U of Iowa students to partner in trails project

The Mills County Trails Board has entered into a unique partnership with a team of civil engineering students from the University of Iowa to develop plans for a proposed trailhead and trail network that would link Glenwood Lake Park with the city’s recreation complex and athletic fields on the east side of Keg Creek.
    As part of the semester-long project, the Iowa students will create and design conceptual plans for a trailhead to be constructed near the site that once housed the Glenwood Indian Earth Lodge on East Sharp St. Three students and professor Paul Hanley from the University of Iowa School of Engineering came to Glenwood Saturday to discuss the project with members of the Mills County Trail Board and to get a first-hand look at the proposed site of the trailhead and trails proposed for the area.
    Student project manager Emily Vandermyde said she and her team will be developing their plan and recommendations over the next three months. The students’ final product will be presented to the Mills County Trails Board in late spring. The trails board will then be able to utilize the plan for marketing and fund-raising purposes.
    “Our intent is to utilize what you put together in some capacity,” Mills County Trails Board President Shawn Koehler told the students Saturday. “It’s a win-win for everyone.”
    Preliminary plans call for a trail to start on the south side of Glenwood Lake Park along Keg Creek. At Sharp Street, the trail would split off into two links – one going east through the city’s recreation complex and another going north along the creek to youth and school district athletic fields and the Glenwood Aquatic Center. Preliminary plans call for the placement of at least two additional bridges over Keg Creek to link the trail to the south side of Ram Memorial Stadium and to Sivers Road south of the Glenwood Golf  Course.
    The proposed trailhead would include nearly 100 motor-vehicle parking stalls and a pavilion or gazebo-style structure with seating, restrooms and a clothing change area.
    Much of the discussion Saturday focused on possible designs of the trailhead building(s). Mills County Trails Board members suggested the trailhead might reflect the city’s historical ties to native Americans and the Glenwood Culture.
    Koehler noted the Glenwood Community School District and City of Glenwood are “stakeholders” in the project and will be involved in future discussions and final plan approval. The trailhead would be integrated into the school district’s proposal for an enhanced and reconfigured high school athletic complex on the west side of Keg Creek.
    The partnership between the University of Iowa and the Mills County Trails Board is being coordinated through Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D).
    Golden Hills RC&D Executive Director Michelle Wodtke Franks said the University of Iowa partners with all nine of the state’s RC&D non-profit organizations “to help build strong, sustainable communities and improve the quality of life in Iowa.”
    The collaborations between the university and local communities have entailed a variety of projects and topics in the areas of environmental conservation, sustainable development, arts and culture, economic development and community health and wellness.
    The initiatives, like the trails project in Mills County, serve as hands-on learning and course credit for the University of Iowa students and come with little or no cost to local communities.