WASHINGTON — Senator Chuck Grassley said today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Rural Development is awarding loans and grants totaling $232,700,285 million to Iowa through the Electric Loan program, the Telecommunications Loan Program, the Telecommunications Broadband Loan Program and the Distance Learning Telemedicine Loan and Grant Program.
"These loan and grant funds will help improve service and quality as these organizations look to upgrade and add additional services for rural Iowans," Grassley said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Rural Development has awarded funds to facilitate various projects, as described below.
v BTC Inc. in Breda will receive a $10 million loan through the Telecommunications Broadband Loan Program to help construct a fiber to the home system in Carroll to provide advanced communications services to 2,041 voice access lines, 1,057 data subscribers and 875 video subscribers. Iowa counties affected include Carroll, Crawford, Fremont, Guthrie, Mills and Pottawatomie. The loan is a direct cost of money loan for 21 years.
v Colo Telephone Company in Colo will receive a $1,993,000 loan through the Telecommunications Loan Program to help provide new and improved service to subscribers in Iowa County including connecting seven new subscribers, deploying four new route miles of fiber and copper cable, install Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) continuation from the previous loan with the intention of completing FTTP to the rural areas of their only exchange, retire existing copper cables in place and replace DMS-10 switch with new softswitch. The loan is at a variable interest rate for 20 years.
v Dairyland Power Cooperative in La Crosse, Wisconsin will receive a $195,564,000 loan through the Electric Loan Program to help finance additions, upgrades and modifications to existing generation facilities as well as new and upgraded transmission facilities in Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. Iowa counties affected include Bremer, Clayton, Delaware, Dubuque, Fayette, Allamakee, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Floyd, Hancock, Howard, Kossuth, Mitchell, Winnebago, Winneshiek and Worth. The loan is guaranteed for 25 years at the Federal Financing Bank.
v Ellsworth Municipal Hospital in Iowa Falls will receive a $657,897 loan and a $164,474 grant through the Distance Learning Telemedicine Loan and Grant Program to help implement an electronic medical records system. The loan is for 5 years.
v Kossuth County Hospita – Kossuth Regional Health Center in Algona will receive a $537,532 loan and a $134,382 grant through the Distance Learning Telemedicine Loan and Grant Program to help implement a comprehensive, hospital based, electronic medical records filing system using high speed telecommunications lines in collaboration with Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa and six other regional hospitals that are members of the Mercy Health Network-North Iowa and Trinity Health to implement a standard integrated system that enhances accessibility, quality, safety and efficiency of medical services. The loan is for 5 years.
v Martelle Cooperative Telephone Association in Martelle will receive a $2,082,000 loan through the Telecommunications Broadband Loan Program to help upgrade the current coaxial cable system to hybrid fiber-coax, and enable the company to provide broadband services to approximately 528 high-speed data subscribers and 498 voice subscribers in Jones County, specifically Martelle, Morley and rural Anamosa. The loan is a direct cost of money loan for 16 years.
v Prairie Energy Coop. in Clarion will receive a $12 million loan through the Electric Loan Program to help build 29 miles of new distribution line, make improvements to 164 miles of distribution line and provide other improvements to serve 309 new and existing consumers. Iowa counties affected include Cerro Gordo, Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock and Hardin counties. The loan is guaranteed for 34 years with the Federal Financing Bank.
v Spring Grove Minnesota Communications in Spring Grove, Minnesota will receive a $7,934,000 loan through the Telecommunications Loan Program to help provide new and improved service to subscribers including deploying 24 new route miles of fiber and copper cable in Minnesota and Iowa. Iowa counties affected include Allamakee and Winneshiek. The loan is for 20 years.
v Western Power Cooperative in Denison will receive a $1,633,000 loan through the Electric Loan Program to help finance facilities required to meet load growth and service requirements on the basis of current construction work plans and other studies. Iowa counties affected include Audubon, Carroll, Crawford, Harrison, Ida, Monona, Sac, Shelby and Woodbury. The loan is guaranteed for 20 years with the Federal Financing Bank.