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The Great Outdoors Foundation has been awarded $7 million in Destination Iowa funds to help develop the Scott Avenue site of the ICON Water Trails initiative. The funding was part of $12.9 million in grants that were announced on Friday by Gov. Kim Reynolds. ICON Water Trails is a $125 million initiative that connects 80 sites along 150 miles [...]

The Iowa Confluence Water Trails project received a big boost Friday when Gov. Kim Reynolds announced she will allocate $7 million in federal funding for the construction. Though backers of the project aim to develop outdoor attractions across 150 miles of waterways in central Iowa, the governor allocated the latest round of funding to one of the project's [...]

I had the amazing opportunity to join ICON Water Trails for its last float of the season recently. A group of about a dozen folks from ICON, the Iowa DNR, Polk County Conservation and supporters paddled the stretch of the Raccoon River from Van Meter to Booneville, west of Des Moines. It was sunny, calm [...]

Leaders of central Iowa's ambitious water recreation project are seeking a boost from Gov. Kim Reynolds' tourism grants as costs for the project continue to rise. With price hikes delaying construction for more than a year, the Iowa Confluence Water Trails board applied for $10 million from Reynolds' Destination Iowa program. ICON Water Trails Director Maggie McClelland said July [...]

ICON Water Trails will move forward under a more phased approach after receiving approval to revise the scope of work to be done under a $25 million federal BUILD Grant that was awarded for the project.The $125 million initiative is being funded through a combination of a capital campaign and public money. It includes the development of projects [...]

Prairie Meadows has donated $300,000 to the Great Outdoors Foundation for use toward the ICON Water Trails projects. The gift from Prairie Meadow’s Legacy Grant program will secure naming rights for fishing nodes at the Scott Avenue location near downtown Des Moines. The site is the first in the development of a downtown river run experience, and [...]

Efforts to create whitewater rafting, zip lining and other amusements along the downtown riverfront suffered a setback recently when the sole bid for an initial phase of work was $73 million, nearly double the estimated cost of $39 million. As a result, supporters who have compiled private and public commitments for 60% of the expected [...]

Officials behind the ICON Water Trails initiative will be meeting to forge a path forward after saying they will reject the sole bid received for projects funded in part by a federal BUILD grant.The $125 million initiative is being funded through a combination of a capital campaign and public dollars. It includes the development of projects that [...]

The race is on to get a bid for the first downtown pieces of the Iowa Confluence Water Trails project whittled down before a deadline to spend federal funds allocated for the project. Project organizers received a $73 million bid from United Contractors and Reilly Construction Co. for a package of four projects at key sites in downtown Des [...]

The city of Bondurant has been awarded a $125,000 grant to make improvements to Eagle Park as part of the ICON Water Trails initiative that includes more than 80 projects connecting 150 miles of waterways in Central Iowa. It’s the first grant awarded from the MidAmerican Energy Regional Fund, a $5 million investment to develop ICON Water Trails projects outside [...]