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County approves applying for rural business grant for battery backups; local group unveils $90,000 solar trailer
Summary
Des Moines County authorized applying for a Rural Business Development Grant to fund an emergency battery backup bank (no local match required) and heard public comment that a $90,000 solar trailer has been secured to provide community backup power and education.
The Des Moines County Board of Supervisors on June 30 passed a resolution authorizing the county Emergency Management Agency to apply for a Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG) to fund an emergency battery backup bank and designated the emergency management coordinator as the authorized representative.
"The battery backup will provide support for emergency responders during assisting individuals who rely on electrically powered medical equipment during a power outage," a board member said during the discussion, noting the grant requires no local match.
During public comment, Kenny Olsen of Des Moines County said the community also secured a separate $90,000 grant to purchase a solar-powered trailer intended as a public asset for outages and education. "It's a 7 by 16 foot trailer…on the inside it's got enough battery to power a standard American home for 4 days," Olsen said, and he said the trailer would be dropped off to the sheriff and unveiled at the farmer's market for demonstrations and training.
County staff described how a battery backup bank and a trailer-based lending library for portable batteries could help residents who rely on CPAP machines, refrigerated insulin and other electrically powered medical equipment during outages. The board approved the resolution to apply for the RBDG and designated the emergency management coordinator as the grant administrator.
Officials said the RBDG would not require a local match. Board members thanked staff and community partners for identifying grant opportunities and emphasized the potential for these assets to support emergency response and community resilience.
Next steps include grant application submission and coordination with emergency responders and the hospital system to set up training and lending procedures for battery equipment if funding is awarded.
