Iola received word this week it has received a $350,000 grant to go toward the purchase of a new fire engine.
The federal grant comes through the Kansas Small Cities Community Development Block Grant program. Thrive Allen County applied for the grant on the city’s behalf.
A new fire engine is estimated to cost $700,000, according to Jon Wells, mayor of Iola.
Wells said it is replacing Engine 311, a vehicle that “has plagued the Iola Fire Department with problems for years. Since being added to the fleet in 2010, the truck has been in the repair shop no less than 40 times and has been out of commission for 330 days, violating performance requirements.