Co-ops in the Community

To help your holiday gift-giving or list-making, we’ve combined a list of electric cooperative-served businesses that offer unique gifts to place under the Christmas tree or in a stocking.

For more than 80 years, electric co-ops have maintained reliable and affordable electric service, provided stable career opportunities and paid taxes, which have vast ripple effects throughout the regions we serve. 

The energy industry depends on such a vast range of abilities offers job seekers a variety of career opportunities. Here are six reasons electric co-ops are a great place to work.

Cooperatives are more than businesses; they are pillars of empowerment, resilience and sustainable development that are shaping Iowa’s local economies.

Driven by their commitment to community, the Touchstone Energy^® Cooperatives of Iowa held their third-annual Shine the Light contest in June to celebrate local volunteers. Meet this year's winners, who are each making a positive difference in their community.

To celebrate local volunteers, the Shine the Light contest returned for a third year and received 126 volunteer nominations during June, an 85% increase from last year! Employees and member-consumers of Iowa’s locally owned electric cooperatives were invited to nominate someone who makes a positive difference in their community.

We all know at least one person who  makes our neighborhood or community a better place to live. Before June 30, enter them in Iowa's electric cooperatives' 2023 statewide Shine the Light contest! Three nominees will ultimately receive $2,500 donations to their local charities.

At the heart of the principles that guide Iowa’s electric cooperatives is the desire to improve the lives of the people and communities they serve. Learn how electric co-ops support growth of rural Iowa hospitals and clinics.

At the end of 2022, CoBank – one of the largest private providers of credit to the U.S. rural economy – released its 2023 Year Ahead report, “Forces that will Shape the U.S. Rural Economy.” The report examines several key factors that will shape agriculture and market sectors that serve rural communities throughout the U.S.

The Iowa Area Development Group and its electric cooperative, municipal utility and independent telecommunication company partners annually recognize growing companies with an Iowa Venture Award. The following companies were honored at a luncheon during the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives’ annual meeting on Dec. 1.