A Jefferson business that has been leading a new effort to bring technology jobs to rural Iowa, recently received an award from the State Historical Society of Iowa.

The Forge, located at 204-206 East State Street, was one of 14 award recipients for preserving historic structures and locations across the state and turning them into usable areas. The Forge  received the Best Large Commercial Project through Preservation Iowa. Receiving local, county, state and federal funding support, The Forge took a former Odd Fellows meeting building and it is now part of Accenture Industry X.0 which is a software development company that has global clients. 

Part of the model from Accenture is providing a training program that if someone completes the program, they would potentially have no college debt, be offered a full-time job making between $55,000-$70,000 and can work and live in Jefferson. 

Due to COVID-19 concerns, the awards ceremony was held virtually last week. Click the link below to see the full list of award recipients.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/IACIO/bulletins/28f1cf1