High Line Trail ribbon cutting tomorrow in Mason City

MASON CITY — A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place tomorrow for the High Line Trail in Mason City.

Mayor Bill Schickel says the trail is on the old Union Pacific railway and when fully completed will stretch from the city’s south to north side.   “It’s really exciting. We’ll be opening up the south end of the High Line Trail all the way from 1st Street down to 19th Street in Mason City. It really goes through the length of the Third Ward there.”

Schickel says the High Line Trail helps to link all of the city’s trails together.  “We have about 20 miles of trails in Mason City right now running throughout our parks and throughout the community, and outdoor recreation is one of the keys to attracting workforce to our community, establishing pride of place in Mason City. That along with the arts and our recognition for arts and architecture, and of course music with Meredith Willson.”

Schickel says the guest speaker at the ribbon cutting will be Andrea Boulton who is the Trails and Community Conservation Director for the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.   “She’ll be one of our speakers talking about the importance of outdoor recreation and trails to economic development in Mason City. Also things like workforce attraction. It will be an exciting event.”

The High Line Trail is part of the $4.5 million Destination Iowa Grant from the state and federal government. The ribbon cutting ceremony will take place starting at 10:00 AM Wednesday where 1st Street Southeast intersects the trail.