Pictured receiving these two grants are (L to R): Mark Harvey, manager of FCTC; Mary Wankowitz, City Council member; Sue Cosner of INS; Mayor of Dysart Pam Thiele; and City Council member Bret Hennessy. (photo by Jenni Kugel)

Iowa Network Services (INS), located in West Des Moines, Iowa, announced the award of a $5,000 Ripple Effect grant to the city of Dysart for the city’s “Remembering Our Past, Renovating for the Future” project. The INS grant was applied for on behalf of the city by Farmers Cooperative Telephone Company (FCTC), the city’s full-service telecommunication provider; the telco also contributed $10,000 to the project. “INS supports the planning and development of community-based projects such as the Pavilion project in Dysart. We are pleased that we can partner with FCTC to assist the city with the project,” states Ron Keller, INS President/CEO. Pamela Thiele, Mayor of Dysart states “The grants from both Farmers and INS will be a great help for the project. The $15,000 gift will ensure that the architectural plans and specifications can be completed in time for a construction start this year. We are thrilled that they have joined us as financial partners in the development of our Community Building Renovation project.”

The Ripple Effect partnership alliance between INS and Iowa Area Development Group (IADG) is designed to advance the business and community development vitality of rural Iowa by joining local Independent Telecommunications Companies and partnering municipalities in their economic development initiatives. The program provides financial and technical assistance to business and industry and communities, through local telecommunication providers, to stimulate growth and development in rural Iowa. The program makes available low-interest loans to business applicants and planning grants to communities and their economic development partners for various types of community development projects. INS has committed $1 million dollars to this rural Iowa initiative. At minimum, the Independent Telecommunications Companies are required to match the local financial assistance provided by Ripple Effect.

Other Ripple Effect services include financial packaging for development projects; research and education; awareness and training; business marketing and outreach; and development project facilitation including direct financial assistance through loans and grants from INS. For decades INS, through Iowa’s Independent Telecommunications Companies and IADG, on behalf of the Rural Electric Cooperatives, have provided leadership, vision and commitment to rural communities.

For more information about this grant or the Ripple Effect program, contact Susan Cosner, Vice President, Community Initiatives, IADG; HYPERLINK “mailto:“mailto:scosner@iadg.com”>scosner@iadg.com“ “mailto:scosner@iadg.com”>scosner@iadg.com, 515.777-7308; HYPERLINK ““http://www.insrippleeffect.com”>www.insrippleeffect.com“ www.insrippleeffect.com and on Twitter@insrippleeffect.