Governor impressed by Humboldt Recreation Center

By KENT THOMPSON
It’s not often you get a chance to brag to the governor of the state of Iowa. Aug. 6 was one of those times.
Humboldt city officials, members of the Ken and Marilyn Nielsen family and members of the business community joined Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, on a tour of the 70,000 square foot Humboldt Recreation Center with the Ken and Marilyn Nielsen Family Fieldhouse.
The heads of state were interested in examples of private and public partnerships working to get important things done in a community and showing how Iowans work together.
From the beginning of Ken Nielsen’s idea scratched out on a piece of paper to today’s successful operations under the auspices of the city of Humboldt Recreation Department, the project has been a continual melding of private ideas and capital for the public good, with the city agreeing to take over and operate the Rec Center for the benefit of the community.
Reynolds said her initial reaction in seeing the facility and stepping inside was “Wow! It’s incredible to have this type of facility in a community this size. There’s a tremendous amount of collaboration and partnership that went into making this happen. Creating a foundation is a great way to ensure the continued success of the facility,” the governor said.
“It’s a great example of the power of partnership and when a community comes together, you really can do great things,” the Iowa governor said.
“We appreciate what you are doing on the state level and what Sen. Tim Kraayenbrink is doing on the state and local level,” Humboldt Mayor Dan Scholl said to Gov. Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Gregg.
The mayor said there are many examples of public and private partnerships in the community and how the citizens of the community are willing to support worthwhile causes that help people and improve the quality of life.
“It’s really about the generosity of families like (the Nielsens) who have been successful throughout their careers and have decided to give back to the communities where they have grown up in and where their families have grown up in,” Scholl said.
“Facilities like this are a game changer,” Gov. Reynolds remarked.
“It’s important in keeping our young people in our rural communities and these are the type of amenities they expect. It’s also important in attracting new people, so we have the workforce we need and can have the vibrant main streets that we want and schools that are growing and succeeding. It’s the type of innovative thinking we need to bring to these type of communities,” the governor said.
Reynolds said Humboldt would be a great example of the Empower Rural Iowa Initiative she has started. “I like to talk about the success stories of rural Iowa in my travels around the state and in my condition of the state speeches. You have a great day care connected to the school here and this recreation center also with a childcare room.
“I’m a staunch believer in private/public partnerships. The programs you see that are successful all comes down to that,” Reynolds said.
She thanked and congratulated the Nielsens for their civic engagement in creating the facility for the public to use.
“Everyone has a role to play and skin in the game, and you see the great outcomes of those collaborations in facilities like this one,” the governor remarked.
Read more about this story and see more photos in this week's Humboldt Independent.