Des Moines, IA- The effort to sell off the assets of Iowa Wesleyan University will fall short of the amount needed to pay off a $26 million loan it took from the US Department of Agriculture in 2016.
The chair of Iowa Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees Bob Miller tells Radio Iowa that they attempted to raise money by selling off the buildings and other items.
“The remaining assets did not bring the value that they were appraised at when the loan was taken out in 2016,” he says.
The Mount Pleasant Municipal Utilities expected to close in its purchase of the final unsold building, the old gymnasium.
The school closed in 2023 and the sales of the property thus far have generated $3.6 million. “Iowa Wesleyan does not have the ability to pay it back. We have no remaining assets to pay it back,” Miller says. “Banks have bad debts. They have to write off losses. And there’s nothing remaining that can be done about it.”
The board is seeking to close its books on the school by the end of May.
