Polk County Conservation loses AmeriCorps funding

Flashback: The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) abruptly terminated nearly $400 million in AmeriCorps grant funding nationwide in April.

• That affects 568 AmeriCorps members across 15 programs in Iowa, according to an advocacy email from Bondurant City Council Member Chad Driscoll.
• PCC has partnered with AmeriCorps for the last decade.

State of play: The funding was meant for 24 AmeriCorps members who were supposed to help county conservation staff part-time during the busy summer season by holding educational programming for the public or working on maintaining some of the county lands, like Brown's Woods.

• The county employs around 100 full-time-equivalent staff.
• "Somebody offhandedly said to me, it's like cutting 25% of their summer workforce," Lown said.

By the numbers: 19 of the affected members will be able to finish their current term this summer through alternate funding.

• PCC closed three of its open natural resources positions and cut an existing education-focused position.
• A coordinator position will also be cut within a month, according to Lown.

What's next: The county is still figuring out its staffing shortages and how programs will be impacted, Lown said.