About three years ago, the Adel Partners Chamber of Commerce participated in the Iowa’s Living Roadways Community Visioning Program. This program is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Transportation, Trees Forever and Iowa State University. It works with smaller Iowa communities in order to help improve local transportation systems, which include trails, roadways, parks, and more.
“That group came up with a lot of ideas. My trail committee came back and said, ‘Let’s take a small portion of all those ideas and see what we can do for it.’ And, that’s how the improvement project came about,” Adel Partners Chamber of Commerce President Deb Bengtson said.
Bengtson noted that the Adel Chamber of Commerce focuses on four key areas, Economic Development, Marketing, Engaging chamber members and new residents and the Raccoon River Valley Trail.
“As the chamber, we always felt [the Raccoon River Valley Trail] was a forgotten gem in Adel. The committee has been talking for four years on what we can do to enhance the trail,” Bengtson said.