Mid-Iowa Co-Op could expand into northern Grundy County

Officials from Mid Iowa Cooperative met with economic development leaders and the Grundy County Board of Supervisors on Monday morning to discuss a possible expansion north of Grundy Center near The Mill.
           
The Co-Op currently has several locations in southern Grundy County: one in Beaman, an anhydrous plant between Beaman and Conrad, a storage site and a marketing office in Conrad and one between Conrad and Whitten on 310th Street. CEO Mike Kinley said that the company is gauging interest in a new location to better serve its customers in the northern half of Grundy County, and the new facility would be a “top notch” grain storage site.
           
Butler/Grundy Economic Development Alliance Director Jeff Kolb told The Grundy Register that he was encouraged by the supervisors’ positive reaction, which could play a big role in helping the company to choose the Grundy County location over a proposed site in another county.
           
“I know that they looked at this general area as an opportunity to open up to a new market. That’s kind of what’s driving this site selection process,” Kolb said. “From a development standpoint, this is a really good project.”
           
The board voted unanimously to create an urban renewal area and enter into a development agreement with Mid-Iowa for the site just south of The Mill and the Grundy County Industrial Park, and a decision from the company is expected within the next few weeks. According to Kolb, the agreement stipulates that the jobs created pay at or above the median hourly wage in Grundy County. 
 
UPDATE: According to CEO Mike Kinley, Mid-Iowa Cooperative has selected the Grundy County site for its expansion project. A full story will be available in next week's Grundy Register.
 
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