Southwest Iowa Nonprofit for Collective Impact celebrated a major milestone Tuesday as donors, community leaders and project partners gathered for a sneak peek and ribbon cutting of Rivers Edge Phase Four.  The $60 million project is privately funded.  The event celebrated three signature amenities to River’s Edge Park in Council Bluffs. The project includes the MidAmerican Energy Adventure Tower, Ty and Linda Heithoff Borman Treetop Walk and the Charles E. Lakin Foundation Pier. Despite the ribbon cutting, the projects are not quite ready to open to the public. Located along the Missouri River at the foot of the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, River’s Edge has transformed dramatically over the past two decades. What began with environmental restoration efforts in 2007 has grown into a public destination that attracts residents and visitors with trails, events and connections to downtown Omaha. SINC led the fundraising and project management efforts for River’s Edge Phase Four. The...

Artist Eric Conner recently painted a horizontal “mural” on the intersection of 13th & William Street in Little Bohemia, brining a fresh kind of artwork to Omaha’s public streets for the first time under a new city policy. The project was a collaboration between We Make Omaha, Local Artists Local Art, Omaha by Design, the 13th Street Business Improvement District and the City of Omaha’s Planning and Public Works departments. The mural was the first project to move through the city’s Policy for the Installation of Colored Pavement (“street art”) on Public Streets, a framework developed by the Public Works Department to create a clear, consistent permitting process for street art on public right-of-way. The Little Bohemia project serves as a pilot, helping the city test and refine the policy before it is more broadly available. We Make Omaha, the city's public engagement effort, helped initiate the project after community members across the city consistently called for more art in...