STORIES

Join the Iowa Rural Development Council in Perry on October 29-30, 2024 for the 5th Annual Leadership Exchange event! The Annual Iowa...

Each year the Iowa Finance Authority recognizes someone who goes above and beyond to improve the lives of those around them and in their...

The City of North Liberty was recently awarded a $100,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-CV) on behalf of the North Liberty...

Is your community looking to highlight its hometown spirit and people that make it a great place to live? Do you want to showcase your unique community events and spaces that welcome visitors? Through the Iowans Create Community Mural Contest, the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) invites cities, municipalities and economic development organizations to submit short videos showcasing their community spirit and authentic sense of place. If voters like what they see

Homes for Iowa is a program that helps communities with affordable housing by providing quality-built houses that have been assembled by Iowa Prison Industries. Vinton recently had the first of several Homes For Iowa homes delivered and built in their Anderson Creek subdivision. There are different home designs to choose from, with 3 bedroom ($95,000) and 2 bedroom ($80,000) models available. Homes are built by Iowa Prison Industries at a facility in Newton and then delivered

ECICOG was recently engaged by Linn County to coordinate the Linn County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan update. The purpose of the plan is to identify how a community can minimize the negative impacts of hazards, and it must be updated every five years. Having a FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plan maintains eligibility to apply for FEMA hazard mitigation assistance programs. So far ECICOG has conducted 18 meetings with cities and school districts with a goal

Do you know of any ‘problem’ properties in your area? These could include abandoned downtown buildings, former industrial or commercial sites, warehouses, or closed gas stations. ECICOG will be seeking potential Brownfields properties in our region to apply for a US EPA Brownfields Assessment grant. Brownfields are properties that may be challenging to redevelop due to the potential presence of hazardous materials (such as asbestos and lead-based paint) or other environment

On July 9, the City of Oxford held a public hearing for the adoption of their updated comprehensive plan. The City and ECICOG worked together for the past year to conduct a planning process which included a significant public input effort. The plan provides the City with approximately 60 objectives to support 22 community goals. The future land use map was also updated to align with future development needs and the fringe area agreement between the City and Johnson County. Th

How aligned is your City Council? Reaching an agreement on common goals helps city government run smoothly and provides clear direction to staff regarding council priorities. This spring, ECICOG facilitated council goal-setting sessions for the City of North Liberty. While ECICOG was a new facilitation partner, North Liberty has a long history of making sure everyone is on the same page with biennial goals. The goal setting process involved workshops with the city council

ECICOG recently completed a Housing Needs Assessment for the 14 cities within Linn County outside of the metro area. The data revealed that despite relatively low housing costs, affordability is still an issue for many households in the assessment area, driven by various factors unique to each community. The assessment includes a windshield study in each city which revealed a critical need for targeted housing rehabilitation programs to preserve affordable housing and encoura

In 2022, five communities in the ECICOG region joined the Hometown Pride Program, a statewide initiative through Keep Iowa Beautiful in partnership with the Iowa Economic Development Authority. The program is administered in our region by Jessica Walker, the "Community Coach”, to support communities in creating physical, cultural and economic improvements in their towns to increase community pride. Walker works with communities through a five-year comprehensive commitment wit

Through funding made available by ECICOG, the six county transit providers have recently implemented new scheduling and dispatching software to improve their efficiency and operations. The new software replaces decades old software, and will enable the transit providers to free-up staff time, improve bus routes, and make drivers jobs easier by implementing tablets on each bus. In addition, riders will now be able to make electronic payment and receive advanced notice on exact

ECICOG is pleased to welcome J'nae Peterman to the team in the newly created position of Homeless Systems Manager. J’nae previously served as the Director of Housing Services for Waypoint Services. This position is funded by the City of Cedar Rapids and Linn County, and hosted by ECICOG as a creative means to coordinate efforts across multiple jurisdictions in Linn County. J’nae has experience working with ECICOG in her previous role coordinating referrals for the PATCH progr

Join city officials from across the state to learn about the latest trends, acquire practical information and ideas, and learn strategies that are relevant to rural, mid-sized and urban downtown districts. Conference sessions will take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Cedar Rapids Convention Center, conveniently located near downtown amenities. This premier statewide annual conference for both professionals and volunteers involved in downtown placemaking and preservation-b

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced that Iowa will receive $415 million to deploy affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service and broadband infrastructure. This program is known as the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. An important milestone is approaching with Iowa’s mapping “Challenge Process” set to begin on May 15, 2024. The challenge process gives Iowans an opportunity to correct inaccuracies in the state’s broadband map and helps to

The Iowa DOT is seeking feedback via a survey from Iowa cities and counties to gather input on points of conflict between local governments and railroads, as well as opportunities for new or improved rail service. The information gathered will be used by the Iowa Department of Transportation as part of the State Rail Plan. The survey will be available until June 14th and can be found here. For more information, please contact Transportation Director Mary Rump.

An innovative training opportunity is coming to Cedar Rapids on July 9th that will focus on public sector professionals who want to transform their engagement strategies to positively impact the communities they live in and serve. This in person training serves as an inclusive framework for engagement, collaboration, and discovery that will result in better informed team decisions and actions, with a focus on inclusive conversations that engage all thinking styles. The even

ECICOG recently hosted the first local government recharge event at Fireside Winery near Marengo. The event was focused on the power of...

Frontier Foods is the latest employer in the ECICOG region to partner with the CorridorRides vanpool program. Recently, Frontier Foods employees began using a CorridorRides vanpool to travel to and from work to save money, wear and tear on their personal vehicles and reduce their carbon footprint. CorridorRides partners with Commute by Enterprise to operate a publicly available vanpool program and provides a $500 per month subsidy to each vanpool group to help lower the com

ECICOG is pleased to announce a new revolving loan program for micro entrepreneurs or small businesses. Loans can be used for working capital, furniture, fixtures, and equipment. Up to $10,000 dollars for three years, at 4% interest. This program is available in all six counties with limited funding available with the initial launch. Contact Loan Specialist Robyn Jacobson for additional information or visit the ECICOG RLF Webpage.