Ambassadors celebrated Dolly’s Dog Park with a ribbon cutting today! Ahrens Park President/CEO Chad Nath shared more about the process to get the park open and some of the things they’re hoping to add in the future.
The need for an in-town dog park has been voiced across a number of mediums over the recent years and was something that the Ahrens Park Foundation had in their strategic plan. Nath was approached by Kevin Hosbond and 3 Grinnell High School students - Max Mintel, Carson Penyich, and Ethan Walker - about using a dog park at Ahrens as a Senior Capstone project last year. Max, Carson, and Ethan worked with Chad to develop a plan, write and submit grant applications and even came up with the idea to name the park in Dolly Ahrens’ honor.
Through grants and donations, the team was able to raise enough funds to build a perimeter fencing that features four separate areas for dogs to run and play. As additional funds are raised through donations or other grants, the Ahrens team hopes to add agility elements, water access, shade, seating and more.
The dog park is free to use but please clean up after your furry friend. Chad mentioned social media has been used to organize “Yappy Hour” to meet up with other dog owners for play time for pets and they’ve enjoyed seeing all the use the park has gotten since the fencing went up. The dog park is located on the south side of Ahrens Park, right behind the sledding hill.
If you’re interested in making a donation to the dog park or supporting other Ahrens Park initiatives, visit their website.
Pictured L-R: Shane Gosselink - Ahrens Park, Jeff Finch - Wes Finch Auto Plaza, Troy Kingery - Ahrens Park, Trent Arment - MCG - Mahaska Communication Group, Lisa Cirks - Cirks Financial Services, Jennifer McAlexander - Hawkeye Lock & Security & JM Consulting, Lauren Augustin - Grinnell Mutual, Kevin Hosbond - Grinnell High School - GNCSD, Chad Nath - Ahrens Park, Joe Bagnoli - Grinnell College, Monica St Angelo - Grinnell Area Arts Council, Donnette Ellis - Grinnell College, Sarah Smith - Grinnell College, Fran Conn, Ashley Symbol - First State Bank, Joni Schmidt - The Mayflower Community, Rachael Kinnick - Grinnell Chamber, Stephanie Lair - UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center
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