Just down the hill from Newton Correctional Facility, you'll find the 100-acre lot where one of Iowa's most exciting and impactful programs carries out its daily operations. The program in question is IPI's home building program, which since partnering with the non-profit organization Homes for Iowa in 2019, has constructed and delivered over 150 homes to communities across the state. On October 13th, we had the pleasure of hosting Lieutenant Governor Chris Cournoyer for her visit to the home building site and a delivery ride-along.
The morning began with introductions, with several key figures from the operation in attendance, including HFI Executive Director David Miller and IPI Director Bob Fairfax. From there, the Lieutenant Governor was given a tour of the lot, where she was able to learn more about the program and see homes in all different stages of construction being worked on in real time. The number of homes on site at once is typically around 20, so there were plenty of projects and different models to view.
As soon as the tour came to a close, it was then time to load the house onto the moving truck and hit the road. The Lt. Governor even chose to take the ride-along experience a step further and ride passenger in the truck with IPI's driver! The delivery location was in Newton, about 10-15 minutes away from the build site. Granted, the trip takes a little bit longer when you have a 1200 sq ft home to maneuver through winding side streets. So though the trip was less than 10 miles, it provided a great look at all of the effort that goes into making a delivery; road signs and powerlines had to be cleared to make way for the house, and every single turn presented a slightly varying challenge. Thanks to the work of our moving crew, the house finally reached its destination without incident.