Early this morning: A 40 percent chance of snow, mainly before 5am. Cloudy, with a steady temperature around 33. Breezy, with a north northwest wind 15 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Total overnight snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Today: A 20 percent chance of snow before 8am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 34. Breezy, with a north northwest wind 10 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 25. West northwest wind 7 to 10 mph becoming south after midnight.
Christmas Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 43. South wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31. South southeast wind 9 to 13 mph.
Friday: A slight chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 37. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 25.
The Board of Supervisors in Pottawattamie County learned Tuesday, that about $2.6 million has already been secured to construct a walking and biking trail from eastern Council Bluffs to Underwood and Neola. The Daily NonPareil reports Brian Shea, president of the Pottawattamie County Trails Association, told the board work on engineering the trail is underway.
Shea said the proposed trail would run along the east side of Iowa Highway 191, also known as Railroad Highway, up through Underwood and then to Neola, a stretch of some 17 miles. Down the road, that trail could connect with another one going east to Atlantic and beyond. He said also, atrail from the county jail to Crescent and then on to the Hitchcock Nature Center could also be a future goal, he added.
The Iowa West Foundation awarded a $1.1 million grant to the project. The remaining funds came from a federal recreation grant of $300,000, a state recreation grant of $700,000, a $425,000 grant from the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency, a $38,000 grant from Iowa’s Resource Enhancement and Protection, or REAP, program and $60,000 from the Board of Supervisors.
While providing the Board with an update on the project, Shea also requested an additional $60,000 commitment from the board for the next two years, at least, citing some requirements necessary to secure additional grants. He estimated the 17-mile trail would cost $5.5 million, not including what Underwood and Neola would pay for the trail through their communities. The trail from the county jail to Hitchcock would run about $4 million, not including Crescent’s cost, Shea said.
The board did not take any action on allocating additional money during Tuesday’s meeting.