D-N-R hands out grants for outdoor projects

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has handed out over one-and-a-half million dollars to 20 cities for outdoor projects around the state. The City of Dubuque has gotten two-hundred-thousand dollars to start constructing the “Iowa 32 Hike and Bike Trail.” Terry Frye, a bike rider in the area, can’t wait. “We’re for all the bike trails we can get, and get bikes off the road,” Frye says. “I don’t like to see bikes on the highways.” The new Dubuque-area trail will begin along U.S. Highway 52 according to Dubuque City Planner Laura Carstens. She says the paved trail will be ten-feet wide, and it will be separated from the travel lanes of the nearby highway. The two-hundred-thousand dollar grant will cover the cost of building about two-miles of the trail.When completed, the trail will be about five-miles long and will run between U.S. Highways 52 and 20. Construction is set to begin next spring, and Dubuque city leaders hope the first section of the trail will be open by the end of the summer. The state’s Resource Enhancement and Protection program handed out a total of one-point-seven million dollars worth of grants for 20 different city outdoor recreation projects. Here’s the list:Strawberry Point got $75,000 to provide a filter strip of native vegetation protecting the Maquoketa River from storm water runoff, part of a trail project. Battle Creek got $21,048 to develop a 3,000-foot trail, including an arboretum, native vegetation displays, fishing pond and picnic areas. Readlyn got $30,413 to develop 2,023 feet of trail. Dallas Center got $75,000 to buy 26 acres of abandoned railroad line which will eventually be part of a 28-mile trail from Dawson to Waukee, and eventually link to hundreds of miles in central Iowa. Arnolds Park got $75,000 to buy two parcels of land that will be added to the city park. Coon Rapids got $75,000 to develop a 4,100-foot trail extension connecting the proposed American Discovery Trail and the Whiterock Conservancy area. Alden got $16,200 to help develop about two acres into a canoe and kayak access on the Iowa River. Centerville got $40,000 to protect and improve the recreation, education, habitat and water supply of the city’s reservoirs. Anamosa got $98,306 to help relocate and restore the Hale Bridge as an access to Wapsipinicon State Park. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Webster City got $100,000 to help develop a 2.5-mile trail and 210-foot bridge across the Boone River and into Briggs Woods Park. Eldora got $75,000 to help buy 1.12 miles of an abandoned Union Pacific Railroad line and develop a trail linking to the Hardin County-Pine Lake State Park trail system. Huxley got $44,000 to help develop about 2,100 feet of trail, completing the trail from Slater to Cambridge. Coralville got $125,000 to help buy 23 acres in the Clear Creek Greenway. Humboldt got $66,400 to help expand and widen 1,170-foot of the Cottonwood trail. Mason City got $39,552 to help construct a bridge across the Winnebago River connecting the regional trails system. Waterloo got $200,000 to help develop a 2,600-foot trail, picnic shelters and signage. Sioux City got $100,000 to help construct a 1,260-foot trail loop along the banks of the Missouri River. Davenport got $72,115 to help construct a paved trail along the east side of the Goose Creek Greenway. Marion got $150,000 to help buy 37.5 acres of woodland along the Indian Creek greenbelt, with additional 7.5 acres being donated by the owners, for a nature trail connection to Cedar Rapids. The money comes from the taxes state-licensed gambling casinoes pay the state as well as the license fees some Iowans pay to get special natural resources plates for their vehicles.