Mahaska County Ag & Rural Development
Highlighted Activities - September to December 2004
Agribusiness
Tassel Ridge Winery: Bob Wersen tells me that
they are putting the finishing touches on the building at Tassel
Ridge. He is currently looking for a candidate to fill the job
of winemaker. He has already received applications from Canada,
Australia, the U.S and Europe!
Moon Valley Vineyard: Moon Valley
Vineyard was awarded a $25,000 Value Added Producer Grant that
MCARD submitted to USDA Rural
Development. The grant is working capital to process carbonated
grape juice at their University Park facility. Jeff Kuntz and
MCARD traveled to the State Capital where Moon Valley’s
owners, Jeff and Georgetta Leak, received a giant cardboard check
as did the other eight other Iowa recipients. Over 420 applications
from across the US were submitted for this grant cycle, of which
97 were approved. The Moon Valley Grant represents the fourth
VAPG grant submitted by MCARD on behalf of a local value-added
ag venture, each of which was funded. Over 1% of the total grant
funds awarded nationally has come to Mahaska County alone.
Vande
Rose Foods: This Company continues to make great progress. For
the past 6 months, VandeRose Foods has been directly marketing
pork and beef from their family farms to California. They now
process 50 pigs per week to supply customer demand there. They
ship their products to meat markets and restaurants in the Bay
Area, Napa Valley and Sacramento. They now also sell their pork
jerky product through retail stores. Here in Oskaloosa, you can
buy Vande Rose’s pork jerky at Murphy USA (by Wal-Mart)
and at Jiffy-Citgo (across from Doty Computers). Our local HyVee
has agreed to put it on their shelves as well. Vande Rose also
supplies the pork and beef products at Spaghetti’s, the
new Italian Restaurant in Oskaloosa. USDA Rural Development and
MCARD toured the VandeRose catering facility in October and enjoyed
a Vande Rose entrée at Spaghettis with Steve DeBruin and
Ken Van Gilst.
Potential Value-Added Ag Industry: In November,
I received a call from an out-of-state biotech business seeking
to locate
a satellite production facility in Oskaloosa. I have been working
with them over the past several weeks to generate a list of potential
sites that fits their specific needs. They are looking at another
community in Iowa as well. This company is planning to create
5-8 quality jobs. My thanks to Matt Boeck who heads-up the County’s
GIS Department. He created a series of maps for the client that
has proven to be very helpful. They tell me they will be reviewing
the information we sent them over the course of next week.
H& S
Feed: H& S Feed opened their new Premium Purina
Store across from Sears on December 9. In addition to a variety
of Purina products, the business is planning to offer value-added
Ag products from area producers.
Rural Development
Nelson Pioneer Farm: Mahaska County Historical
Society contracted MCARD to apply for grants to help build Bradbury
Hall. They named
the 7,200 sq foot hall after their first president and benefactor.
It will serve as the main venue for entertainment, community
meals and other activities at the Farm and be available to rent
for receptions, reunions etc. MCARD wrote a $2,000 grant request
to the Central Iowa Tourism Region and a request for a $15,000
contribution from the George Daily Family Trust, both of which
were approved. I believe this project marks a concerted effort
by the MCHS to bring more visitors to the Farm and to collaborate
with others. Both are essential to the vitality of the Farm.
The Hall’s outside structure is nearly complete (see right).
It is due to open in May of 2005.
New Sharon: Pro-Line’s new facility south of town is going up quickly. MCARD traveled
to Pro-Line on October 25 to visit
about the expansion and the upcoming availability of their current
offices in New Sharon. In November, I went to Snyder
Manufacturing’s
new facility to meet with the USDA’s Jeff Kuntz and members
of the New Sharon Recreation and Economic Development
Foundation about the formation of a local revolving loan fund. They plan
to create the loan fund by using income from the local option
sales tax to leverage additional USDA dollars. The NSREDF is
an active group that is doing a great job of re-investing the
local option sales tax back into the New Sharon community. Most
recently, they bought the lot that used to contain the New Sharon
Elementary and sold it to a developer who now building housing
units there.
Fremont: MCARD attended Fremont’s annual Frontier
Days celebration on September 11, 2004, which included a ceremonial
ribbon cutting for the Fremont Community Center. MCARD, the Fremont
City Council, the Fremont Development Corporation and the Fremont
Community Foundation worked together to raise funds to help build
the Center. These efforts netted contributions from residents
as well as a $15,000 George Daily Family Trust contribution,
a $2,000 contribution from MUSCO and a $9,000 RACI grant. Sue
Brown tells me that the Foundation is applying to other foundations
for contributions to help finish the interior. Keith Parlett
recently contacted MCARD to discuss using the Center as a congregate
meal site. The Center is already booking events and is a great
addition to the Fremont community thanks to the hard work of
so many residents there.
