The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs recently announced it has designated or re-designated 19 areas as Iowa Great Places, including the Raccoon River Valley Trail in Dallas, Guthrie and Greene Counties.

Iowa Great Places are designated to support new and existing infrastructure that cultivates unique and authentic qualities of neighborhoods, communities and regions in Iowa. Overall, the state now recognizes 40 Iowa Great Places communities and eight Cultural and Entertainment Districts. Seventeen Iowa Great Places were re-designated during the 2019 cycle, and Lake View and the Clive Greenbelt are new additions this year.

The “In the Shadow of the Rails” art installation currently located in Waukee, Perry, Dallas Center, Minburn, Cooper, Jefferson, and, planned for Adel, connects these communities in a unique way. The art installations, based on a concept created by RDG of Des Moines, is led by artist David Dahlquist. It plays on the region’s railroad history and the repurposing of the rail line as a public trail system, which continues to serve and connect the same original rail communities. Establishing a culturally relevant and unifying art theme for the trail corridor speaks to the uniqueness of the area.