Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments (INRCOG)

Last week, we were happy to give over $800 to Iowa Heartland Habitat for Humanity! INRCOG employees were able to wear jeans on Fridays for a donation to the organization during 2023.

INRCOG is among many Councils of Governments in the state with Revolving Loan Funds designed to assist businesses with asset acquisition, inventory, and working capital needs. This month's ICOG newsletter focuses on COG's investments in Iowa businesses and highlights how an INRCOG loan provided assistance to All In Grocers in Waterloo.

The ICOG January 2024 newsletter is now available. The area of focus this quarter is Revolving Loan Fund. Check out the other articles too, including the one on our Impact Map. Find it here: https://www.iowacog.com/newsletter

We are keeping busy this winter! This week the Safe Routes to School team from Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC) and Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments (INRCOG) met with Mark Stevenson from Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective, to learn more about bike maintenance and their community outreach. This will allow us to address simple mechanical issues during our youth bike rodeos and biking field trips. Mark's 30+ years of bike knowledge and skills made for a great learning experience for us. Thank you!

Read about Gilbertville's Emergency Services Building Groundbreaking; IFA's Iowa Home Repair Pilot Program; Waterloo being named an American WWII Heritage City; and new grant opportunities in the January 2024 INRCOG Updates!
http://mailchi.mp/f20e6a61313d/inrcog_updates_january_2024-16711201

Due to the wintery weather conditions, our staff is working from home today. Please contact us via e-mail or by leaving us a voice message.

Please stay safe!

Congratulations to the City of Waterloo on being named an American World War II Heritage City by the National Park Service! INRCOG was pleased to assist with this effort by reviewing the program application guidance, organizing and editing the information provided by the application authors, and preparing the final application for submittal.

Waterloo named American World War II Heritage City by National Park Service It's the only Iowa city honored with National Park Service Designation.

INRCOG and OnBoard Public Transit will be closed Monday, January 1st.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year!

INRCOG and OnBoard Public Transit will be closed Monday - Tuesday, December 25 - 26.

Happy Holidays from all of us!

Read about recent awards to Local Housing Trust Funds, the Derelict Building Program, Exploring Funding Opportunities for Adoption of Electric Vehicles, new Grant Opportunities, and more in the December 2023 INRCOG Updates!

https://mailchi.mp/c0756cc83d4c/inrcog_updates_december_2023-16706621

Wrapping up the year and exited to share! We had over 4,000 students and adults taking part in or organizing SRTS events in the region this past year. Every community is unique and it was so great to work with you all!

The INRCOG staff wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

INRCOG and OnBoard Public Transit will be closed Thursday-Friday, November 23-24.

Read about INRCOG's efforts to expand Passenger Rail in Iowa; the newly adopted Black Hawk County MPO 2050 Long-Range Transportation Plan; and see inside a Homes for Iowa home recently placed in Bremer County in the November 2023 INRCOG Updates! https://mailchi.mp/4aa700a45623/inrcog_updates_november_2023-15842653

The Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments wants to make the dream of passenger rail travel a reality and is seeking a feasibility study from the Federal Railroad Administration of a route from Waterloo to Dubuque.

Regional transportation planners chugging away at the idea of passenger rail Residents have not ridden the rails in Black Hawk County for more than 50 years but regional transportation planners are hoping to change that.

INRCOG Updates - October 2023 - https://mailchi.mp/e61b02549612/inrcog_updates_october_2023-15839777

The ICOG newsletter focuses on Transportation Planning and Project Development by Iowa COGs. Features include INRCOG's work to designate the Cedar River and Black Hawk Creek in Black Hawk County as official water trails; creation of an interactive map of the Cedar Valley Trail network; and projects designed to enhance walkability, bikeability, and safety in downtown Waterloo!!

The ICOG October newsletter is now available. The area of focus this quarter is Transporation Planning & Project Development. Find it here: https://www.iowacog.com/newsletter

A successful Walk, Bike & Roll to School Day at Poyner Elementary!

October 4th is Walk To School Day AND the Healthiest State Annual Walk. Join Poyner Elementary and other Iowans in walking for 30 minutes--it's an important step to improve your health. Schools, workplaces, and organizations are encouraged to register their walk: https://www.walkbiketoschool.org/registration/ and https://www.iowahealthieststate.com/events/annual-walk.

