Members of the Hartley Recreational Trail Committee received a pleasant surprise last week.

Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Economic Development Authority announced Oct. 6 that Hartley was included in over $450,000 awarded to communities across the state as part of the Empower Rural Iowa Grant Program. Hartley netted $20,000, which will be used by the trail committee to purchase and install a system using Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) to cross Highway 18.

"We were shocked," said committee member Dave Vander Broek. "We were looking like we weren't going to get it, so we didn't expect...