During this application cycle, the four-year targets for each county range from approximately $140,000 to $2.4 million. The TAP program is intended for construction, planning and/or