U.S. Department of Labor Awards $3 Million in National Dislocated Worker Funding to Iowa for Storm Recovery Activities

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today approved a Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grant (DWG) awarded to Iowa Workforce Development to assess workforce needs in response to recent storms and floods affecting more than half of the state. On March 12, 2019, a major storm system, described as a “bomb cyclone,” brought heavy rains and unusually warm temperatures after a winter of substantial snow and cold temperatures, resulting in historic flooding. Rising water levels breached levees along multiple waterways, leaving entire towns underwater and prompting community evacuations.

Iowa received a major disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on March 23, 2019, which allows the state to request DWG funding to assist with cleanup activities in the following counties declared eligible for FEMA’s Public Assistance Program: Adair, Allamakee, Audubon, Boone, Bremer, Buena Vista, Butler, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Cherokee, Clay, Crawford, Dallas, Decatur, Dickinson, Emmet, Fayette, Franklin, Fremont, Greene, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Howard, Humboldt, Ida, Iowa, Jasper, Kossuth, Lyon, Madison, Mahaska, Marshall, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, O’Brien, Osceola, Page, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Polk, Pottawattamie, Sac, Shelby, Sioux, Tama, Union, Webster, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Woodbury, and Wright.

Supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, Dislocated Worker Grants temporarily expand the service capacity of dislocated worker training and employment programs at the state and local levels by providing funding assistance in response to large, unexpected economic events that cause significant job losses.