Nishna Productions hosts open house for new center
Bill Menner, USDA Rural Development State Director in Iowa, participated in an open house and dedication activities for Nishna Productions, Inc.’s new training center in Red Oak Oct. 25.
“We are extremely pleased to be assisting Nishna Productions, Inc. with this building project that will offer a wide variety of services to the community,” Menner said. “Work centers like this one in Red Oak provide opportunities for people with disabilities to gain useful vocational training while earning a wage.”
The new 16,000-square foot work center building allowed Nishna Productions, Inc. to combine two work center programs which were housed in different facilities.
The new facility will also allow the organization to expand into additional work programs and enhance the training and education services it currently provides for persons with developmental disabilities.
For example, the organization is planning a new commercial laundry enterprise.
USDA Rural Development in Iowa is assisting the project by providing a $426,000 loan and $99,500 grant. The total cost of the new building project is estimated to be $1.4 million.
Nishna Productions, Inc. was founded in 1974 to help individuals with disabilities.
Today, the organization has facilities in Shenandoah, Malvern, Sidney, Glenwood, Council Bluffs, along with Red Oak and serves more than 200 individuals with disabilities and employs 150 staff.
This past year USDA Rural Development’s investment in Iowa helped create and retrain more than 1,900 jobs, aided 2,000 families in buying their own homes and assisted more than 80 communities as they made improvements to their facilities, services and infrastructure.
“Our agency is eager to build on the success of the past and help foster an even brighter future for rural Iowa,” Menner added. “If you have an idea on how jobs can be created in rural Iowa, or how a rural community can improve the quality of life experience for their residents, give us a call today.”
For more information about finance programs available through USDA Rural Development, please call the office located in Atlantic at 712-243-2107, Extension 4.
This office serves communities, businesses and residents in Adams, Audubon, Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, Shelby and Taylor counties.