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Downtown Boone outlines grant opportunities and a mural partnership for KWBG building

City Council of Boone, Iowa · May 5, 2026
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Summary

Downtown Boone gave a quarterly update highlighting grant programs (Iowa Challenge up to $100,000; Open for Business up to $25,000; beautification grants up to $1,000), and described a planned mural at the KWBG building using stacked grants and student partnership.

Downtown Boone provided a quarterly briefing during the council meeting, outlining small-business and building-rehabilitation grants and previewing a downtown mural project.

Holly Stecker presented quarterly metrics and described grant opportunities available to downtown businesses and property owners. She said the Iowa Challenge grant (a competitive matching program) can provide up to $100,000 for impactful building rehabilitation and takes nearly a year to process. The Open for Business grant offers up to $25,000 for existing businesses seeking expansion and includes a competitive pitch process with one invitation per community. Downtown Beautification grants are available for businesses in the district at amounts up to $1,000 and are disbursed until funds are exhausted. Stecker also described a temporary reimbursement grant for downtown food and beverage businesses to cover part of a $200 application fee.

Stecker highlighted the planned mural at the KWBG building: Downtown Boone is coordinating with Boone Edge students who identified a repair need and a mural site, and staff plan to pair the downtown beautification and BDIP grants to fund the mural and related wall repairs. She said the economic development committee met at the KWBG building to review the project details.

Why it matters: The grants and the mural aim to support downtown business growth and beautification, creating visual improvements and leveraging student involvement and multiple funding sources.

What’s next: Downtown Boone will roll out the Open for Business invitation process in May for local business owners, and staff will continue fundraising and grant application steps for the mural and other façade projects.