More than 5,800 Iowa students have received the new Future Ready Iowa Last-Dollar Scholarship for fall 2019, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced today. Early numbers show more than $6.6 million has been awarded for the fall semester, which is more than half of the $13 million appropriated by the Iowa Legislature for the 2019-20 academic year. “This scholarship is a critical tool for growing incomes, closing the skills gap, and helping meet the needs of a competitive economy,” Reynolds said in a news release. This is the first semester the Last-Dollar Scholarship has been available. It focuses on meeting business and industry workforce needs in four key areas: health care and biosciences; information technology; advanced manufacturing production, installation and maintenance; and construction and engineering. The scholarship covers tuition and qualified fees for postsecondary credentials up to two-year degrees after an eligible student has applied other non-repayable state and federal aid. The average award for fall 2019 is $1,132.