SWIPCO staff attended the NADO’s 2022 Annual Training Conference in Pittsburg, PA October 15-18 and received a 2022 Aliceann Wohlbruck Impact Award from NADO.

Atlantic, Iowa – Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO), which provides grant writing and administration services to its member communities in Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, and Shelby Counties, has received a 2022 Aliceann Wohlbruck Impact Award from the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) for the Post-Disaster Transformational Housing Development.

SWIPCO was recognized based on its support for the southwest Iowa towns devastated by the 2019 floods. SWIPCO secured $90 million in federal flood recovery funds through the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery programs for southwest Iowa communities including Glenwood, Hamburg, Logan, Malvern, Missouri Valley, Modale, Tabor, and Woodbine. These funds are being used for property acquisition, new housing construction, and infrastructure development for new housing. As a part of the grants, more than 100 housing units damaged in the 2019 floods have already been demolished and more than 250 new housing units are being built in these impacted communities.

NADO is a Washington, DC-based membership association of regional development organizations that promotes programs and policies that strengthen local governments, communities, and economies through regional cooperation, program delivery, and comprehensive strategies. The Impact Awards program recognizes regional development organizations and their partners for improving the economic and community competitiveness of our nation’s regions and local communities.

Award-winning projects were recognized during NADO’s 2022 Annual Training Conference, held in Pittsburgh, PA on October 15-18. The 2022 class of award recipients consists of 107 projects from 71 organizations spanning 28 states. These projects are presented in an interactive “Story Map” developed by NADO that includes project summaries, partners, and images. The Story Map is available online at: https://tinyurl.com/38vbcczu

“Regional development organizations and their partners have played an integral role in supporting local communities during this important time of economic recovery,” said 2021-2022 NADO President Misty Crosby, former executive director of the Buckeye Hills Regional Council, located in Marietta, OH. “This year’s Impact Awards recipients demonstrate the many ways our member organizations serve their communities by promoting economic development, fostering resilience, and improving quality of life for residents.”

The NADO Impact Awards are presented in honor of the late Aliceann Wohlbruck who was NADO’s first executive director and served 24 years as a tireless champion for regional approaches to economic development in rural communities.