MAQUOKETA, Iowa – Jackson County is one of five grant recipients of the Iowa Rural Certified Site Initiative (IRCSI), a state program that supports development of project-ready industrial locations in the smaller communities.
Jackson County, which borders the Quad Cities region to the north, will receive $27,050 in IRCSI funding for its 59-acre Highway 61 Industrial Park in Maquoketa.
The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) announced on Wednesday, June 12, it is awarding a total of $133,528 in matching funds. The grants are designed to assist with due diligence activities required for site certification. According to IEDA’s news release, this is a key step in attracting new business investment and quality jobs.
The funding reimburses costs for required reports and studies such as environmental assessments, geotechnical investigations and cultural resources surveys.
Other applicants receiving funding in the 2025 round, their grant awards and industrial projects are:
- Clarinda Economic Development Corp., $29,875, for the Hugh and Maxine Loudon Business Park (70 acres).
- Iowa Interstate Railroad, $37,500, for the 478-acre Newton Rail Park.
- Webster City, $37,500, for the Webster City Southeast Industrial Park (773 acres).
- Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance (on behalf of Webster County), $1,603.75, for Iowa’s Crossroads of Global Innovation, 765 acres west of Fort Dodge.
“Rural communities are thinking strategically about long-term growth,” IEDA and Iowa Finance Authority Director Debi Durham said in the release. “This support helps them take important strides toward welcoming new employers and creating opportunities close to home.”
The state authority said the IRCSI was created during the 2024 legislative session. It provides matching grants of up to $37,500 to eligible applicants. They include local governments, economic development organizations and utility providers in counties with populations less than 50,000.
Why get certified?
Certified sites, IEDA said, are better positioned to attract prospects as they have met nationally recognized due diligence standards and have demonstrated that essential infrastructure and land availability requirements have already been met.
The IEDA introduced its certified sites program in 2012. The goal was to facilitate development of shovel-ready locations in rural Iowa.
Unlike other states that use their own criteria in certifying a shovel-ready site/ The IEDA said that the State of Iowa’s certification program leverages nationally recognized standards and an independent, third-party site selection firm.
Among the earliest certified sites in Iowa was the Eastern Iowa Industrial Center in north Davenport. First certified in 2015 with 186 acres, it has 27 acres remaining that are certified and development ready, IEDA’s website said.
Today, EICC is home to several major national tenants. They include Amazon, Sterilite, Kraft Heinz and others. Located at Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 61, the site was recertified in 2021. The fact the EICC had a certified site helped to attract Fair Oaks Foods to Davenport/ That’s where it is now building a cooked bacon processing plant.
Since then, the QC region also has seen the Lincolnway Industrial Rail & Air Park in Clinton and the Anderson 400 site, located outside Princeton, Iowa, both earn site certification from the State of Iowa.
For more information about Iowa’s Certified Sites program and the IRCSI, visit IEDA’s website here.
