The Raccoon River Valley Trail recently received the Iowa Great Place designation from the Department of Cultural Affairs, after submitting an application for their Public Art and Cultural Corridor Initiative.

Trail Association board member and Perry Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bob Wilson says this designation makes grant funding available for a three year period.  The first step in the project is the Waukee trailhead, but Wilson says Perry may see some changes down the line too as there is the potential for trail and signage improvements, worth upwards of $200,000 annually.

“It’s going to trickle down into our communities and could potentially be one of the world’s largest public art projects, which is phenomenal.  We have 89 miles, we could put public art on the whole thing and we would be a world known destination.  So that’s the goal here and we’re going to try and implement these over the next couple of years.”

The first meeting to discuss plans for how to use the designation to its full potential took place last week and Wilson says this is a project he’s proud to be a part of.