Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announces new rural development investments at Iowa State Fair

Source: Nebraska Examiner

By: Robin Opsahl - August 10, 2025 10:50 am

DES MOINES — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins came to the Iowa State Fair Saturday to compete in the Governor’s Charity Steer Show — and to announce $152 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture investments for Iowa rural development projects.

Before heading to the Livestock Pavillion to show the steer Snoop Dog, Rollins announced that 19 projects in Iowa would receive funding through USDA Rural Development grant and loan programs. The announcement was made at a news conference where she was joined by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and state Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig.

Approved projects include a $37 million loan for the Guthrie County Hospital in Guthrie Center to expand and renovate its facility, a $5 million grant and $39 million loan for the City of Emmetsburg to replace its wastewater treatment facility, and a $27.7 million loan to the Southern Sioux County Rural Water System for the building of new wells, a treatment plant and transmission lines in Plymouth and Sioux Counties.

“This unprecedented, coordinated rural development project will help boost the rural economies, develop rural infrastructure and encourage private investments,” Rollins said.


U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins presented the steer Snoop Dog at the Governor’s Charity Steer Show during the Iowa State Fair Aug. 9, 2025. (Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)


Read more: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/08/10/agriculture-secretary-brooke-rollins-announces-new-rural-development-investments-at-iowa-state-fair/