Dubuque Dream Center seeks $20 million federal grant

Dubuque Dream Center and city officials are pairing up to seek federal funds to construct a storm shelter and community center facility while also developing a program to train local residents with skills that can help rehabilitate older homes. The $20 million grant request has three components: job training for young adults at the Dream Center, weatherizing and making public health improvements to older homes and building a community center onto Dubuque Dream Center Academy — the old Fulton Elementary school — that would act as a “climate resilience hub” for residents to seek refuge during natural disasters, according to City Council documents. Th e initiative is outlined in a grant application to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that is scheduled to come before the City Council at its Monday, Nov. 18, meeting. About $16.6 million of the grant would go toward construction costs, primarily for the community resilience hub at the school. The remainder would pay for programming and supplies.