• The Niles City Council adopted a resolution Monday to endorse the Indiana-Michigan River Valley Trail, a 34-mile trail connecting Niles, Roseland, South Bend and Mishawaka.

The trail still has to fill some gaps in Michigan and Indiana before it is complete.

Councilman Dan Vanden Heede dubbed Niles Township “the missing link” in the project and offered help from the city in getting grants for an extension of trails in the township.
For a full report on the trail, read last Saturday’s Niles Daily Star.

• The council also granted permission to the Niles Optimist Club to hold the eighth annual Blue Grass Festival June 3-6. The city also agreed to help sponsor the event with $2,500 in funding.

• The city also received its 2008-09 audit report that revealed a $119,000 deficit that was accounted for by the city’s savings fund.