(Pacific Junction) -- Federal funding is on the way to a KMAland community still coping with the 2019 Missouri River flooding.
Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne's office announced earlier this week that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded a grant of more than $10.7 million to fund flood recovery efforts in Pacific Junction. Proceeds from the grant will help in the purchase of 127 residential properties substantially damaged by flooding at pre-flood values. Axne's office states the grant allows families in these hopes to move forward after living with mortgages on devastated properties with no ability to see their damaged properties. Speaking on KMA's "Morning Line" program, Axne says she was pleased to hear Pacific Junction was receiving funding.
"I'm glad to see that the money was secured to help with that," said Axne. "We're continuing in our office to ensure that funding is going out there. Now, our tracker shows on our website that in Iowa, we've spent just shy of $560 million, and I'm confident that these grants will keep coming."
While much of the attention is given to the coronavirus pandemic, Axne says parts of the region are still in a recovery mode from last year's flooding.
"Folks in Mills County are still having a real difficult time, as well as in Pottawattamie and Fremont, in some cases," she said. "We've got to make sure that the funding gets there. This is funding that is long overdue, that we continue to push for, and we'll be able to help more people in Pacific Junction get back to normal."
You can hear the full interview with Cindy Axne on our "Morning Line" page at kmaland.com.
