Community Project Funding
Community Project Funding allows certain federal funds to be directed toward a state, locality, or eligible nonprofit serving a Congressional district through the Appropriations process.
This process allows taxpayer dollars to be reinvested in Iowa’s First Congressional District and provides Members of Congress with input over spending on eligible projects, rather than deferring to bureaucrats in the Executive Branch to make these decisions.
Each Member of Congress can submit ten eligible projects to receive federal funding. To ensure the utmost transparency in this process, the projects submitted on behalf of Iowa's First Congressional District are listed below.
BLACK HAWK COUNTY
Project Name: Leader in Me Project
Request Amount: $50,000
Intended Recipient: Leader Valley Foundation
Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 360 Westfield Avenue, Suite 200, Waterloo, IA 50701
The Leader in Me program creates effective habits and authentic leadership by developing work ethic, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills to help grow the next generation of successful workers. This request would support Leader in Me expanding into two new schools in the Cedar Valley region. This request would be a valuable use of taxpayer funds because Leader in Me schools have a proven track record of increasing academic performance, attendance, and graduation rates. Leader in Me schools also create valuable partnerships with local businesses to teach students important life and professional skills alongside traditional curriculum.
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BUCHANAN COUNTY
Project Name: North Aircraft Parking Apron, Independence Municipal Airport
Request Amount: $1,000,000
Intended Recipient: City of Independence, Iowa
Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 331 1st Street East, Independence, IA 50644
Independence is a small, rural community in Iowa’s First District, whose local economy is directly impacted by the Independence Municipal Airport. During crop-spraying season, use of the airport increases by nearly five hundred percent; however, the airport parking apron has extremely limited space and aircraft capacity hold. This project would be a good use of taxpayer dollars because it will help support the expansion, safety, and usage of a local municipal airport. Constructing an airport parking apron will have a noteworthy impact on the entire economy and the counties the airport serves.
CLAYTON COUNTY
Project Name: Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP)
Request Amount: $22,500,000
Requesting Entity: Clayton County Farm Bureau
Intended Recipient: US Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District
Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 1500 Rock Island Dr., Rock Island, IL 61201
The Upper Mississippi River Lock and Dam System has an impact on every aspect of Iowa’s economy. NESP would provide an authorized new construction start for Locks & Dams 25 in the Upper Mississippi River System and at LaGrange on the Illinois Waterway. This broadly supported, bipartisan request would be a good use of taxpayer funding because the modernization of these locks will deliver reliable and resilient infrastructure to the region, bring good jobs to rural America, and ensure the Midwest remains competitive in global markets by improving the efficiency of our supply chains. With 60 percent of our nation’s grain exports traveling on this waterway, and countless farmers and businesses in the district relying on the system to ship crops and goods to the market, it is paramount that we invest in this critical project.
DUBUQUE COUNTY
Project Name: Chaplain Schmitt Island Trail Connection
Request Amount: $615,000
Intended Recipient: City of Dubuque
Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 50 W 13th Street, Dubuque, IA 52001
The City of Dubuque’s “Chaplain Schmitt Island Trail Connection” would help finalize an underfunded portion of a major community development project, connecting a system of 30 miles of trails with the Chaplain Schmitt Island, through Dubuque, all the way to Dyersville. This request would be a valuable use of taxpayer dollars because it would provide funding for a local community priority with a national significance, as it pays tribute to an American war hero and Silver Star recipient who sacrificed himself to save his fellow sailors at Pearl Harbor. The community did not have adequate funding to finalize access trails for residents and visitors to pay tribute to WWII hero Chaplain Aloysius H. Schmitt, or walk and bicycle along the scenic trailways. This project funding award would enable the City of Dubuque to finish the trails for the community, connect local means of transport, and memorialize this fallen hero.
HOWARD COUNTY
Project Name: Protivin Community Fire District
Request Amount: $100,000
Intended Recipient: Protivin Community Fire District
Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 222 South Main Street, Protivin, IA 52163
The rural and underrepresented area encompassed by the Protivin Fire District in Iowa requires a new fire station to serve the needs of the community adequately. This tiny fire department has a big impact: it serves an expansive area of mostly rural farmland, making it exceptionally vulverable to fire given the amount of cropland. This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it would provide several towns in the community with increased access to essential services, as well as allow the Protivin volunteer firefighters to better respond to time-sensitive emergencies that are detrimental to the local economy and agricultural sector of the tri-county area.
