Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance awarded grant for “The Uptown Cell”

Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Economic Development Authority recently announced more than $500,000 in grant funding will be awarded to rural communities across the state through the Governor’s Empower Rural Iowa Initiative.

The Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance was awarded $10,000 to renovate the second floor of the Chamber office to be used as a new work-based learning center for area schools called “The Uptown Cell.”

“This is exciting because this is a project that we get to work on with the schools,” said Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance Executive Vice President Kristi Perry. “We have a second room to our office space that we always thought it could be used for more things. We have been having a class come down here and use the space for general meetings. The students like getting off campus.”

Work based learning is an instructional strategy that enhances classroom learning by connecting it to the workplace. Students gain work experience while also learning academic and technical skills.

A group of students from the Mt. Pleasant High School Civic Engagement and Learning Lab (CELL) class is helping to transform the upstairs area into a space that students can use to work on projects and presentations and to meet with business leaders from the community.

“A lot of this is being driven by the students and the CELL class at the high school,” said Perry. “We see that it has so much potential for others to use as well.”

“The space can be used during school hours for students and after hours with a schedule that we are working on,” said Perry. “The upstairs area that we are also turning into a lounge or retreat area, has one of the most beautiful views of downtown Mt. Pleasant. We see that space as an area for companies to go to be creative.”

The upstairs renovation will allow for chamber members to have a great space for small group meetings, staff retreats and more. The Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance and the Mt. Pleasant Area Development Commission will match the $10,000 for a total project cost of $20,000.