lbradstream@timesrepublican.com
T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM MHS/Community Auditorium Manager Alan Paxson shows off the new carpet recently placed on the steps of the facility. He said there are 70,000 square feet of carpeting, so replacing everything will occur in stages. The mauve carpet on the steps has been replaced with blue.
An effort is underway to rename the MHS/Community Auditorium to the Marshalltown Performing Arts Center, as well as maintaining its status as a world-class venue.
Bill Fitzgerald, project manager and former member of the MHS/Community Foundation, said good things are in the works for the auditorium.
Times-Republican
Early in December, the United States Small Business Administration released all Payment Protection Program (PPP) loan data for loans less than $150,000.
A total of $949,517.25 went to 277 Marshalltown employers in loans less than $150,000, while a total of $1,574,792.81 in funds went to 37 Marshalltown employers in loans more than $150,000.
Funds from PPP loans have helped businesses keep their employees on payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Small Business Administration will forgive loans if business’s meet employee retention criteria and funds are correctly used for eligible expenses.
The funds must be spent within a 24-week period, and 60 percent of those funds must be spent on payroll while generally maintaining their usual employee count and payroll costs.
Historic Wieting Theatre
Sixty-one Midwestern arts and culture organizations received new COVID-19 relief grants on Nov. 30 from Arts Midwest through Phase 2 of the United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund.
Toledo’s Wieting Theatre was one of nine Iowa arts organizations to receive Resilience Fund support in the amount of a $20,000 grant.
The relief funding comes at a time when the Wieting Theatre has been temporarily closed since March 2020 while the COVID-19 pandemic has remained active.
With little opportunity to create revenue during the pandemic health crisis, non-profit arts organizations like the Wieting Theatre have faced challenges in keeping up with overhead costs as well as being able to invest and plan for a safe future return for their patrons.