Grants At Work

The grant application started with this simple sentence: The City of Council Bluffs has a historical treasure stored in a warehouse, out of public view. The Council Bluffs Fire Department was referring to the 140-year-old centennial fire bell, which was collecting dust after being on display for nearly a century prior to the early 2000s. […]

When talking to Jennie Scivally about the trials of raising her middle son, the first thing you notice is her steady demeanor. For a mother who has had a front row seat to mental health issues in children for the past five years, it’s difficult to imagine what she’s been through. It began in earnest […]

Every morning without fail, Jeannie Grim-Ford wakes up and makes two lists. Both are “to-do” lists, however, one is a “have to” and the other is a “want to.” For the Council Bluffs resident who prefers the term “recycled teenager” to “senior citizen,” energy is finite. So dishes “have to” get done, along with clearing the kitchen […]

In my position as the Director of Communications for the Foundation, I am privileged to tell the stories of how our grantees benefit southwest Iowans. In the past two years, I’ve written about a single mom who earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees thanks to a STARS scholarship, the Food Bank for the Heartland’s backpack program that sends meals […]

Giggles, squeals, babbles, coos — and if we’re being honest, the occasional cry — bounce off the freshly-painted, light blue walls of the Children’s Nest child care center in Audubon, Iowa on a recent Wednesday morning. Infants like 7-month-old Logan Fowble are literally breathing new life into the building that previously served as the residential […]

“Art in the Park” is an Iowa West Foundation initiative to replace weathered park identification signs at six community parks. The project is being coordinated by the Council Bluffs Parks, Recreation, and Public Property Department with assistance from the City Public Art Commission. These signs, all created by area artists, were developed with public input […]

“Art in the Park” is an Iowa West Foundation initiative to replace weathered park identification signs at six community parks. The project is being coordinated by the Council Bluffs Parks, Recreation, and Public Property Department with assistance from the City Public Art Commission. These signs, all created by area artists, were developed with public input […]

Tenisha Vawser was 23-years-old when she got passed over for a management job at a toy store. She had experience, took pride in her work and always went above and beyond for customers, her supervisors said. But corporate informed them there was one thing missing on her resume: a college degree. “I didn’t get the […]

“Art in the Park” is an Iowa West Foundation initiative to replace weathered park identification signs at six community parks. The project is being coordinated by the Council Bluffs Parks, Recreation, and Public Property Department with assistance from the City Public Art Commission. These signs, all created by area artists, were developed with public input […]

“A town can get older and die or it can get better and thrive.” – Pete Sorensen, City Councilman, Neola Perhaps truer words have never been spoken. Residents of small-town southwest Iowa know all too well the story of rural decline. They watch as high school graduates stamp one-way tickets out of town. They see business […]