Spring Valley Manufacturing: Last week,
MCARD traveled with Ellen Foudree of Area XV Regional Planning
to meet with Kevin Flander
who owns and operates Spring Valley Manufacturing. Although the
steep increase in steel prices hit his business hard, sales in
the past year have increased. Spring Valley has several new products,
including custom-built tanker trucks for fire departments.
Front Street Manufacturing
Barnes
City: Speaking of tanker trucks, MCARD worked with Barnes City
Volunteer Fire Department to submit a FEMA Fire grant to
purchase of a new tank truck. Unfortunately, the grant request
was denied. We hope to reapply next year. Denny DeNooy of Front
Street Manufacturing met with MCARD on September 14 to discuss
his business’ growth and new product lines.
University
Park: Mayor Watts and Pam Watts, the City Clerk, Garden & Associates,
USDA Rural Development’s Dave Dowdy and MCARD are collaborating
on the City’s plan for improvements to their waste
water system. On November 2, we submitted an application for a Community
Development Block Grant to help fund the improvements. We will
know in March if it is approved.
Eddyville: MCARD recently enlisted
Tom Quinn of Iowa State University Extension to lead the Eddyville
Historical Society in a planning
session in January. In the meantime, the Historical Society continues
to do a great job of raising funds. They recently hosted carriage
rides in downtown Eddyville. Gary Shearer gave me the grand tour
of the Eddyville Raceway in October. The Raceway attracts a high
level of visitors and tourism dollars to our area. The County
and the Raceway worked together to pave the entryway into the
site. The Raceway is looking to continue its capital improvement
campaign to take advantage of their new entry way and the completed
construction along Highway 163. Gary and I discussed planned
improvements and their vision for the future. I came away impressed
with the quality of the facility and excited about the possibilities.
Oskaloosa:
- Childcare Center – Efforts continue
to create an expanded daycare center in Oskaloosa. This group
met with
the Oskaloosa
Community School District’s Superintendent to discuss
cost saving strategies that could benefit both. The Childcare
group
is using their $10,000 Empowerment Grant to enlist the aid
of an architect as they sketch out their ideas. Plans call
for MCARD
to submit a CDBG grant for the project in fall 2006.
- Southern
Iowa Fair – At their initial planning session,
the Southern Iowa Fair Foundation determined their first priority
was to build a new restroom/shower/storm shelter for the campground.
They asked MCARD to write an application to the George Daily
Family Trust for funds to help build the facility. The Trust
awarded them $14,750 in November. Many other local partners
have contributed as well. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on December
17.
Chamber
MCARD Program:
- County Funding: MCARD is set to go before the County
Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, January 4 at 10:20 to request their
continued support for the MCARD
program. Last year they gave us $25,000. If you support MCARD’s efforts,
we urge you to contact the Supervisors to let them know. Contact them at supervisors@mahaskacounty.org or
673-3469.
- Other Funds: MCARD’s budget is approximately $74,000 per
year. The Chamber contributes to our program, as have several local banks
and businesses. I have
contacted the Mayors of the nine towns outside of Oskaloosa to request their
annual contribution of $2/capita. MCARD now requires private companies to pay
a fee for our grant writing/administration services. However, we do not charge
the towns a grant-writing fee, nor do we request a percentage of the grants
we write for them. We rely on their annual contribution instead. Thus, such
funds
are vital to MCARD’s program.
- Milestone: This recent round of grant awards
brings the total amount of grant and loan dollars accessed through MCARD
(since it’s inception in October
of 1998) to $6.1 million.
Economic Development: The Mahaska Community Development
Group recently hired Scott Feldt to direct their economic development
efforts. Scott will be housed
on the second floor of the Chamber. His first day in the office will be
January 3, 2005. He is coming from Wisconsin with an extensive
background in economic
development and government relations. I am looking forward to meeting Scott
and to working with him. Welcome Scott!
Staffing: Michelle Fagerstone is
no longer with the Chamber. The Chamber is now soliciting applications
for a joint Main Street Director/ Chamber
Director.
The
Chamber has gone through many changes in the last few years but I think
this latest restructuring is a common sense solution that will make the
Chamber
more efficient and effective. Scott, the Chamber Staff and MCARD will
make a great
team.
