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When it comes to strengthening Iowa’s small towns and farming communities, the Empower Rural Iowa (ERI) initiative is leading the way. Originally created by Governor Kim Reynolds in 2018, ERI is a partnership with the Iowa Rural Development Council and is currently co-chaired by Lieutenant Governor Chris Cournoyer. The initiative was designed to address the challenges facing rural America and to make sure it remains connected, supported, and positioned for growth.
Cournoyer may have been on the job for a little less than a year, but she uses her rural Iowa background of living in a border community on the Mississippi River to help give a voice to those unique needs. She is leading the transition to reach new goals set by the Governor.
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The original structure of ERI featured three primary goals of investing, growing, and connecting. The focus on housing shortages, business transitions, leadership development, workforce retention, broadband access, and more. In 2023, an updated executive order streamlined the initiative into one committee with a sharper focus: acting as a start-up incubator for rural policy. This approach allows ERI to test new ideas, ease collaboration, and then get successful projects to state agencies or organizations that can scale them statewide.
Some of these programs include the Rural Innovation Grant Program, designed to support community-based projects; the Rural Housing Assessment Grant Program, which helps towns to address housing needs; and the Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Grant Initiative, which expands reliable internet access.
From tackling food deserts to supporting job growth, the ERI initiative continues to focus on one core mission: investing in people, growing opportunities, and connecting rural America so Iowa’s communities can thrive.