Altoona parks, library, police and fire to benefit from Prairie Meadows’ grants
Altoona parks, library, police and fire to benefit from Prairie Meadows’ grants
ALTOONA, Iowa – The City of Altoona, its residents and visitors will benefit from nearly $250,000 in grant funding awarded by Prairie Meadows. This grant funding will be allocated for specific funding benefiting the City of Altoona Parks Department, the Altoona Public Library, the Altoona Police Department and the Altoona Fire Department. “Grant funding has the tendency to be truly transformational to our community, and this news is no exception. We’re so very grateful for the partnership we have with Prairie Meadows as their hometown now for 35 years. The wonderful work they do across central Iowa, and here in Altoona, is a gamechanger for our region,” shares Altoona Mayor, Dean O’Connor.
Funding provides for enhanced safety and adaptive fun for all at Sam Wise Youth Complex
As part of the grants awarded to the city, Prairie Meadows is providing $170,000 in funding for the fourth and final phase of work at Sam Wise Youth Complex. Over the past several years, the city has worked in stages to update the 40-year-old complex by replacing trail, replacing fencing around ball fields, updating dugouts and bleachers, and improving field drainage. Sam Wise hosts thousands of youth athletes and visitors a year and its 20 play and practice fields are used by the Greater Altoona Girls Softball Association (GAGSA) and the SEP Little League.
As part of the final phase of work, the city will ensure that Sam Wise continues to be a space for all to with the addition of new adaptive and accessible playground equipment to supplement the play space at the complex. This will provide a place for children of all abilities to use, whether they are attending or participating in a tournament at the park, or if they are an Altoona resident or visitor looking for an adaptive play space. In addition to the addition of new inclusive playground equipment, emergency pedestals will be placed throughout the park to assist anyone utilizing the space in case of emergency to be able to quickly connect with officials to request help.
Additional study space on the way at Altoona’s Public Library
Prairie Meadows is funding a $25,000 grant for the Altoona Public Library which will be used to purchase a meeting pod. This enclosed module will provide a collaboration space for up to 6 people to use. The library has only seen demand increase for its current study and meeting spaces, so the addition of this pod will provide additional space to accommodate these requests in the existing footprint. The pod will provide flexibility as it can be moved around the library as needed to accommodate any future changes to the building’s layout.
New training options for the Altoona Fire Department
A third Prairie Meadows grant award will ensure that Altoona’s Fire Department can continue to be a leader in training for its staff as it works to serve Altoona and surrounding central Iowa communities. Prairie Meadows is awarding $25,000 in funding to go towards the purchase of a new fire extinguisher and fire attack simulator. This package will allow the Fire Department to fulfill one of its most frequent requests, to hold more public training courses with members of the public to showcase how to utilize fire extinguishers in case of an emergency. This training will be key to helping residents and business owners be better prepared to handle a fire, especially in the early stages of an outbreak.
Immersive training tool helps prepare Altoona Police Officers for real-world scenarios
Finally, Prairie Meadows is funding $25,000 towards the Altoona Police Department, which will be allocated towards part of the funding needed for a VIRTRA V-300 training simulator. This interactive system includes a library of hundreds of scientific and research-based, real-world scenarios for officers to experience. This program is an immersive experience with 300-degree wraparound video and surround sound, allowing officers to feel as if they are really in the depicted scenario. The system includes electric impulses to safely induce stress and show immediate negative consequences to actions officers carry out in the training simulation. This allows officers to train in a way that would improve their performance in a stressful, real-world situation that they might encounter as part of their role on the police force.
About the City of Altoona
Altoona is located in Polk County, Iowa about five miles from Des Moines. Altoona houses more than 21,000 residents and has one of the lowest city tax rates in the metro area. We are conveniently located approximately 20 minutes from the Des Moines International Airport and about 15 minutes from the Ankeny Airport. We offer many large city amenities but with small town quality and convenience. Altoona offers beautiful recreational trails, parks, an abundance of shopping and restaurant opportunities and our entertainment is renowned. More information about the City of Altoona, Iowa is available at altoona-iowa.com.
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