The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

University receives grant

University of Iowa coffers are flush with more money.

Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, announced in an April 25 press release that the UI received a $1.4 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The grant serves as a reimbursement for using an alternative power source after the UI Power Plant was damaged in the 2008 flood.

The plant was submerged under 22 feet of water during the flood. It was out of service for 16 weeks, which caused power interruptions to hospital and research functions and cost $20 million to repair.

The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and other university buildings relied on existing backup boilers and installed temporary boilers to compensate for the plant’s loss.

University officials mulled a replacement plant in 2010. It was planned to cost $70 million and be built in the Finkbine golf course parking lot by 2013. The project never materialized.

The state Board of Regents recently authorized the university to begin planning for a project to update the plant’s steam generating boilers at the cost of $9 million. Plant boilers must be in compliance with new federal emissions guidelines by January 2016.

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