Photo belongs to the Iowa Rural Development Council

A pilot statewide grant program has chosen four communities, with Perry being one of them.

The Iowa Rural Development Council (IRDC) recently named the Perry Chamber of Commerce as a recipient of the Rural Business Initiative, as sponsored by a $200,000 grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation. A press release from the IRDC states that with the closure of the Tyson Foods Pork Plant back in June that laid off more than 1,200 employees, the small businesses in Perry saw added challenges that came with that situation. The IRDC states that the grant funds will be used for the small businesses to revive a pandemic-era grant program to help those entities that are in need of capital for products, services, marketing, improvements and reconnecting with resources for skill building and networking.

According to IRDC, the organization will work with Wells Fargo Bank branches, the Iowa Small Business Development Centers, and the Iowa Center for Economic Success to monitor the situation in Perry, and the three other communities that were chosen including the city of Minden, Pathfinders RC&D Region and West Branch Main Street.