June 25, 2006 – An Omaha/Council Bluffs group that supports the Missouri River pedestrian bridge has this request to the public.

“We want everyone to be a bridge builder.”

That's from Gayle Malmquist, an official with the Council Bluffs Community Development Department, and president of the Back to the River, Inc., a regional nonprofit organization.

"It's a group of people interested in all aspects of the Missouri River and supports better access to the river, recreation, wildlife and appropriate economic development," she said.

The group is requesting funds from "large contributors to individual donors" to raise the remaining funds needed to build the $22 million bridge between Downtown Omaha and the Playland Park area in Council Bluffs, Malmquist said. The project already has $17 million.

The official name of its fundraising campaign is "Building Bridges...Connecting Communities."

The group has been working quietly in raising funds and has already submitted grant proposals to several area foundations.

It was also inspired this past week by the public announcement by the Peter Kiewit Foundation of a challenge grant of $1 million toward the bridge work.

"That is a jump start for the remaining amount," Malmquist said. "We want to assist in any way we can to raise the remaining funds."