Shannon Berns, Consultant for the West Central Minnesota Small Business Development Center and Alexandria Technical and Community College Foundation Board member, applauded the use of COVID-19 recovery funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in Douglas County, Minnesota. funding, including $500,000 from ARP, has supported both unemployed workers and small businesses through community college retraining scholarships.
While both sources of funding have supported communities, ARP funding has been immensely successful at reaching local communities and being flexible enough to be spent on needs communities identify. Every county in the US receiving funds, and restrictions in the CARES Act, such as the requirement to spend funds on specific cleaning materials, are gone from ARP, allowing communities to solicit residents’ input on needs and effectively spend the funds on those needs.
