STORIES

At the February Board Meeting ECICOG welcomed the following new board members: Bruce Visser, Atkins Mayor Chris Hoffman, North Liberty...

Elected officials and city staff may want to consider one of several workshops being offered through Iowa State University Extension and...

ECICOG is pleased to announce three grants submitted to the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines (FHLB) Competitive Affordable Housing Program (AHP) on behalf of the region’s housing trust funds were awarded a total $541,236. FHLB received 137 applications and awarded over $46 million to 60 organizations, and only eight Iowa projects were awarded. The Housing Trust Funds contract with ECICOG to administer the grant funds and provide construction management. The grant funds wi

Interested in joining a vanpool or know a business that might benefit from offering transportation assistance for their employees? Join ECICOG and Commute with Enterprise at a lunch and learn event February 6th or 7th to learn how the program works and how it could benefit your company. The Tuesday February 6th event will be held at the Johnson County Health and Human Services Building, and the Wednesday February 7th event will be held at the ECICOG Board Room. Contact ECICOG

Congratulations! to the City of Anamosa on their Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Water/Sewer award! Anamosa applied for CDBG Water/Sewer funding to improve their wastewater treatment plant. The upgrades will include a flow equalization basin to store wastewater for later treatment during peak flow conditions, such as storm events. For this grant ECICOG wrote the application on behalf of the City of Anamosa and will provide grant administration for the project. If y

ECICOG has been awarded a Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) planning grant of $144,000 from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The award will be used to develop the Eastern Iowa Tri-Region Safety Action Plan for ECICOG and partnering councils of governments: Region 6 Resource Partners and Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission. These 3 COGs, in collaboration with participating communities within their respective planning boundaries, residents, and state an

The Iowa Finance Authority is now accepting applications for the Iowa Home Repair Pilot Program. Critical home repair assistance is available for homeowners unable to obtain or maintain homeowners’ insurance due to the condition of their home or who have fines assessed by a local municipality due to the homeowner's inability to make critical repairs. Assistance is also available for homeowners who need to make accessibility, health-related, or environmental modifications to

ECICOG has a lot of tools that could add value to your community! Take a moment to consider to the following: City Councils are most effective when members share a common game plan. ECICOG staff can help facilitate council goal setting sessions to help bring everyone on the same page. Contact Executive Director Karen Kurt for more information. Does your community suffer from dilapidated rental properties? ECICOG is ready to launch a rental inspection program, following in t

For cities and counties that have expended ARPA funds, the Iowa League of Cities has published some helpful tips on staying compliant. To read about the TIPS and access the full article from the Iowa League of Cities visit their website here. The Leauge of Cities is also hosting a webinar on this topic January 31st at 2:00, which you can register for at this link.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Main Street Iowa program will host application workshops in 2024 for communities interested in applying for Main Street Iowa program designation. The workshops (virtual) will provide an overview of the Main Street Approach™ and Main Street Iowa program, summary of expectations and benefits, the application, competitive designation process and strategies to complete the application. Communities interested in applying are required to

Lindsey Given-Egli joined the ECICOG Housing Department in November and will be focused on administration work related to CDBG...

ECICOG is leading two EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Program (CPRG) awards to develop the regional East Central Iowa Climate...

The Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) plans to announce a state-wide housing rehabilitation program this December. Homeowners with...

The Region 10 Regional Planning Affiliation (RPA 10), which is staffed by ECICOG, will be announcing the opportunity for local...

The City of Hiawatha was awarded $500,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to replace aging drinking water mains...

ECICOG won a 2024 Impact Award from the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) for its rural nuisance enforcement...

November often sets the stage for new elected leaders. Get off to strong start by attending one of the League of Iowa Cities Municipal...

Longtime ECICOG Board Member Dave Fish recently passed away on November 7th. Dave had been a member of the ECICOG board since 2014 and...

Many cities registered with SAM.gov to receive their American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) awards. Cities should maintain their registration...

A new guide, titled Pop-up! A Toolkit for (fun, invigorating, life-affirming) Temporary Experiences, is available as a free download on the ISU Extension and Outreach online store. Pop-up events are temporary, unexpected public events that bring people together for a variety of purposes, such as highlighting a local asset, addressing or bringing attention to an issue, testing a new project, or simply celebrating. Pop-ups provide opportunities to build connections and enhance

Learn how to create a roadside plan for your Iowa community! Iowa's roadsides are the perfect place to plant trees and native plants for living snow fences, water control, pollinator habitat and more. Join Trees Forever to learn more about roadside plans and why they are important, steps to completing a plan, grants your community may be eligible for and the next steps once your plan is approved. Join the virtual session that works best for you by visiting the Tree