News Release

USDA PROVIDES OVER $2 MILLION TO IOWA BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY PROJECTS
Nine Rural Communities to Benefit

Washington, DC -- February 3, 1998 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development mission area has made a total of $2,240,000 in Rural Economic Development loans and grants to electric cooperatives for a variety of projects across the state of Iowa, USDA's Under Secretary for Rural Development Jill Long Thompson announced today in Washington. USDA Rural Development is the Federal agency in charge of developing rural communities by administering a number of programs designed to strengthen the economy and infrastructure of rural areas.

"We are pleased to announce projects located throughout Iowa that we hope will help many residents of rural communities across the state," said Long Thompson. "From the senior citizens who will now have a place to live near their families in Harrison County to the new feed mill facility which we expect to create new jobs in Iowa Falls, we feel that these projects demonstrate USDA's and the Clinton-Gore Administration's commitment to strengthening rural areas."

"These projects present some new options for rural residents of the state," said Rural Development Iowa State Director Ellen Huntoon. "The range of employment opportunities for rural residents will be expanded and communities will receive new services that they have not previously enjoyed. We are happy to be working with electrical co-ops across the state to make these projects happen."

A list of the loans and grants obligated follows:

• Harrison County Rural Electric Cooperative will receive a $250,000 grant to be used to provide a telecommunications project to Iowa Western Community College; to build a speculative building in Dunlap; and to construct a senior citizen center in Missouri Valley.
• Maquoketa Valley Electric Cooperative will receive a $200,000 grant to establish a revolving loan fund, which will help finance the construction of a fire and ambulance facility in Dyersville.
• Cedar Valley Electric Cooperative will receive a $330,000 grant to create a revolving loan fund to finance the extension of sewer, water and streets through the St. Ansgar Industrial Park in St. Ansgar.
• Midland Power Cooperative will receive a $400,000 loan to help finance the purchase of machinery and equipment as part of a new feed mill facility in Iowa Falls.
• Lyon Rural Electric Cooperative will receive a $330,000 grant which it plans to use to establish a revolving loan fund to help finance construction of a community center in Rock Rapids.
• Nishnabotna Valley Rural Electric Cooperative will receive a $400,000 loan to finance a manure management system as part of a new dairy operation in rural Cass County near the town of Lewis. The Nishnabotna co-op will receive a $330,000 grant to establish a revolving loan fund to help finance the construction of a speculative building in the Shelby County Business Park near Harlan.

Rural Economic Development loans and grants are made to Rural Development's electric and telecommunications borrowers, which in turn loan the money to small businesses to create new job opportunities and to retain existing employment. Rural Economic Development loans and grants are aimed at providing job opportunities in areas with fewer than 2,500 residents. The commitment of USDA to this effort is at the core of its mission and its promise to help build stronger, more vibrant rural communities across the nation.

Contacts:
Rural Development Legislative & Public Affairs Director
Clark Ray, 202-720-5579
Rural Development IA State Director
Ellen Huntoon, 515-284-4663