Rock Rapids, Iowa — Lyon County Schools, Cities, and County government continue to win big with grants from the Lyon County Riverboat Foundation.
The foundation is the non-profit license holder for the Grand Falls Casino near Larchwood. State law mandates a certain percentage of the casino’s gaming take has to go back to the community. The agreement between the casino and the non-profit stipulates that for the first $20 million the casino collects in gambling winnings in a year, they will give the foundation 4.5 percent. When they get up to $20 million, the percentage goes up to 4.75 percent; and when they get up to $30 million, it goes to 5 percent.
The Lyon County Riverboat Foundation is set up to give half of the money in grants to county government subdivisions and schools, and half in a competitive grant process to non-profit projects.
The third quarter 2015 non-competitive grants have just been announced. Lyon County public schools — Central Lyon, George/Little Rock, and West Lyon were each granted over $43,000. That brings up their total to over $128,000 per school so far this year, and since the Riverboat Foundation started giving grants in 2011, each school has received over $700,000.
Lyon County cities are given grants on factors that include their population. They ranged from about $13,300 for Lyon County’s smallest incorporated community of Alvord to almost $16,000 for Rock Rapids this time around. That brings the total for the year so far to a low of over $39,000 for Alvord to a high of nearly $47,000 for Rock Rapids. Since the grants started in 2011, the total ranges from over $222,000 for Alvord to over $266,000 for Rock Rapids.
Lyon County was given just over $18,400 this time, bringing the yearly total so far to over $54,000, and the grand total to-date to over $308,000.
The grand total given away to the government subdivisions by the foundation so far is over $4.3 million. Another $4.3 million has been given to non-profit projects in the competitive grant process.
For the specific amounts, Click here.
