Axios Des Moines: A second attempt to contract out the first part of a $125 million water recreation trails project in central Iowa has fallen flat. Bidding already failed once for the inaugural piece of the Iowa Confluence Water Trails project. Project officials didn’t receive any bids late last year, and City Councilperson Joe Gatto warned in January that finances could unravel if this latest bidding process is unsuccessful. Most recently, United Contractors and Reilly Construction Co. bid $73 million to complete what is arguably the most significant section of the project along a 5-mile stretch of the Des Moines River through downtown. But the bid came in too high and will be rejected, said Gunnar Olson, a spokesperson for the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, which is behind the trails project.