By Sarah Light, staff writer

Federal and state officials visited Albert Lea Thursday to award Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services with a $300,000 rural development grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The money will be used for upgrades and expansion at Albert Lea Medical Center.

&8220;This is exactly what we need to be doing,&8221; First District Congressman Tim Walz said at the event. &8220;This is how government needs to be functioning.&8221;

In attendance with Walz were state USDA Director Steve Wenzel, along with officials from the Albert Lea Medical Center and Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services. Also included were representatives from U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Norm Coleman&8217;s offices.

Tim Thompson, president of Freeborn-Mower, said projects such as this one are shining examples of collaborative projects in the community.

Under the program, the Department of Agriculture gives funds to local utilities, which use the funding to establish revolving loan funds. Loans are made from the revolving loan fund to projects that will create or retain rural jobs.

In this situation, the $300,000 will be like a loan to the ALMC to expand eye care services which include moving the Albert Lea Eye Clinic and Vision Plus to ALMC&8217;s main site and adding a new ophthalmologist.

In the past, Freeborn-Mower has been instrumental in securing $2.2 million in these same types of funds for regional economic development projects, helping to create more than 400 jobs in the region. Other local businesses that have benefited from the funds included Trails Travel Center, Minnesota Corrugated Box, Pro Manufacturing, along with several others.

The Agriculture Department&8217;s Rural Economic Development programs provide funding to rural communities for economic development, job creation, affordable housing, clean water, emergency response equipment and other infrastructure projects. Since 2001, the agency has invested more than $4.5 billion throughout Minnesota.

Any project funded under the program should benefit small and emerging private businesses in rural areas.

Walz said he is proud to be a partner in this grant and that he thinks it shows a return of all the hard work and the vision of many people who were in attendance.

&8220;This is a great community,&8221; he said. &8220;It&8217;s best years still lie ahead of it.&8221;