Several southwest Iowa communities are about to receive a significant financial boost to revitalize the region.
At a press conference, Charles E. Lakin Foundation President Steve Wild announced the group’s $165 million donation to the Community Foundation of Western Iowa, which will administer the funds intended to bolster 51 communities in six southwest Iowa counties.
Wild says, “Revitalize Southwest Iowa 2024” Initiative is the Lakin Foundation’s answer to the region’s population decline over the past 120 years compared to their neighbors across the Missouri River.
“In southwest Iowa, even when including Council Bluffs, (the population) has decreased by 9%, while in the meantime, east central Nebraska has grown an amazing 380%,” said Wild. “This difference between our two regions paints a sobering picture, but it’s one we refuse to accept.”
The donation creates 23 “Field of Interest” funds with the Community Foundation of Western Iowa, designated to support 23 cities with a population over 400, or “anchor” communities, which could also help fund an additional 28 “member” communities. Community Foundation of Western Iowa President Donna Dostal says the new funding can help communities target some of the region’s biggest issues.
“We know that we have challenges–we have an issue with affordable and workforce housing, in fact we have a challenge with housing at all,” said Dostal. “We know that we don’t have a workforce issue, we have a housing issue and we have an access to childcare issue. So, we want to continue to invite people to come back and live in southwest Iowa and help make those communities strong. Because we are not in the middle of nowhere, we’re in the middle of everywhere.”
Anchor city allocations, including cities in Page, Montgomery, Fremont, Mills, Cass, and Pottawattamie counties, range from $23 million to Atlantic down to $1.8 million to Emerson. Wild says the Lakin Foundation will also collaborate with local non-profits in each “anchor” community.
“Through collaborations with local non-profits, which will act as advisors to the fund, we will ensure that every decision aids the aspirations of each community,” he said. “The profits of these funds will be re-invested year after year back into the communities creating a cycle of growth to empower these cities well into the future.”
Acceptable uses of the funds include investments in local housing or limited local commercial real estate projects, along with annual grants that will be made available from each “field of interest” fund for local projects. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says the donation presents a unique opportunity for the region to “think big,” primarily regarding housing.
“While $165 million would move the needle anywhere, it goes even further in southwest Iowa communities where great ideas often run up against the financial constraint that comes with a smaller tax base and constraints that don’t always apply to nearby metros like Omaha and Council Bluffs,” said Reynolds. “Now, these communities have good reason to thing big and the results are already taking shape across the region.”
Representatives from four communities were also present where the revitalization initiative is taking place, including Atlantic. Vision Atlantic Board President Christina Bateman says much of the $23 million investment will go towards a multi-prong project tackling housing, childcare, and quality of life enhancements.
“We plan to build a $48 million housing development over the next four and a half years, where Vision Atlantic will be able to build 144 housing units, including duplexes, tiny homes, three-story town homes, and multiple-sized single family homes,” said Bateman. “The new child development center, a park, and trails will also be in this 46-acre development.”
Other communities highlighted Tuesday included a $2.2 million investment in Stanton, a $4 million contribution to Malvern, and over $3.4 million going towards projects in Treynor. Wild says the goal is to have all 23 “Field of Interest” funds established and funded within the next six months The Charles E. Lakin Foundation’s investment to revitalize southwest Iowa will primarily focus on housing, childcare, and community resilience and will create a lasting legacy of positive socio-economic transformation across the region.
Charles and Florence Lakin were Southwest Iowa natives moving to Omaha in 1969.
Married for 78 years, the couple had a heart for helping children and families in need. During their lifetime the Lakins donated approximately $26 million and Charles formed the Foundation to fund his philanthropic interests in perpetuity.
Chuck Lakin of Yuma Arizona is a director of the Foundation. Diane Kilzer, Debbie Johnson and Nancy S. Benson also represented the Lakin family on the foundation’s board.