MADISON – Last week, AARP Wisconsin announced that the City of River Falls has received a 2023 Community Challenge Grant – part of the largest group of grantees to date with $3.6 million awarded among 310 organizations nationwide.

River Falls’ $10,000 grant is one of six awarded to projects across the state that will receive a combined $84,300. Other Wisconsin grants were awarded to two projects in Milwaukee and one each in La Crosse, Stevens Point, and Altoona.

“AARP Wisconsin is committed to working with local leaders to improve residents’ quality of life through tangible changes,” said AARP Wisconsin State Director Martha Cranley. “We are proud to collaborate with this year’s grantees as they make immediate improvements in their communities to jumpstart long-term change, especially for Wisconsinites age 50 and over.”

With its $10,000 grant, the City of River Falls will fund safety improvements at the intersection of Main Street and Division Street and demonstrate traffic calming interventions such as high-visibility crosswalk markings and an auditory response system.

“We are thrilled to be selected as one of the grantees,” said Amy Peterson, the city’s Community Development Director. “We look forward to taking our first steps to make some necessary improvements to make this intersection safer – especially for bikers and pedestrians.”

AARP Community Challenge grant projects will be funded in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. True to the program’s quick-action nature, projects must be completed by November 30, 2023.

This year, the AARP Community Challenge accepted applications across three different grant opportunities, including existing flagship grants in addition to new capacity-building microgrants for improving walkability and community gardens. New demonstration grants will focus on improving transportation systems.

This is the seventh year of the grant program. Wisconsin communities that have received grants in previous years include: Appleton, Ashland, Bayfield, Beaver Dam, Berlin, Chilton, Cuba City, Deer Park, Ellsworth, Gays Mills, Green Bay, Greendale, Goodman, La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee, Oconomowoc, Sheboygan, Spooner and Viroqua.

View the full list of grantees and their project descriptions at aarp.org/communitychallenge and learn more about AARP’s livable communities work at aarp.org/livable.

Submitted by AARP Wisconsin