Federal funding could help Pulaski County small businesses

An Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs grant may soon be helping small businesses in Pulaski County. 
Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) recently announced that Pulaski County was one of 42 rural Hoosier communities to receive federal grant funding through the COVID-19 response program. 
Pulaski County will receive $250,000 to provide grants of up to $10,000 that will assist small businesses that have been affected by the pandemic. 
The $10,000 grants will be used as part of the Pulaski County Return to a Better Normal program. Businesses with 20 employees or less that apply for the grant will be considered priority. 
Pulaski County Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan P. Origer took the initiative for the county to apply for the grant after receiving permission from the Pulaski County Commissioners. 
The county received assistance from Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission (K-IRPC) in applying for the grant. 
Origer said the community development commission will be working with K-IRPC to set up the application process because income surveys will have to be completed. 
Origer said he would like to open the application process by October.