Rock Rapids, Iowa — We recently told you about a workshop and an open house dealing with creating a new state park on the western border of the state in Lyon County — a park that would be a joint state park with South Dakota.
We had a chance to talk to Iowa Department of Natural Resources Parks Bureau Chief Todd Coffelt. He says while the name “Blood Run State Park” has been tossed around as a possible name for the park, they don’t have that set in stone yet.
He says the “Good Earth” name that South Dakota has chosen is an English translation of what the native people are thought to have called the area. He says they continue to work with not only the current residents of the area, but also the Native American representatives of the tribes that are thought to have used the area hundreds of years ago.
Coffelt gives us an idea of the progress that has been made toward the master plan for the proposed State Park.
He says they’ve also got another plan.
Coffelt says there will be a final meeting — basically a presentation of the plan — in July. He says at this point, they are only in the “idea stage”. He says the State Park designation would only come after the July meeting.
Coffelt says they will have maps available at Thursday’s meeting with all the identified landmarks and resources. He says they really want input from the local public, because they know the area the best.
