(Des Moines) The Iowa Legislature is heading into week 8 of the 2024 session. District #23 State Representative Ray Sorensen said they introduced two policies to spur economic development in rural Iowa this past week.
The Greenfield Republican says House Study Bill 715 was amended in committee onto Senate File 574. The bill appropriates $300,000 to the Iowa Economic Development Authority for certification costs of certified sites in rural Iowa. Sorensen says this money must be spent on what we’ve been calling “Freedom Sites,” which must be in counties with a population of less than 50,000. This money can be used on two certified sites per congressional district yearly, up to $30,000 each.
Sorensen says the bill aims to ensure they prioritize economic development everywhere in this state, not just near the big cities. This investment in our certified sites program builds on last year’s MEGA sites legislation to ensure we are boosting up and building brighter futures for rural Iowa.
