The Greene County board of supervisors received good news at the meeting on Jan. 25 from conservation director Tanner Scheuermann and engineer Wade Weiss about federal grant money available to update the Raccoon River Valley Trail from Winkleman Switch south to the Greene-Guthrie County line and possibly beyond.

Weiss said a collaboration with Guthrie County Conservation and a joint application for grant money could make an update to the entire North Spur possible with a federal grant of up to $1.4 million dollars.

Scheuermann reported having received many complaints over the past years from cyclists about the poor riding conditions on the asphalt trail, called the North Spur, in Greene County. Weiss said the asphalt was laid in 1998 and is not a long-term material.

According to the Raccoon River Valley Trail Association, asphalt runs from Winkleman Switch south about 8 miles to the county line and then another 1.25 miles south in Guthrie County to Herndon. The North Spur then connects with the RRVT Loop which continues to a trailhead in Waukee. The part of the Loop going east to Perry and beyond is concrete and is about 10 years old.