IOWA FALLS, Iowa — The Iowa Valley Community College District Board of Directors approved a series of workforce-focused investments at its Sept. 9 meeting, including new authority to administer commercial driver’s license testing and more than $100,000 in design work for expanded trades training space at Ellsworth Community College.
District becomes third-party CDL tester
The Board approved a 28E agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation making Iowa Valley Community College District an authorized third-party tester for commercial driver’s licenses. Under the agreement, rather than referring students elsewhere to test, the District can administer the full CDL testing sequence, which includes pre-trip vehicle inspection, basic control skills, on-road driving, and the general and specialized knowledge exams.
This will allow students in the District’s new CDL training program to test locally, removing a logistical barrier that has slowed other regional CDL programs, and it keeps the full training-to-licensure pipeline inside the District.
$102,000 approved for ECC trades space
The Board approved two proposals with Clapsaddle-Garber Associates (CGA) tied to trades and industry space at Ellsworth Community College:
- $31,500 for civil design services — topographic and location survey, site design, and construction documents — for a proposed new Trades Building on the ECC campus.
- $70,500 for architectural design services to renovate and modernize the existing Trades & Industries Building, including the shop area, Maker Room, and Lecture Hall, plus optional surface improvements to the welding classroom and adjacent offices and public spaces.
Both projects are funded through the Career Academy Incentive Fund (CAIF) grant.
Network security upgrade approved
The Board approved a three-year, $69,735.47 agreement with DataVizion for SecureW2's JoinNow Dynamic PKI platform, which will replace password-based logins with secure digital credentials across the district's wired and wireless networks — a move intended to reduce unauthorized access as more students, employees, and guests connect personal devices to campus systems.
MCC golf event raises $50,000 for students, athletics
The Board also recognized the success of the inaugural Jerry Johnson Legacy Pro-Am, held Aug. 18 at Elmwood Country Club in Marshalltown. The event raised $50,000, split evenly between the Marshalltown Education Partnership and Marshalltown Community College Athletics, with full proceeds going toward student support. Emerson served as title sponsor and Buzbee Ventures as presenting sponsor.
Looking ahead
The Board's meeting comes shortly before Marshalltown Community College breaks ground on its new student housing project: a roughly $2.5 million expansion adding 64 beds, built in part by MCC Construction students, as part of the College’s 100th anniversary “Building What's Next” campaign, which includes a capital campaign to support the construction project. The groundbreaking is set for 11 a.m. Sept. 10 in Marshalltown.