DES MOINES, Iowa – (Jan. 13, 2023) – The MidAmerican Energy Foundation has released its third and fourth quarter grants for 2022, awarding grants to 21 organizations and projects across MidAmerican Energy Company’s service area.

 

The foundation, which is funded by company shareholders, assists nonprofits and communities MidAmerican serves through the company’s corporate citizenship program, called CARES. CARES represents a focus on five pillars of giving, including community enhancement, arts and culture, environmental respect, education/STEM and safety.

 

The grants include a quarter-million-dollars to support construction of the long-planned MLK Park project in Davenport.

 

The park, which will be located at the northeast corner of 5th and Brady streets, will serve as an outdoor venue for Quad Cities residents and visitors. It will provide opportunities for the public to learn and engage in the area's rich artistic, creative, cultural and ethnic history.

 

"MidAmerican is so pleased to have the opportunity to support a project like this that will leave a lasting legacy in a community that we've always served proudly and are an active part of," Kathryn Kunert, MidAmerican vice president of economic connections and integration, said. "Once built, this piece of land will be much more than a downtown Davenport park – it will be a regional park with a purpose."

 

The foundation also pledged $250,000 to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, which recently announced the purchase of the Little Sioux Scout Ranch in western Iowa from the Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts of America. The conservation group will transform the 1,776-acre property into a public nature reserve.

 

Other donations include a $1-milion-dollar pledge over multiple years to support the North Side Community Recreation Center project in Des Moines, $25,000 to Webster County Conservation for the planned River’s Edge Discovery Center, $22,000 to Heritage Area Agency on Aging in Cedar Rapids to address senior citizen food insecurity, and various donations to projects, programs and events that address local public safety, community, youth-oriented activities and veterans issues.

 

“MidAmerican is more than a reliable partner that provides essential energy services,” Kunert said. “We also partner with the communities we serve by supporting them through our corporate citizenship. That includes corporate giving and thousands of employee volunteer hours each and every year.”

 

• Boys and Girls Club of Central Iowa (Des Moines)
  $15,000: Multiple events and projects, including safety enhancements and furnishings.
   
• Bricker Price Block Restoration Corporation (Earlham)
  $7,000: Custom window coverings for nonprofit community event venue. Project will help protect the historic building’s second floor from exposure to extreme heat in summer and frigid cold in winter.
   
• City of Aplington Pool Committee
  $25,000: 2023 will be the last season for the current pool, which was built in 1976. The committee plans to construct a new community swimming pool starting this fall.
   
• City of Fonda
  $5,000: Baseball and softball field bleachers.
   
• City of Odebolt
  $10,000: Pool liner project.
   
• City of Shambaugh
  $2,500: Project to create a safe and fun park for families, including fall protection materials, playground set, picnic tables and barbeque grills.
   
• Des Moines Metro Opera
  $5,000: Annual partnership.
   
• Des Moines Performing Arts
  $15,000: Annual support.
   
• Friends of MLK, Inc. (FoMLK) (Davenport)
  $250,000: MLK Park, which will be an outdoor venue for residents and tourists to learn and engage in the region's rich artistic, creative, cultural and ethnic history.
   
• Glenwood Fire Department
  $8,000: Tablets for ambulances and fire trucks.
   
• Grandview Fire Department
  $5,000: Pumper/tanker truck.
   
• Heritage Area Agency on Aging (Cedar Rapids)
  $22,000: Addresses senior citizen food insecurity.
   
• Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation: Little Sioux Scout Ranch Purchase
  $250,000: The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and Iowa Department of Natural Resource have partnered to purchase the Little Sioux Scout Ranch to establish a public 1,776-acre reserve.
   
• Iowa State University - SAE International Student Chapter at ISU
  $2,500: The student-led ISU Baja Team designs, build and races an off-road vehicle in the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Collegiate Design Series.
   
• Junior Achievement of the Midlands (Council Bluffs, Sioux City and Treynor)
  $5,000: General program support of Junior Achievement that benefits students in these areas.
   
• Long Grove Civic League
  $8,700: Project to help the Long Grove Community Center's basement achieve Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.
   
• North Side Community Recreation Center - John R. Grubb YMCA (Des Moines)
  $1,000,000 (to be spread over multiple years): Community center with health and wellness facilities, indoor and outdoor recreation facilities and meeting space.
   
• Operation Impact 22 (Des Moines metro area)
  $1,000: Sponsorship for Operation Impact Salute to Service Banquet in Altoona to be held on April 29, 2023. The organization focuses on veterans’ mental health and suicide awareness issues.
   
• Oxford Fire Department
  $2,500: Safety equipment.
   
• University of Iowa - Iowa Formula SAE Racing Team
  $2,500: Sponsorship of the student-led University of Iowa Society of Automotive Engineering’s Iowa Formula SAE Team.
   
• Webster County Conservation
  $25,000: Webster County Conservation Board, in partnership with the City of Fort Dodge, seeks to create the River's Edge Discovery Center to provide a place for learning and discovery, as well as to teach children to be good stewards of nature.

 

About MidAmerican Energy
MidAmerican Energy, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, serves 795,000 electric customers in Iowa, Illinois and South Dakota, and 774,000 natural gas customers in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota. Information about MidAmerican Energy is available at midamericanenergy.com and company social media channels.