Coming Home Days Parade Announces Donation for Park Renovation

Photo by Samantha Davis. Children run to collect candy thrown by participants in the Coming Home Days parade in Cottonwood on July 13, 2024.

COTTONWOOD – The annual Coming Home Days parade wound through the streets of Cottonwood over the weekend of July 13.

The heat and humidity didn’t stop people from coming together and having fun. Fire trucks, ambulances, tractors, local committees and clubs traveled around town, handing out candy and other gifts to eager children and families. The City of Cottonwood announced at the event that it had received a large donation for the Laker Island splash pad and park, allowing the project to move quickly to the next steps.

The Minnesota DNR donated $350,000 last week, for a total of $830,000 for the entire park project.

“This meant that the project was launched,” said city administrator Teather Bliss. “If we hadn’t gotten the grant, we would have been pushed back at least a year.”

The project will include updated features in addition to the splash pad, such as a new bathhouse, playground equipment, a shelter and an ADA fishing dock.

“We will begin our formal planning with the engineer and hopefully we will put out tenders this fall and start work in the spring,” Bliss said.

Two committees worked on the project: the Cottonwood Area Foundation and the Wading Pool Committee.

Tam French, Cottonwood Co-op Oil’s administrative manager, led the wading pool portion of the project.

“It was fun to involve the community in some of the things we did,” said the Frenchman. “Two years ago today, we announced it to the public.”

Bliss said she was happy the project was able to happen and commended the public for their involvement and help in the process, while French said she was happy to help give back to the community she grew up in.

As the municipal committee and participants revealed the news on their parade float with a preliminary sketch of the new park and a “We did it” poster detailing the donation, Layton Johanneck was also able to present his contribution which will be placed at the wading pool.

“The kindergarten through sixth grade students had a coloring contest, and then the National Honor Society divided it into 10 so we could choose one.” said the Frenchman. “Then they paint it like a coloring contest.”

Johanneck designed a turtle that won the competition and will be on display.

Before the parade, the fun began with games, ice cream and a smoothie truck outside the fire department.

A handful of floats participated in the parade, including the city’s fire and emergency response teams, the American Legion, Minnesota Boxelderbug Bug Days royalty and the Lakeview Cheer Club.

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