(Wahpeton)– The Iowa Great Lakes Water Safety Council is concerned over a lack of funding for the Lakes Patrol. They’re also calling on the state to either fix or replace a Lakes Patrol boat that has a blown engine.
They’re concerned the agency that enforces laws on the Iowa Great Lakes won’t be up to full strength this summer if the boat isn’t repaired or replaced. The council’s Phil Petersen says they’ve written letters to D-N-R Director Jeff Vonk urging him to address the matter. Petersen is calling on the public and governmental entities to do the same. The Dickinson county board of supervisors Tuesday decided to fire off such a letter to Vonk.
On another matter, Petersen says the Water Safety Council is taking on a number of projects it hopes to complete before the summer boating season kicks into high gear. They include the installation of a weather station at Gull Point State Park that will include a web cam that will take photos of various areas of West Lake Okoboji and transmit them on the council’s website.
Other projects include better signage at the bridges between East and West Lakes Okoboji; eight thousand water safety brochures will be printed and distributed to marinas and other locations in the lakes area; and Petersen says they’re working on a life jacket safety program for kids.