INRCOG's Safe Routes to School works with schools, families, and communities to increase physical activity and create safer walking the bicycling opportunities for youth.

Poyner Elementary to celebrate International Walk and Roll to School Day The event works to create safer routes for walking and bicycling and emphasize the other important issues.

Surplus, Reuse, & Recycling Assistance Available from the Iowa Waste Exchange!

The Iowa Waste Exchange helps business and industry, schools, non-profits, and communities save disposal costs and protect the environment by reducing, reusing, and recycling materials that would otherwise end up in the landfill. Tap into the assistance of Tammy Turner, Iowa Waste Exchange Resource Specialist.

Have surplus materials? Want help conducting a waste audit at your business? Visit https://www.iowadnr.gov/Environmental-Protection/Land-Quality/Waste-Planning-Recycling/Iowa-Waste-Exchange-IWE for more information. To receive the monthly IWE Area 3 newsletter of “Available” and “Wanted” materials, call Tammy at INRCOG at 319-235-0311.

Read about a Housing Preservation Grant recently awarded to the City of New Hampton; Walk, Bike, and Roll to School Day on October 4th; and updates to a number of important transportation projects, all in the October 2023 edition of INRCOG Updates! https://mailchi.mp/9a69ba482177/inrcog_updates_september_2023-15835473

During our Dot Day celebration, MercyOne Rehabilitation, Black Hawk County Public Health, and Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments (INRCOG) will be hosting a senior group walk at the market!

This one mile walk is FREE and open to all. Come meet friends and celebrate healthy aging!

Ribbon cutting last evening for the new residential lots in Quasqueton. The Fangman Family, Mayor Ben Stanford, Angie Anderson, and Lisa Kremer are in the photo below. We are so excited about this new opportunity in Quasqueton! Reach out to Angie Anderson today!

Calling all cities across Iowa, join the 2023 School Mascot Challenge as part of the Healthiest State Annual Walk presented by Delta Dental of Iowa and win $1,000 for a healthy incentives project in your community! The city with the highest percentage of their population registered will win. The current leaderboard is:

🥇 City of Breda
🥈 Lohrville
🥉 Rock Rapids Chamber of Commerce

The challenge is close, and there is still plenty of time to get in on the fun! Register below.

https://runsignup.com/.../2023HealthiestStateAnnualWalk

The Black Hawk County MPO is organizing meetings for the public to share their thoughts about the draft 2050 Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). This Plan focuses on the current transportation situation and infrastructure for the metro area covering all types of transportation. It aims to create a strategy for maintaining and enhancing each mode of transportation, considering future requirements, and funding. The draft sections of the Plan can be reviewed at https://bhcmpo.org/lrtp/

The public input sessions will be in an open house format with no formal presentation. Dates and times for the sessions are:

📅September 19, 2023, 12:00 Noon - 1:30 p.m.
📍 INRCOG Center, 229 E. Park Ave., Waterloo

📅September 21, 2023, 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
💻Virtual Session:
www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/join-a-meeting
Meeting ID: 244 553 423 402
Passcode: cFRd5k

Plans & Programs The Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments is an association of local governments that is committed to identifying, securing, and coordinating local, regional, and federal government projec…

At this week's WATERLOO FARMERS MARKET! Program information available to help you Live Healthy and Stay Active!

This Saturday, Sept 9th, Black Hawk County Public Health and Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments (INRCOG) will have an Information Fair at their booth. They will bring local organizations to discuss their programs with you.

📍Find their Community Tent at the market this Saturday!

September 16, 2023 HHW Collection Event Volunteers Many hands (and strong muscles!) are needed to pull off this large community household hazardous and electronic collection event work. Volunteers (ages 16+) can help out for the entire length of the event 7:45AM- 1:00PM, or for a morning shift (7:45AM- 12:15PM) on September 16, 2023. Both light duty...

INRCOG and OnBoard Public Transit will be closed Monday, September 4th.

Happy Labor Day!

Read about our work with Grundy County, how INREDC helped with start-up costs for a new business in the region, back-to-school walking and biking tips, and more in the August 2023 INRCOG Updates! - https://mailchi.mp/80e60428d2fe/inrcog_updates_august_2023-15831441

Plan to attend the 8th Annual Cedar Valley Focus on Diabetes on September 9, 2023, at the Waterloo Center for the Arts. This year the focus is on Family Health--bring your family out for Family Health Day and Let's Talk About Health!