Scrap Tire Grants for Joplin, Missouri Playgrounds

Cunningham Park in Joplin, Missouri gets $48,000 in grant money to repair its playground damaged by the May 22, 2010 tornado.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) has awarded $635,000 in grants to the Joplin School District and Joplin Parks and Recreation Department for 11 playgrounds damaged by the May 22, 2010 tornado. The school district will receive $517,720 of the funds; Joplin Parks and Rec gets $117,080.

The grants are in addition to $22,288 awarded in September for a playground being built for children of families displaced by the tornado and living in temporary FEMA housing.

The MDNR provides these grants through the state's 50-cent-per-tire fee collected on new tire sales. The department has awarded more than $2 million to 319 organizations since the surfacing material grants became available in 1994.

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