MCLEANSBORO — Congressman John Shimkus will be in McLeansboro in a couple of weeks to award a $2.4 million USDA Rural Development Loan to the city for construction of a new water tower.

Shimkus will make the presentation on Thursday, Nov. 1 at 10 a.m. at McLeansboro City Hall.

At last week’s McLeansboro City Council meeting, Mayor Dick Deitz (Deets) expressed his appreciation to all the members of the committees, engineers and Mike McKee with USDA Rural Development for their hard work and commitment to the project.

Officials say this new water tower will help better meet the needs of residents in McLeansboro and allow for future growth. Construction is set to begin in Spring of 2019.