JACKSON COUNTY
Project Name: Jackson County Emergency Operations Center
Request Amount: $263,000
Intended Recipient: Jackson County Board of Supervisors
Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 201 West Platt Street, Maquoketa, IA 52060
The rural community of Jackson County has been in desperate need of a physical Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to effectively respond to disasters and emergencies, like the COVID-19 pandemic, the August 2020 Derecho, and major flooding. This request would be a valuable use of taxpayer dollars because constructing an EOC in Maquoketa will support the creation of essential systems and procedures to efficiently conduct emergency management operations in the rural community, resulting in saved lives and property. An EOC allows Jackson County to conduct increased coordination among local entities and establish continuity of operation plans, leading to effective preparedness for and response to future disasters.
JONES COUNTY
Project Name: Jones County Affordable Housing Project
Request Amount: $500,000
Intended Recipient: Jones County Economic Development
Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 107 S. Ford Street, Anamosa, IA 52205
This project would be a valuable use of taxpayer funding because it would help develop affordable housing options across Jones County, in Iowa’s First District. Many homes have fallen into disrepair or were destroyed by the August 2020 Derecho, leading to a severe lack of affordable housing options and reverse migration. While there are many jobs available, young families and individuals who are ready and willing to work end up seeking employment elsewhere due to the absence of accessible homes. The local governments, schools, and businesses in Jones County have stressed that increased affordable housing options in the community would aid efforts in attracting young families, revitalizing schools, and filling vacant jobs -- all of which would revamp the local economy. These critical funds would support community efforts in the county to increase the supply of available affordable housing, spurring economic development and increasing opportunity.
LINN COUNTY
Project Name: Tower Terrace Road Corridor
Request Amount: $1,000,000
Intended Recipient: Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)
Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 101 First Street SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
This funding would support construction of an east-to-west arterial connector roadway that is a longtime regional transportation priority. This request would be a valuable use of taxpayer dollars because the robust economy of this community has outgrown the current infrastructure links between major roadways. The Tower Terrace Road Corridor would increase accessibility and economic vitality in Hiawatha, Robins, Marion, and Cedar Rapids by connecting outer communities with local schools and businesses while reducing congestion and increasing resident safety.
MARSHALL COUNTY
Project Name: Marshalltown Medical Clinic Construction Project
Request Amount: $200,000
Intended Recipient: Primary Health Care, Inc.
Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 1200 University Avenue, #200, Des Moines, IA 50314
Project Location: 101 Iowa Avenue, Marshalltown, IA 50158
This funding would enable the Marshalltown Medical Clinic to expand from 19 to 32 exam rooms, drastically improving the rural, federally qualified health center’s ability to care for more patients. The clinic serves as a major primary care provider in the area, but it also offers other essential services, including behavioral health care, Medicated Assisted Treatment, substance abuse evaluation, maternal and obstetrical care, pediatric care, and more. Currently, wait times for an appointment at the clinic exceed seven days; the new exam rooms would help cut down on this. The expansion would also add an on-site pharmacy, increasing patient access to prescription medications. This request would be a valuable use of taxpayer dollars because the trusted health center has a proven track record of responsibly using federal resources to increase access to care for rural Iowans.
WINNESHIEK COUNTY
Project Name: Sunflower Child Development and Discovery Center
Request Amount: $200,000
Intended Recipient: Sunflower Child Care Center, Inc.
Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 300 Iowa Highway 9 West, Decorah, IA 52101
The Sunflower Child Development Center is fundamental to the success of the economy in the four-county rural area it serves in Northeast Iowa. Funding for this project would enable the construction of a brand-new facility with over double its present capacity for childcare, a public educational STEM-focused space, and an indoor play space available for community use. It would serve as a refuge to working families located in a childcare desert. Sunflower is at maximum capacity for childcare and has more than 130 children sitting on the waitlist. This investment would be a valuable use of taxpayer dollars because it would revitalize the local economy, support early education and workforce development, improve overall community youth wellbeing, and catalyze growth in this rural area.