RELEASE: Wild Prairie Showdown Award Nominations Open

July 21, 2025

DES MOINES, IA (July 21, 2025) – The Great Outdoors Foundation and ICON Water Trails are pleased to announce that the annual Wild Prairie Showdown awards are open for nominations. These honors celebrate exceptional contributions to conservation and recreation from community members involved with the Great Outdoors Foundation and ICON…

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RELEASE: ICON Water Trails, Partners Break Ground on Hubbell Trailhead

July 16, 2025

DES MOINES, IA (July 16, 2025) – ICON Water Trails and its partners, Hubbell Realty Company, Polk County, and Polk County Conservation, among others, have broken ground on the Hubbell Trailhead at the Fleur Drive dam. This is ICON’s second whitewater site to begin construction; Principal Point at the…

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New ICON trailhead breaks ground at Gray’s Lake

July 16, 2025

Community and business leaders gathered at Gray’s Lake Park off Fleur Drive on Tuesday for a ceremony breaking ground on the Hubbell Trailhead. The trailhead is at the Fleur Dam on the Raccoon River and once complete will include several recreational amenities designed to improve economic development…

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ICON Water Trails Hosts Inaugural ICONic Riverfest

June 30, 2025

On June 11, 2025, ICON Water Trails hosted the first-ever ICONic Riverfest — made possible by Polk County — raising nearly $25,000 and removing 560 pounds of debris and 15 trailer loads of invasive species surrounding the region’s waterways. ICONic Riverfest is a regional volunteer initiative dedicated to furthering ICON’s…

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The power of ‘We’: Honoring the past, shaping the future

June 30, 2025

The Iowa Confluence (ICON) Water Trails project is now making headlines on a seemingly weekly basis. Before it got to this point, it was an idea with a vision. It took multiple organizations and leaders who believed in the potential of the project to work together to lay the groundwork…

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140 volunteers participate in ICON Water Trails cleanup event

June 30, 2025

ICON Water Trails announced the first ICONic Riverfest event raised nearly $25,000 and removed 560 pounds of debris and 15 trailer loads of invasive species at 11 locations across ICON’s network with the help of about 140 volunteers. ICONic Riverfest is a regional volunteer initiative focused on furthering ICON’s mission…

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ICON Water Trails’ ICONic Riverfest volunteer cleanup event June 11

June 16, 2025

ICON Water Trails is hosting its first ICONic Riverfest, a regional volunteer cleanup event dedicated to improving the quality, safety and enjoyment of local water trails, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 11. Volunteers will remove debris and invasive species at designated sites throughout the ICON Regional Network.

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