Comment on Iowa City awards pandemic grants to 27 businesses, many owned by women and people of color

IOWA CITY — The city of Iowa City helped 27 small businesses — a majority of them owned by women or people of color — stay afloat during the pandemic.The city awarded the businesses $360,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant dollars allocated through the CARES Act, money made available by Congress to alleviate the pandemic’s effects, according to a news release.The businesses — 22 of them owned by women or persons of color — were required to be in business as of Jan.