Larchwood, Iowa — Over $650,000 in grants were given to non-profit entities by the Lyon County Riverboat Foundation this past week and one of the grants was for a quarter of a million dollars.
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. According to Riverboat Foundation president Jerry Keizer of Doon, this year they received 4.75 percent.
The Lyon County Riverboat Foundation is set up to give half of the money in grants to county government subdivisions and schools, and the other half to non-profit projects.
The largest grant given out this year was to the Lyon County Conservation Foundation. They received $250,000 toward a $1.7 million education center to be built at Lake Pahoja.
Midwest Honor Flight received the next largest grant of $60,000, which will go towards a flight to D.C. this coming spring. All veterans who fly with Honor Flight fly for free.
Receiving just a thousand dollars less — $59,000 — was the George Fire Department and George Emergency Medical Service (or GEMS), who will be expanding their station. The total project cost is estimated at $114,000.
The next largest grant was to the City of Rock Rapids for trail expansion. Years ago, the Rock Island Railroad ran past the northern edge of the city, next to Moon Creek. The City has obtained this property and will construct a recreational trail from the current trail north of Sunshine Foods to North Union Street, along Moon Creek.
Rounding out the top five was the Larchwood/Sioux Fire Board, which is basically the Larchwood Fire Department. They need to purchase a second pumper, which will probably cost over $96,000. Their grant was for $30,000.
Twenty-one other projects also received grants, with the smallest one being a little over $2500.
| Organization | Project Title | Project | Matching | LCRF | |
| Lyon County Conservation Foundation | Education Center | $1,763,023.00 | $1,513,023.00 | $250,000.00 | |
| Midwest Honor Flight | Mission 7 | $145,000.00 | $85,000.00 | $60,000.00 | |
| George Fire and EMS | Station Expansion | $114,000.00 | $55,000.00 | $59,000.00 | |
| City of Rock Rapids | Moon Creek Trail Extension | $62,500.00 | $31,250.00 | $31,250.00 | |
| Larchwood Sioux Fire Board | Fire Truck Chassis | $96,456.00 | $66,456.00 | $30,000.00 | |
| Inwood Recreational Trail | Recreational Trail | $51,828.00 | $23,828.00 | $28,000.00 | |
| Lyon County Ambulance | LIFPAK 15 | $30,947.00 | $5,000.00 | $25,947.00 | |
| City of Doon | Cement Parking by Comm Ctr. | $35,809.00 | $15,000.00 | $20,809.00 | |
| Fellowship Village | Community Utilization | $27,480.00 | $10,500.00 | $16,980.00 | |
| Holy Name Church | Sound system | $31,400.00 | $15,700.00 | $15,700.00 | |
| Doon EMS | Ambulance | $28,000.00 | $14,000.00 | $14,000.00 | |
| Granite Threshers | Audio System Upgrade | $16,062.00 | $2,562.00 | $13,500.00 | |
| Inwood Museum, Inc | Shingling The Museum Annex | $21,103.00 | $11,000.00 | $10,103.00 | |
| GIVE | 6th Annual Charity Golf | $50,000.00 | $40,000.00 | $10,000.00 | |
| City of Inwood | Outdoor Basketball Court | $20,326.00 | $10,326.00 | $10,000.00 | |
| Mid-Sioux | Crisis Assistance | $15,000.00 | $5,000.00 | $10,000.00 | |
| City of Alvord | Playground equipment | $17,999.00 | $8,999.50 | $9,000.00 | |
| Lyon County Fair Assn. | Safety First | $11,796.00 | $3,600.00 | $8,196.00 | |
| Little Rock Town and Country | Cement replacement | $9,500.00 | $2,500.00 | $7,000.00 | |
| Doon Parks and Recreation | City Park Sign | $8,487.00 | $2,000.00 | $6,487.00 | |
| Food Bank of Siouxland, Inc | Mobile Food Pantry Lyon County | $36,094.00 | $26,094.00 | $6,000.00 | |
| St Mary Roman Catholic Church | Security Cameras | $10,589.00 | $5,294.00 | $5,293.00 | |
| Lyon County Sheriff’s Office | 2020 Canine Dog trails | $10,000.00 | $5,000.00 | $5,000.00 | |
| West Lyon School | Library Books | $9,000.00 | $4,000.00 | $5,000.00 | |
| Inwood Fire and Rescue | Rescue Cutters (Jaws of Life) | $6,000.00 | $2,550.00 | $2,550.00 | |
| Rock Rapids Mural Society | McCormack Transportation Mural | $5,059.00 | $2,530.00 | $2,529.00 | |
| totals | $2,633,458.00 | $1,966,213.00 | $662,344.00 |
