A local farm equipment supplier is hosting an open house this coming week to celebrate a road paving project that was funded in part by the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Premier 1 Supplies located southwest of Washington is hosting the open house from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday for people to tour the facilities, see border collie demonstrations, and learn more about the company. This follows the completion of a paving project of about 2.82 miles of road on Kiwi Avenue from 300th to 290th streets, 300th Street from Kiwi Avenue west approximately a half mile, and 290th Street between Highway 1 and Kiwi Avenue. Premier 1 Supplies CEO Ben Rothe shares who was instrumental in helping get a DOT Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy (RISE) grant of $250,000, “I’d love to give credit to David Collins who is no longer with us. He passed away in the last year, but he was very important in helping us kind of get the project going and see it through. And he’s the one that sort of got the DOT and the county involved and really made it happen.”

The county paid about $775,000 for the $1.6 million project. The business is also putting $6.5 million in capital investment for an expansion that is expected to create 25 new full-time jobs. The public is welcome to attend the open house, and El Gringo Loco and Cafe Dodici will be offering street tacos and appetizers. For a link to RSVP, visit here.