i9 Investigation: Millions of dollars of possible grants for Iowa institutions cut by DOGE

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of possible grants for Iowa institutions have been cut as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency -- or DOGE -- cuts federal spending. That’s according to its savings webpage.

There are three main agencies eligible for the grants that are being cut. The state Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the University of Iowa.

A majority of those grants being cut were for Iowa HHS. It’s losing up to 407 million dollars in eligible grants.

The Department of Ag and Land Stewardship is losing roughly 11 million dollars in eligible grants. That money was set aside to buy food for the school and adult care food programs.

And 9 million dollars worth of possible grants are going away from the University of Iowa. Some of that money was being used to fund the freedom of expression creative writing program.

We asked all three groups about the loss of these funds.

Health and Human Services said in part,

“The funding that has been rescinded was temporary Covid-era funding that we were aware would be ending soon—mostly by June 30, 2025. Because of that, Iowa HHS had already planned to wind down much of this programming.”

Funding streams that will be impacted include block grants for substance abuse prevention and treatment, community mental health services and more.

We are still waiting to hear back from the Department of Ag and Land Stewardship and the University of Iowa how they will be impacted by these cuts.

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