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News Brief

June 6, 2025 |  By: Gavin McGough

Nodaway County Commissioners distribute Tenaska funds yearly

Billy Mackie, center, accepts the donation from Commissioner Bill Walker.

Since completing its wind farm north of Maryville in 2020, the Omaha-based company Tenaska has donated funds to local organizations as a means of giving back. The Nodaway County Commissioners distribute the funds.

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The Omaha-based energy company Tenaska completed its major wind project in Nodaway County about five years ago. When the turbines started spinning, Tenaska pledged an annual donation to the community to recognize the partnership.

“It’s an agreement we had,” explained County Commissioner Bill Burns. “They would like to help local civic groups so they donate $15,000 a year for us to distribute to area groups that are non-government affiliated and not-for-profit.”


The agreement has a twenty-five lifespan, so distributing those funds has become an annual task. This year, funds are going to the Nodaway County Historical Society and the Maryville Gardeners’ Club. Members of both organizations attended the Commissioner Meeting on June 5 to accept the donation, which came to $5,000 for the Garden Club and $2,000 for the Historical Society.


The other $8,000 dollars of Tenaska Funds went to the Nodaway County Community Building (which is unaffiliated with the county government), the North Star Advocacy Center, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Nodaway County. Those funds were distributed earlier this year.

At the June 5th meeting, An informal ceremony is followed by donuts and a photoshoot. Maps and documents clutter the tables of the Commission room: evidence of county business.

Billy Mackie is president of the Maryville Gardeners’ Club. She also sits on the board of the historical society.


The society’s grant will go towards the home it maintains as a museum on Walnut Street in Maryville. Built in the mid-nineteenth century, Mackie said, “it’s a money pit, I’m not going to lie.”


“But,” she added, “it’s a rarity. In fact, we believe it may be the oldest home in the Platte Purchase.”


Funds for the gardener’s club are going towards a major update to the gardens at the intersection of South Main Street and Lincoln Ave. For the past few years, the club had been struggling to keep up with maintenance there.


“It’s 14,000 square feet of beds, and flowers – and weeds!” Macky said. “So we approached the [City of Maryville] about doing something different there, something with contained beds and mulch.”


The city agreed, and gave a chunk of money to the project. The donation from Tenaska, alongside a contribution from the Federated Garden Clubs of America will cover the rest. The work is now largely complete, and Mackie hopes the community will enjoy it. “We didn't do this just for us – to make it easier for us,” she said. “We did it so that a lot of people could enjoy it.”


At the meeting, commissioners recognized the county’s ongoing partnership with Tenaska. In addition to these annual donations, the wind project brings significant tax revenue and economic benefit to the region.