Governor Reynolds and Greater Dubuque Community Celebrate Grand Opening of Bright Minds Campus
Event Recap
On Thursday, March 21, 2024, Dubuque Initiatives and Greater Dubuque Development hosted a grand opening celebration for the Bright Minds Campus, situated at 7900 Chavenelle Road on Dubuque’s west end. The event welcomed local elected officials, business leaders, and community members.
Early in the day, Governor Kim Reynolds, accompanied by Director of Iowa Workforce Development Beth Townsend, toured the Bright Minds Campus. They met with representatives from the City of Dubuque, Dubuque Initiatives, Greater Dubuque Development, the Dubuque YMCA, and Dubuque Community Schools. Governor Reynolds commended the collaborative effort that utilized a $2.16 million state grant, awarded to Dubuque Initiatives in 2022, to purchase and renovate the former Medline building into a child care center.
During a public event later in the afternoon attended by nearly 100 people, comments from Governor Reynolds were shared with the crowd. In them, she emphasized the project's spirit of partnership, noting “It's easy to recognize a nationwide problem like the child care shortage; what's much more difficult is to mobilize your community to do something about it. That's exactly what happened here in Dubuque. You didn't wait for anyone else to take action; you did the hard work of creating a locally grounded strategy that could make a lasting impact.”
Testimonials from individuals impacted by the new facility were also delivered, alongside announcements by Greater Dubuque Development regarding developments benefiting county-wide child care expansion efforts.
A highlight of the program was the introduction of the Business Champions of Child Care, a consortium of regional employers committed to matching a 2:1 state grant. Over $859,000 has been pledged thus far, with the John Deere Foundation announcing at the event that they would be contributing $600,000 over three years. This initiative has resulted in the establishment of the Dubuque County Child Care Solutions Fund, totaling over $1.4 million, aimed at enhancing supports for our child care workforce.
As of Tuesday, April 2, 2024, the Business Champions of Child Care comprise:
- Alliant Energy
- City of Dubuque
- DB&T/HTLF
- Dupaco Community Credit Union
- HODGE
- John Deere Foundation
- Medline Industries, Inc.
- Progressive Processing/Hormel Foods
- Q Casino
- Rite-Hite
- Theisen Supply, Inc.
- UnityPoint Health-Finley Hospital
- Woodward Communications, Inc.
- Anonymous donors
Furthermore, recipients of the first phase of Dubuque County Child Care Solutions Fund grant awards were recognized. Administered in partnership with Exceptional Persons, Inc., and Child Care Resource & Referral of Northeast Iowa, the fund assists child care providers in implementing recruitment and retention efforts. Over $621,816.86 has been allocated to sixteen eligible Dubuque County child care providers, facilitating the anticipated hiring of 141 new child care professionals and creation of an estimated 516 new child care slots in Dubuque County. Grantees thus far include:
- ABC Learning Early Childhood Center, LLC
- Aquin Early Childhood Center
- Dubuque Montessori School
- Dubuque YMCA Early Learning Center
- Frog Hollow Kid Campus-Asbury
- Holy Ghost Early Childhood
- Little Treasures Preschool & Daycare
- Little Rascals Daycare & Preschool
- NICC Child Development Center
- Noah’s Ark Child Development Center
- Our Lady of Guadalupe Early Childhood
- Resurrection Early Childhood
- St. Columbkille Early Childhood
- St. Joseph the Worker Early Childhood
- The Kid Project Community Child Care Center
- Young-Uns Preschool & Child Care Center
The grand opening concluded with tours of Phase I of the Dubuque YMCA Early Learning Center and the in-progress Dubuque Community School’s Seedlings Preschool, with a glimpse into Phase II of the YMCA’s development.
For more information about Greater Dubuque Development's efforts to increase county-wide child care capacity, contact Nic Hockenberry, Director of Workforce Programming at 563-557-9049 or nicolash@greaterdubuque.org. Area businesses interested in becoming a Business Champion of Child Care are encouraged to contact, Rick Dickinson, CEO & President of Greater Dubuque Development at 563-557-9049 or rickd@greaterdubuque.org. Contributions to the Dubuque County Child Care Solutions Fund may be tax-deductible; please consult your tax advisor.
