Larchwood, Iowa — The goal to make the Blood Run area in extreme northwest Lyon County into a state park — perhaps a joint state park with South Dakota — is still years away. But things are moving. Slowly.
That’s from Frank Rickerl, the Parks District Supervisor for Northwest Iowa for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
He tells us the current status of Blood Run.
People in the area have been asking why it was so quick and easy for South Dakota to buy land across the Big Sioux River and turn it into a state park, when Iowa has been talking about it for just as long, maybe longer, and progress has been so slow. Rickerl says it has to do with how the two different agencies — the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks; and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources — are funded.
He says that while it is a long-term goal, there’s no way at this time to estimate how long it might take for the area to become a state park.
Rickerl says if you want to get involved, you can join the Friends of Blood Run.
We are told that the Friends of Blood Run recently developed a new strategic plan with near-term goals of securing permanent staffing, increasing awareness of the historic significance on the Iowa side, and improving accessibility. Their longer-term goals include obtaining more land and building a link to the South Dakota side.