Outreach/Miscellaneous
USDA Rural Development: Over 20 USDA staff members came to Mahaska County
in December to view the many projects here that have benefited
from their agency’s investment, including Co-Line Welding, the Chamber’s
Spec Building, World Food Processing, Soy Link, Pro-Line Buildings,
Vande Rose Foods, and Moon Valley Vineyards. MCARD gave a presentation to
the
group during their lunch at Spaghetti’s. The productive relationship
between MCARD and USDA Rural Development received recognition in
a recent edition of the Farm Journal, a national magazine. USDA Rural Development
has nominated MCARD to present at the “Excellence in Government” conference
in Washington D.C. in July of 2005 as an example of entrepreneurial
government and partnering.
Team Mahaska: Thanks to the hard work of ISU Life
in Iowa Intern
Brooke Hunsicker, Pam Blomgren of the Write Design and ArrowQuick,
Team Mahaska has launched a photo gallery on the Team Mahaska website
(http://www.teammahaska.org)
that includes a great array of photos from each of Mahaska County’s
towns. It also has general photos of our quality of life, events,
businesses and attractions. These pictures are not copywrited and
are a free resource
for our communities, businesses and organizations that may want
to include such shots in brochures, newsletters, grant applications
and web sites.
Let us know if the photos are useful.
Mahaska County 4-H: I had
fun serving as one of four judges for the 2004 Mahaska County Extension
4-H Project Awards. I interviewed
kids from 4th grade on up about their projects and 4-H experience.
They were
all so impressive! The process culminated in the Mahaska County
4-H Year End Celebration on November 6. While there, I presented
the Chamber’s
Community Service Award to the Cedar Livestock 4-H club for their
work on Fremont’s Memorial Gardens, Little League Concession Stand
and Highway Cleanup Project. Thanks to Gatton Realty, New Alliance
FS, Bank Iowa and
First National Bank-Midwest, this is the first year we attached
a check with the award.
Indian Hills Regional Development: At the
December meeting of the marketing committee for this three-county
group, we discussed the
industry that was looking to invest $25 million to build a new
facility and generate
25 quality jobs near Cargill in either Blair Nebraska or Eddyville
Iowa. They chose Blair based upon Alliant’s high energy rates in Eddyville.
This information was shared with area legislators.
River Hills
Initiative: This ten-county group is gathering in January to develop
a shared economic development “vision.” At
our last meeting on December 15, we discussed the upcoming distribution
of Prairie Meadows money to each of Iowa’s counties through the Endow
Iowa program. Mahaska County will have to make a decision as to
what type of non-profit foundation structure will best serve our
needs. Indian Hills
is now looking at the possibility of creating a regional venture
capital fund to serve entrepreneurs in our area. They are also
continuing to plan
to establish a Rural Leadership and Entrepreneurship Institute
at the Honey Creek destination park at Lake Rathbun. We need such
resources to serve
entrepreneurs and small start-up businesses better.
Mahaska County
Revolving Loan Fund: We currently have over $400,000 available
to loan to new or expanding industries in Mahaska County.
There are three loans out, all of which are current. In October,
MCARD, USDA Rural
Development, Willie Van Weelden (County Supervisor) and Todd
McQueen (a small business consultant from New Sharon) gathered to discuss
ways to increase
interest in, and access to, the fund. The County Supervisors
have
now created a Loan Review Committee that will begin meeting in
January of 2005. The
first order of business will be to look at the structure of the
fund. It is a great tool to spur the creation of businesses and
jobs in the Mahaska
Community but it is tailored to large manufacturers. The Committee
will have to decide whether to revise the scope of the loan fund
to allow for
smaller start-ups. Committee members include Willie Van Weelden,
Lyle Siefering, Steve DeBruin, Calvin Bandstra and Rich Johnson.
General Assistance:
MCARD provided information and assistance to a variety
of potential development projects, such as:
- A resident wanting to
start a kennel service
- A potential trucking business
- A potential small manufacturing/showroom
enterprise
- A restaurant start-up
- 2 different companies searching for warehouse
space
- A potential milling operation
- A motorcycle repair shop
- A rental business
- A municipal water system improvement project
- A new plastics manufacturer
MCARD also attended the following events:
- Business After Hours at KBOE
- Community Development Block Grant writing
workshop
- Mid American Energy Open House in Oskaloosa
- Business After Hours at Extension
- Opening House at H&S Feed
- Wm. Penn’s Coal Mining appreciation
event
- A two-day “Strengthening Community Leadership” seminar
in
Ames along with Michelle Fagerstone and Cal Bandstra
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