Stunning transformation

Rick Kramer stood on the Garnant Pond dock, and his mind wandered back to a year ago.“Things have changed a little bit,” the New Hampton Parks and Recreation director said in what can only be classified as a grand understatement.Things have changed a lot in a year’s time at the park nestled into New Hampton southeast side, and Kramer and his assistant, Tara Hackman, are justifiably proud of the transformation that has taken place at Garnant.“It’s about — not to sound corny here — quality of life,” Kramer said, “and I think this isn’t going to be one of those hidden gems anymore. It’s amazing to me how far it’s come in a year.”When September 2015 arrived, the pond had little water in it, nary a living fish and grass grew wildly on its banks.The Iowa Department of Natural Resources had just started a “fish restoration” program in which it drained the spring-fed pond, killed the fish and waited for the pond to refill.Fast forward a year.The pond is full, a beach is in place, the pond’s shore has been “landscaped” with rock, a dock has been installed and the pond is surrounded on three sides by a walking trail.Garnant is, in a word, beautiful.Tell Kramer that and he can’t help himself — he nods his head in the affirmative — and he quickly talks about how this came to be.For the complete story see the 9/6/2016 New Hampton Tribune.