CARSON CITY – Gov. Kenny Guinn today was pleased to announce the award of $3,040,000 in funding for economic improvement in Mineral County through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). The funding is designed to upgrade water and sewer infrastructure so a large tract of industrial land adjacent to Hawthorne Army Depot and the Mineral County Airport can be developed into an economic center. It is estimated this will create some 650 plus jobs in Mineral County, along with generating $20 million in private investment in the community.
"This funding is a tremendous shot in the arm for Mineral County and will certainly provide a gigantic boost to the economic vitality of Hawthorne and other nearby communities," Gov. Guinn said. "President Bush has given the EDA the directive to provide financial assistance to meet the economic development needs of rural communities throughout the United States. We are very pleased that Mineral County was included as one of the communities receiving funding."
Guinn noted the EDA grant has a 20 percent local match requirement and that more than $383,000 of that match came from the state Community Development Block Grant program, a division of the Nevada Commission on Economic Development. Additional match funding will come from local sources and in-kind investments. "By making these state financial resources available, local governments, businesses, and non-profit organizations can collaborate and build healthy, viable communities," Gov. Guinn said.
Planning for the economic center in Hawthorne began almost six years ago and came together when businesses committed to locate in the center when improvements were complete. The result is one of the largest EDA grants ever awarded in the nation going to improve rural Nevada.