STORIES

Beware of SAM.gov Registration Scams!

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

New Toolkit Available for Pop-Up Events

A new guide, titled Pop-up! A Toolkit for (fun, invigorating, life-affirming) Temporary Experiences, is available as a free download on...

Trees Forever to Host Webinar on Roadside Planting

Learn how to create a roadside plan for your Iowa community! Iowa's roadsides are the perfect place to plant trees and native plants...

ECICOG Office Expansion Begins October 1st

Because of the growing number of staff at ECICOG, our office space will soon be completely remodeled and expanded. ECICOG has recently...

Welcome New ECICOG Staff

Meagan Prestegard recently began as an Environmental Specialist and will work on a variety of tasks in the Environmental Services...

$2 Million Awarded for Climate Action Planning

ECICOG was officially awarded $2 million from the EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Program (CPRG). The four-year grant award will...

$3.3 Million Awarded for Trees and Generators as Part of Derecho Recovery

All of ECICOG’s CDBG-Disaster Recovery (DR) grant applications for trees and generators were awarded as part of the special funds...

PATCH Still Repairing Derecho-Damaged Housing and Winning Awards

As East Central Iowans were finding new ways to cooperate in devastated neighborhoods after the 2020 derecho storm, they did the same at...

ECICOG Helps Small Communities Address Problem Properties

Many communities in our region have a zoning ordinance with nuisance regulations, which enable a city to take action to remove dangerous...

ECICOG Receives NADO Impact Award for Watershed Innovation

In 2016, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded Iowa a $97 million grant through the National Disaster...

Iowa City “Thinks Big” in New 5-Year Strategic Plan

Last year, the City of Iowa City’s leaders realized that rapidly changing economic and social conditions demanded a more rigorous...

Hometown Pride Program Helps Communities Build on Their Unique Strengths

Five communities recently became the first in our Region to take on a new program of self-assessment and planning called Hometown Pride,...

Scoring Success on the Course

Stephen Kahler had all the experience needed to make a success of the Amana Colonies Golf Club when it came on the market. He had golf in...

A Fresh Look for Main Street

(Google Street View images) Four years ago, the City of Anamosa was looking for ways to leverage its history and architectural assets by...

"Homes for Iowa" Program Delivers Affordable Housing

Many Iowans have found that building an affordable home can seem like an insurmountable challenge, and the pandemic caused labor and...

Guiding to Goals

When the communities within the watershed of Indian Creek decided to form a management group to create a cleaner and healthier stream,...

Belle Plaine Downtown Revitalization

The City of Belle Plaine received the state’s first award under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Downtown Revitalization...

Preparing for the Future

In order to help the City of Lisbon prepare their upcoming Comprehensive Plan, ECICOG assisted the city in hosting an open house to allow...

Funding Local Businesses

Brewhemia is a Cedar Rapids café “that encompasses a focus on quality beverage while embracing the community and neighborhood of New...

Supporting Start-Ups

With her mother-in-law, who also has an entrepreneurial spirit, Blanche started making and selling traditional Filipino food at cultural...

Commuter Solutions

"Just did a little math as I ride this morning: Between fuel and parking savings, your service saves me at least $11 per trip to Iowa...