During Wednesday morning’s regular meeting, the Marshall County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a funding application through the Iowa Department of Transportation’s (IDOT’s) Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy (RISE) grant program that would allow for paving improvements to Binford Avenue and 245th Street and a turn lane off of Highway 30 to accommodate the development and expansion of Marshall Ridge Farms, which is located just outside of State Center.

As has been previously discussed, the growth of Marshall Ridge, already one of the largest dairy farms in Iowa, coincides with the construction of a massive new Daisy Sour Cream plant in Boone, which is expected to be fully operational by 2028. County Engineer Paul Geilenfeldt said consultants from Snyder and Associates prepared the grant application, and he noted that while Marshall Ridge is expected to expand to 15,000 head of dairy cattle, the whole Daisy plant will still require 40,000 head.

“It’s a big deal,” Geilenfeldt said.

The expansion, he added, will create 55 new jobs at Marshall Ridge and another 20 at Johnson Livestock, which hauls animals there — in all, 75 new jobs and a $41 million investment.

“So what we’re applying for with this RISE grant is help with funding the paving of Binford Avenue from Highway 30, which is right in the middle of that picture there, down to 245th Street. And we would take 245th Street to the east to Brown Avenue, not quite to the curve there.”

In response to a question from Board Chairwoman Carol Hibbs, Geilenfeldt described the 245th Street/Canfield Avenue curve as “miserable” for haulers to get around, and he said local resources would be expended to adjust it and make it easier for drivers going forward.

“It’s really touch and go when it gets wet out there and when we have snow drifts,” he said.

Hibbs asked about Canfield, and Geilenfeldt said both it and Binford are currently used as entry points off of Highway 30.

“My thought is I programmed the Binford and 245th Street improvement for (fiscal year) ’27, and sometime during the summer of ’26, we get in there and improve that curve at Canfield and 245th because there’ll be times when they have to use Canfield when you’ve got construction,” he said. “So if they have to go that way, I want to get that curve improved.”

Along with the RISE grant, Geilenfeldt said he also plans to apply for County-State Traffic Engineering Program (C-STEP) funds for work on Highway 30 at the Binford Avenue intersection — the proposal is an offset right turn for eastbound traffic and a left-turn acceleration lane on the westbound side to give haulers a spot to get up to speed before they merge into westbound 30. It could provide up to $200,000 toward an estimated $580,000 project.

Geilenfeldt joked that he hadn’t worked on state or U.S. highways in the past as a “county guy,” and he believed it would take around 90 days to hear about the C-STEP funding request. He said Daisy was working to get a special permit for a 100,000 pound hauler, which isn’t currently allowed in Iowa.

Hibbs said that in her understanding, RISE grants hadn’t typically been awarded to transportation projects in the past, but it’s being considered because of the potential for major job creation.

“For the immediate opportunity grant, which is the path we’re going… the funding level is all based on added jobs, and that’s what puts the cap on what you’re applying for,” Geilenfeldt said. “We are applying for over $1 million in RISE funds (and) the C-STEP of $200,000. To get this done, it will take $783,000 of farm to market money, and we do have that available to us to be used in the next couple of years.”

Geilenfeldt wasn’t exactly sure on a timeline for hearing about the RISE grant, but he said he had heard of a couple of “big fish” competing for the money. Hibbs felt the Marshall Ridge expansion was “a good project.”

“It’s gonna be a good sized project and a lot of moving parts. If I said I wasn’t nervous, I’d be lying,” Geilenfeldt replied.

Once the discussion wrapped up, Supervisor Kevin Goodman motioned to approve the application, and it received unanimous support from the board.

In other business, the board:

• Approved a contract with Petersen Contractors Inc. (PCI) of Reinbeck in the amount of $844,203.75 for a bridge over Minerva Creek near Durham Avenue north of Clemons.

• Approved the consent agenda and hires list as presented.

• Recognized Assessor Blaze Wurr and Assistant Auditor/Recorder Jessica Chizek for 10 years of service to Marshall County.

• During the public forum period, heard concerns from rural Marshalltown resident Joel Hayes about his neighbors’ chickens and dogs causing issues on his property and the neighbors possibly running an unregistered business.

• During the public comment period, discussed a possible low water stream crossing at a bridge north of Liscomb along the Hardin County line with Geilenfeldt.