The Vision Iowa Board on Wednesday awarded a total of $321,000 to help finance three projects around the state. Vision Iowa spokesperson Jessica O’Riley says the city of Osceola is receiving $88,000 toward a $1.4 million renovation of a 105-year-old railway depot.
“That’s still being serviced by Amtrak, so people boarding or departing the train there will have a much better visitor experience,” O’Riley said. The city of Elkader in northeast Iowa was awarded $62,000 for a project on the Turkey River.
“They’re going to develop a white water feature at a low-head dam,” O’Riley said. The nearly $248,000 project is expected to improve fishing in the area and attract kayaking and tubing enthusiasts. In northwest Iowa, the city of Spencer is receiving $171,000 for new attractions along the Little Sioux River.
“Spencer is doing tremendous work on their riverfront,” O’Riley said. “There’ll be a prominent pedestrian boardwalk with a grand viewing plaza. They’re installing a 140-foot span, 10-foot wide bridge to connect the city’s trail network and they’re also paving almost 1.3 miles of trails.”
The total cost for the project in Spencer is just over $901,000.