Minburn receives more than $2M to upgrade aging water infrastructure

MINBURN – A small, Dallas County community is set to break ground on significant upgrades to its water infrastructure following a $2 million grant and $600,000 loan from U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development. 

Joe Stuetelberg, the mayor of Minburn, said the city’s current pipes were installed in the 1950s, have “constant” water main-line breaks and pressure flows that are so “inadequate” that the volunteer fire department can hardly fight fires in the town and some residents can’t take showers in upstairs bathrooms. 

He said the system also lacks proper valving systems, which means when there is a main break, the city has to “shut the entire town down” and issue boil orders until the repair is completed. 

“With the tremendous support of Congressman (Zach) Nunn and his office, as well as the great partnership with the USDA Rural Development office, I’m proud to say that the future generations of Minburn residents will have one less challenge in the coming years,” Stuetelberg said. 

Stuetelberg worked with Nunn’s office to request Community Project Funding for the infrastructure upgrades. The funding request was eventually approved by the House appropriations committee before it could be distributed through the Rural Development office. 

Nunn, speaking in Minburn Friday, said when Stuetelberg came to his office to talk about the grant, his jacket smelled like smoke from working with the volunteer fire department in the city. 

“He was trying to pump out a fire through a two-inch pipe,” Nunn said. “This is the reality: The men and women on the front line for our community, the ones most invested for this, also have to dual hat. Not just being mayor, not just being a fireman, but also making sure that the infrastructure is here for the next generation.” 

The process of getting the grant took several years, during which time Stuetelberg said the city “started raising water rates slowly” to help build the funds for the project which will replace main and distribution lines throughout the city as well as adding necessary valve systems. 

“The citizens are paying, you know, but we obviously can’t afford to charge them $2 million,” Stuetelberg said. 

Stuetelberg said construction is anticipated to begin in the spring.

Rachel Wacker, executive director for the Greater Dallas County Development Alliance, said the funding will help Minburn provide the “basic infrastructure” that will be “critical” for the city as population continues to increase in the county.

“It’s not just for business attraction or population attraction, these things are very important for the retention of our existing businesses and our existing residents in Minburn,” Wacker said. 

The city of about 320 people gets its water from Xenia Rural Water District, a member of the regional water authority Central Iowa Water Works. 

Tami Madsen, CIWW’s executive director, noted lawn watering restrictions the regional authority has had to exercise the past two summers and said that in Iowa, “water quality and water quantity cannot be separated.” 

“These challenges reinforce why investments in both source water protection and drinking water infrastructure are so important,” Madsen said. “We need to continue improving water quality upstream while also investing in the treatment plants, wells, reservoirs, transmission systems, and other infrastructure necessary to provide reliable drinking water.” 

Nunn, who is running for reelection in a competitive race against Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott, mentioned several water-infrastructure and quality bills he has supported in the House and his efforts to improve groundwater monitoring and lead-pipe replacements in Iowa. 

Recently, the House passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2026, which in part calls for a study of the Saylorville Reservoir, a wetland restoration project in southern Iowa and several Iowa watershed studies. 

USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Glen Smith was also in Minburn for the presentation of funding and noted the ratio of grant to loan awarded to Minburn was “very outstanding.” Typically communities are awarded a large loan and a small grant amount, not the other way around. 

“When people in rural America turn on the tap, they should deserve a clean glass of water,” Smith, who hails from Iowa, said. “That’s exactly what we’re here for, is to provide that real infrastructure, in communities like Minburn, for now, for everyday life and for the future.”