On Tuesday night, the Neosho city council approved matching funds so that miles of new hiking trails could be developed in the city. KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.

One of the great benefits of residing in or near Neosho, Missouri, is the availability of miles of hiking, biking, and walking trails.

At their council meeting Tuesday, members of the Neosho city council approved city funds that would be matched with a nearly 60% return from the Federal Recreational Trails Program, which is appropriated in Missouri as grants by the state Department of Natural Resources. Neosho city manager David Kennedy spoke Tuesday about the improvements to the city’s trails.

“The bike trails get used by a lot of different people, not only bikers but walkers, joggers. Those hills up there have been walked for years. They just did it on the road or did it through the woods.”

Neosho is getting an excellent return on its investment. The city is putting up $64,500 and getting $93,000 matched through the federal grant. Once finished, the trail will be ten miles total and stretch from the Carver National Museum through Morse park.