SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -
The playground at Chris Larsen Park is still empty, one year after the flood submerged it.
"There's just still going to be a tremendous amount of continued cleanup, and we'll have to continue to work on that all summer," said Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott
The Downtown Sioux City Rotary Club has a special tie to this park. It's named after Chris Larsen, a former Rotary Club president, who died in 1969.
"When we saw the significance of Chris Larsen, the connection to us, it just fit exactly what they were looking for, as far as a project," said Rotarian Vernon Meyer.
So, they presented Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott with a $20,000 check to start fixing things up. Areas of the park that are now fenced off will be opened up again, and new equipment will replace the pieces that have water damage.
"That's a good deal for the kids in the community," said Scott.
When trees are planted, and the playground is restored, officials say it will definitely help the riverfront continue its revival by bringing back families from all over the area.
"To get that going again, so that people can go down there with their kids to have a good Saturday and evenings, and that, so it's very important," said Scott.
One of the main reasons officials are excited about getting the check to restore the park: They wouldn't have received the money from the federal government.
"We have to use our own funding source because it was playground equipment unfortunately. So, we'll just have to do it on our own and we will. We'll restore the riverfront because it is so important to this community," said Scott.
That determination will be put into action, soon, with the new playground.
