EasternIowaFarmer_Fall2023

THE ENERGY ISSUE
ABOUT THE JACKSON COUNTY
ENERGY DISTRICT
The Jackson County Energy District formed in 2019 to promote energy
stewardship and economic development. The district also promotes home
energy efficiency audits, LED retrofits and home efficiency upgrades, an
LED bulb exchange, legislator and local leader clean energy tours, school
clean energy education lessons, and facilitating local government zoning
reform to reduce barriers for locally owned solar. Its volunteer board of
directors includes:
Chairman Bruce Fisher of Monmouth,
Vice Chairman Bill Hainstock of Delmar
Secretary Ben Davison of Maquoketa
Treasurer Megan Andresen of Maquoketa
Board member Mike Griffin of Springbrook
Board Member Vickie Putman of Bellevue
Board Member Daryl Parker of Bellevue
Board Member Stephanie Sagers of Maquoketa
For more information, visit
jacksoncounty.energydistrict.org.
an affiliation that helps Jackson County residents
obtain reduced rates on solar array installation and
get them thinking about solar energy.
“We want to support farmers and other residents
in energy efficiency,” said Fisher more recently.
The Jackson County native, who moved to his
small farm in Monmouth after retiring from a career
as an organizational psychologist, said solar power
makes sense in many ways. It’s clean and it is also
“an economic development engine.”
Fisher and the eight other board members have
been working since the energy district’s 2019 formation
on their goal to transition Jackson County to
100% local, renewable energy by 2050. And along
the way, farmers in Eastern Iowa are among the
people the district works to connect with the tools.
“We have a two-fold purpose. First is to drive energy
stewardship in the county,” Fisher said. Second
is “to reap the tremendous economic value associated
with the energy district model.”
The goal, he said, is to reverse the millions of
dollars leaving Jackson County every year to pay
for energy costs.
For farmers, taking advantage of the current federal
incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act to
Let’s get
to work...
together
At Padgett, you’ll find more than a tax
preparer or accountant - you’ll find a true
partner and advisor. As business owners
ourselves, we know the ins and outs of
what it takes to succeed.
We can help you with:
Business & Individual Advisory •
Business & Individual Tax •
Preparation & Planning •
Accounting •
Payroll •
DEWITT | CLINTON | MOLINE | DAVENPORT | ELDRIDGE
STOP BY AND SEE US AT OUR NEW LOCATION: 107 E. QUARRY ST., MAQUOKETA
Pictured left to right: Kelsey
Dodds; Roxanna James; Micaela
Kemp; Brandon Voss, MBA;
John Franzen, EA;
Brianna Boer, CPA;
Michael Voss, EA; and
Dennis Voss, CPA
68 EASTERN IOWA FARMER | FALL 2023 eifarmer.com