Museum, ECO Center chosen as grant recipients

Loess Hills Alliance announced nine organizations within its economic development committee will receive grants for 2009 -- two will go to Plymouth County entities.

The Plymouth County Conservation Board will receive $4,000 for construction of its proposed Economic Conservation Opportunities (ECO) Center. The conservation department requested a $10,000 grant.

The Plymouth County Historical Museum requested and will receive $1,008 to hold a Loess HIlls Day, which includes a bus tour of the Plymouth County Loess HIlls.

The grant awards were officially made Jan. 1, 2009 and the organizations have one year to use that money.

Gary Tucker, Plymouth County economic development director and chairman of the grant committee, said the committee is made up of representatives from the seven counties belonging to the alliance.

Those seven counties include Plymouth, Woodbury, Fremont, Mills, Pottawattamie, Monona and Harrison.

"This year we had some carry over from last year so we had approximately $79,000 to spend," Tucker said. "Of that we used about $30,000 for a marketing program and awarded $46,565."

Nine of 17 organizations were awarded grants with the Harrison County Conservation Board and the Waubonsie State Park each receiving the largest amount of $10,000 each.

The only other Plymouth County organization to ask for a grant from Loess Hills Alliance was the Akron Opera House, which was denied its $10,000 request.

"There's about five criteria that we score them on. We average the scores and rank them individually of each other before we ever get together," Tucker said of the grant committee.

The five scoring criteria include: objectives and tasks of the project, how it will benefit business and or community, how it will benefit Loess HIlls economy, the project's innovative and creative aspect and the project's budget.

Each year the Loess Hills Alliance receives an appropriation from the state, this year's was $200,000. Alliance officials then divide that amount among its three committees -- stewardship, protection and economic development.

The remaining money from the appropriation after grant awards are made is used for administrative operation costs, Tucker said.

This is the first year the alliance decided to use $30,000 of the appropriation for its marketing campaign which will be done in conjunction with the Iowa Department of Tourism highlighting the entire Loess HIlls' region, Tucker said.

"Just because money was awarded in Woodbury County, it can still affect Plymouth County and the things that we use," Tucker said. "The more we can preach that message, the more people will get the idea that we are regional in nature."