05/14/2026
Meet the North Iowa Area Council Of Governments (North Iowa Area Council Of Governments), serving the counties of Cerro Gordo, Floyd, Franklin, Hancock, Kossuth, Mitchell, Winnebago, and Worth as well as their 67 cities!
With 48 dedicated staff members, NIACOG is a regional leader in planning, housing, transportation, community development, and transit services.
2025 WINS🏆
- Provided 200,000+ rides to mostly elderly and disabled North Iowans which helped them to reach the doctor, work, grocery stores, and family and friends. Many riders comment that without Region 2 Transit, they would not be able to reach these key destinations!
- Awarded the third of three $2 million grants to renovate electric grids for the cities of Corwith, Bancroft, and Algona, which will greatly reduce monthly outages which had averaged as much as 1.25 per month in one community. This creates stability for business, those who work from home, and the elderly who rely on dependable electricity for their healthcare.
- Spearheaded the first North Iowa Housing Conference with 30 speakers, 150 attendees, 3 tracks of sessions, 27 participating on the inter-agency planning crew, and 10 meetings between cities and developers to initiate housing development projects.
COMING IN 2026 🔜
A $4 million Career Education Training Center will open in Hampton this fall, supported by a $3 million grant from the Economic Development Administration with NIACOG as grant writer and administrator. This center will train high schoolers (and adults) to work for local employers in need of workers and will help stabilize the population base, as 20% of young workers are being lost through out-migration.
CLAIM TO FAME 🤩
The NIACOG region is best known for:
- The last remaining hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
- The world’s largest RV manufacturer (Winnebago Industries)
- "The Day the Music Died," when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" were killed in a plane crash after a concert at The Surf Ballroom
