The state Environmental Protection Commission has given grants to six Iowa small towns to help them deal with run-down buildings.

The D-N-R’s Reid Bermel oversees the Derelict Building Grant Program which selects communities with five thousand or fewer residents for the grants…

This year’s grant awardees include Ida Grove, as well as Coon Rapids, Glidden, Rockford, Greene, New Market, and Menlo. Several of the projects will redevelop buildings for retail or housing.

Bermel says a lot of the material from the buildings can go to new uses…

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The program’s funding is capped at 400 thousand dollars annually. The Derelict Building Grant Program has funded nearly 200 projects since 2012 in more than 100 different communities.

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(thanks to Radio Iowa/Iowa Public Radio)