As of today, you can sign up for the first ever Red, White, and Blue Ride taking place on July 3rd! You might remember it as the Hilliest FLATS Ride Ever. A few things have changed this year and we hope to encourage greater participation.

New features of the 2015 event include:

1) The starting and ending location for all events is Shelter 3 at Thousand Hills State Park in Kirksville, Missouri. All routes (6, 18, 63) are new and suggested by members of the community.

2)A 3-mile Community Event for runners, bikers, walkers, and combinations can now also be done and part of the route includes Phase 1 of the FLATS Trail! So bring your kids, pets, family, friends and make a day of it! Note: Owners are responsible for cleaning up after pets!

3)This is a co-sponsored event of FLATS and Kirksville Kiwanis. Participant fees will be split evenly. FLATS donations will help continue building the trail and Kiwanis donations will go towards the Kiwanis Playground Fund.

Come join us for a fun, relaxed, and activity filled experience at Thousand Hills State Park today. Our starting location is Shelter 3.

We would like to thank our generous sponsors Road ID, Kirksville Dental Group, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Hy-Vee, and Complete Family Medicine. Are you interested in being a sponsor? Contact mahoogla@gmail.com today for details!

Thanks to the efforts and faith of many, many people Phase One of the Forest Lake Area Trail System is officially open for your enjoyment!!!

We were always confident that this project would serve the entire community but seeing hundreds of people old and young using this trail has been truly inspiring. Already the project has exceeded our expectations.

Now that the dust is just about settled and we’ve had a little time to catch our collective breath the FLATS Steering Committee is beginning planning for the next Phases! Stay tuned here for more information as it becomes available and don’t hesitate to contact us and talk about this exciting project.

And if you haven’t been out to Thousand Hills State Park to see what YOU built make sure you visit and enjoy our trail soon!

FLATS Phase One Map

Please join us for the Official Dedication of Phase One of the FLATS Trail at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, April 22nd in Thousand Hills State Park.

There will be many special guests with more details to be announced as the date approaches.

Thanks to you we’ll have this beautiful trail for generations to come! Please join us and show all the VIPs in attendance how excited we are to bring this trail all the way to Kirksville!

Photo Credit: Jay Beets

Sunset along the Phase One Route

To celebrate the FLATS Phase One Groundbreaking the Forest Lake Area Trail System has set Thursday, October 3 as the deadline for donors’ names to be added to a plaque that will be placed at the trail head in Thousand Hills State Park.

FLATS has set a goal of raising an additional $12,500 by this date. These funds will support the design and construction of the next two phases of the project.

This permanent plaque will thank residents, businesses, and others who saw the promise of this project for Kirksville and Adair County and helped to make this project a reality before the first shovelful of dirt was turned.

Individuals, businesses with fewer than five employees, and non-profit organizations that have donated $500 or more by Thursday, October 3, and larger businesses that have donated $1000 or more, will all be recognized on this plaque.

Including grants, cash donations, and in-kind donations, FLATS has raised over $275,000.

For more information please email flatskv@gmail.com or contact one of the members of the FLATS Steering Committee listed on the website.

100% of all donations to FLATS support the construction, promotion, planning, and maintenance of trails in AdairCounty. The Kirksville Rotary Charitable Fund is the 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor of the Forest Lake Area Trail System. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Department of Natural Resources construction crews arrived at Thousand Hills to begin preparing the site Monday, September 9, and have already marked the trail route, installed 7000 feet of silt fence as part of our Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan, and have prepared the site for a beautiful 80’ pedestrian bridge.

Soon they’ll be pouring the center pier and abutments for a beautiful 80′ bridge on the shore north of the Thousand Hills Dining Lodge.

Clearing for the Phase One Bridge Construction

The DNR did incredible prep and design work for this project and now we get to see the results!

Check back here for construction updates and make sure to come to the Petroglyph site Thursday, October at 4:00 pm for the FLATS Phase One Groundbreaking Celebration and see what we’ve all accomplished with your own two eyes!

DNR Crews with Skidsteer and Silt Fence Installer.

This approximately .59 mile section of trail, the first section of a proposed 4-mile trail linking Thousand Hills State Park with the City of Kirksville, will connect the Thousand Hills Dining Lodge and historic petroglyph site with an 8′ wide ADA-accessible concrete trail.

Funding is provided by a $100,000 grant from the Recreational Trails Program, in-kind donations from volunteers and the Department of Natural Resources, and generous donations from the project’s many supporters.

Construction Equipment at Thousand Hills

The day has come to celebrate the start of construction on Phase One of the Forest Lake Area Trail System! Mark your calendars for the official FLATS Phase One Groundbreaking Celebration on Thursday, October 3^rd at 4:00 p.m.

The Groundbreaking Celebration will be at the Petroglyph Site and feature special guests, presentation of the final designs for Phase One, an update on the construction schedule, music from the Kirksville High School Band, and a chance to begin digging on the trail route.

If you’d like to join in, please bring a shovel!

Please take a moment to RSVP for the Groundbreaking Celebration at the Facebook Event page so we can be prepared for all our guests. We look forward to seeing you on Thursday, October 3!

Aerial View of Phase One Site
Photo Credit: Kelly Rogers

And thanks again for sharing the FLATS vision.

Please join the Rotary Club of Kirksville–North Star and the Forest Lake Area Trail System Friday, September 20th for a fundraiser at Ruby Tuesday!

Ruby Tuesday will only make a donation (20% of the total purchase) to FLATS if you bring a flyer indicating that you’re there to support FLATS. So, don’t forget to print the flyer and bring it to Ruby Tuesday Friday!

Flyers are available at the Facebook event page for this fundraiser or through this link.

We hope to see you at Ruby Tuesday between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. on Friday to support FLATS!

Craig Shorten, owner of the DuKum Inn, presented a $1,400 check to FLATS after members of the FLATS Steering Committee and several volunteers recently worked as guest bartenders at the DuKum’s NEMO Fair Tent. FLATS is strong because of the support of the DuKum and many others in Kirksville and the surrounding community.

Pictured above:FLATS members accept the recent donation and, pictured from left to right, are Stephanie Bissey, representing Jeff Lindquist of Midwest Machinery; Jonathan Lovegreen, Rotary; Jay Findling, TAP Pool League; Craig Shorten; Rob Champagne, representing Troy Smith of Smitty’s Westport Liquor and the Local Fire Fighters; Royce Kallerud, Debi Boughton, Rachel Ruhlen and Elsie Gaber from FLATS, and Bernie Schneiderheinze, NEMO Fair Board.

Other FLATS members and supporters, who assisted but are not pictured, are Paul Parker, Dan Martin, Rick Steele, Debi Boughton, Matilda Small, Ben Small, Kyle Sweeney, Katy Modlin, Matt Nemergut and Cathy Woods.

FLATS’ VIP Bartenders will be back at the DuKum’s NEMO Fair Tent in 2014 and 2015.