MRHD awards $300,000 in scholarship funds to Sioux City college, university students

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - Students attending Sioux City’s 4 colleges and universities will benefit from $300,000 in gifts from Missouri River Historical Development.

The schools-- Morningside University, Briar Cliff University, Western Iowa Tech Community College and St. Luke’s College of Nursing-- each got $75,000 to put towards scholarships for students.

The grants were presented in a ceremony Wednesday afternoon. MRHD has donated money to Sioux City colleges and universities for over a decade. Students who benefitted from the grants are grateful for the opportunity.

”As everyone knows, college is pretty expensive,” said Natalie Cloud, a sophomore at Morningside and a MRHD grant recipient. “So, having that opportunity to just focus on my school and my future is really important to me.”

MRHD is the non-profit partner that holds the gaming license for the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Casino profits fund the grants.

The grants, given out Wednesday, can go to any student of the four colleges and universities if the student graduated from a high school in Woodbury County.

Students can get $2,500 each semester, totaling $5,000 dollars per year. Morningside University leaders say their grant will provide scholarships for 15 students.

MRHD hopes that the grants will encourage local students to stay, live and work in the area after they graduate.

”We want to help any way we can in the community,” said Steve Huisenga, President of MRHD. “I mean, one of our core principles is job creation and job retention. So, we want to keep these younger people in most cases in our community, and we want them to be a part of it.”

With the grants given Wednesday afternoon, MRHD has given over $48,000,000 to Woodbury County non-profits since 1994.

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