Four rural Iowa communities will receive a total of $40,000 in grants from the Empower Rural Iowa Initiative to support revitalization projects, the state announced Monday. Clarion, Clear Lake, Redfield and Stanton each received $10,000 from the Rural BOOST program, which connects local leaders with expert teams to guide growth and development strategies. The funded projects include enhancing trail connections in Clarion, expanding affordable housing in Clear Lake, strengthening community identity in Redfield and developing downtown wayfinding in Stanton. The Empower Rural Iowa grants are administered by IEDA’s Center for Rural Revitalization to towns with fewer than 20,000 residents and are awarded based on economic need, readiness and alignment with state rural development goals. Applications for the next funding round open July 1.