Reynolds

DES MOINES — Gov. Kim Reynolds established a task force to address housing concerns following the July 19 tornado in Marshalltown.

The Wednesday morning announcement of the task force came after Rep. Rod Blum’s visit to Marshalltown Tuesday afternoon. At the meeting, Marshalltown Mayor Joel Greer said that only 36 percent of the houses that Mid-Iowa Community Action is dealing with are insured.

“As we’ve assisted Marshalltown citizens impacted by the tornado, it’s become apparent that lack of available housing is an issue,” Gov. Reynolds said in a statement Wednesday. “I brought this task force together to coordinate and leverage the resources and expertise each member organization can bring to the table. I want a dedicated team to meet the needs of Marshalltown and its residents as they rebuild.”

The 2018 Long Term Housing Recovery Task Force, which had its first meeting on Tuesday in Marshalltown, is comprised of representatives from local, state and federal agencies, along with voluntary agency partners. The task force members will collaborate to identify available resources and provide an overall network of assistance to support immediate and long-term housing recovery goals, Reynolds said.

The task force will share information and data to assist in housing recovery, ensure coordination among government and nonprofit agency partners, identify unmet needs and potential resources to meet those needs and deploy resources to support Marshalltown’s long-term housing recovery goals, Reynolds said.

Organizations represented at the first task force meeting include:

· American Red Cross

· Central Iowa RSVP

· City of Marshalltown

· Federal Emergency Management Agency

· Habitat for Humanity

· Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management

· Iowa Department of Human Services

· Iowa Disaster Human Resource Council

· Iowa Economic Development Authority

· Iowa Finance Authority

· Iowa Legal Aid

· Iowa Mennonite Disaster Service

· Marshall County

· Mid-Iowa Community Action

· U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development

· U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

· United Way of Marshalltown

Additional organizations may be asked to join the task force as additional partners are identified and engaged.