(Emmetsburg)– Plans are in the works to construct an outdoor fitness court at the Emmetsburg campus of Iowa Lakes Community College. Campus Dean Kyle Norris tells KUOO news they’re partnering with the National Fitness Campaign and Fitness Court…
“The National Fitness Court project, Steve, is really an exciting time for us. We’re able to collaborate with the city of Emmetsburg to bring this world class fitness court to our campus. We have a green space here adjacent to our wellness center which is already a shared entity with the community and this fit right into that moving forward in continuing that relationship. The Fitness Court is going to provide free, like I said, world class body weight fitness programming that is available not only to our students and staff here at the college, but the general public, the citizens of Emmetsburg, but also anybody who visits Emmetsburg, this is available for them to use, get a quick outdoor workout. It’s adjacent to the bike trail. We’re real excited about bringing this to town.”
Fundraising for the project is underway…
“We’ve already raised about $80,000 in grant funding. We were excited to get one of those grants from National Fitness Campaign. We’ll actually be the first college or university in the state of Iowa to be awarded this grant. We’re one of about 24 in the country this year and the amount of money that we’re going to continue to raise will put us over the top, it will bring this into the community. So we’re kind of doing a round of corporate fundraising right now and we probably still have about $50,000 remaining to raise but we do have some great corporate sponsors already. AGP here in town, Palo Alto County Hospital here in town. They’ve both been big supporters of this quality of life initiative here in Emmetsburg.”
Norris says the facility will be constructed by students in the Construction Technology program at Iowa Lakes…
“The idea is to have them start out as soon as they come back to classes next fall and then, you know with this crazy weather around here, we hope that holds off long enough so we can get it completed and have it available for everyone to enjoy before the snow flies next winter.”
Norris says the facility will be available to the public free of charge, 24 hours a day. He says it will feature shock-resistant flooring with seven zones for a full-body workout. Norris says up to 28 adults of all ages and abilities will be able to utilize the facility simultaneously.
PHOTO CAPTION: Kyle Norris, Executive Dean of Emmetsburg at Iowa Lakes Community College (left), accepts a $5,000 donation for the Fitness Court® from AGP given by Mark Johnson, Soy Manager (middle), and Kerry Freilds, Senior Merchandiser (right).
