Pool gets sizeable donation

Those that know New Hampton Parks and Recreation Director Rick Kramer knows it takes a lot to leave him speechless.A $50,000 donation check, though, certainly qualifies.Kramer recently accepted a check for $50,000 from the Willis and Pat Hansen Charitable Foundation to be used to help install a splash pad as part of almost $630,000 project.“It blows us away,” Kramer said. “I almost don’t know what to say. All I can say is we are extremely grateful because this is a huge help for us.”The donation was the largest received for the proposed renovations that includes a new splash pad that will replace the kiddie pool, a drop-down slide, a children’s slide and a number of floatables.The plan is to have the city bond for about $395,000 of the improvements and raise the rest through private donations and grants.Kramer said the project has also received a $10,000 donation from Jean and Roger Kolbet that will be used the for the new children’s slide and has also received a $5,000 grant from the Hotel-Motel Tax Committee and a $3,000 donation from Black Hills Energy.“We’re off to a good start and we’ve started applying for grants to keep the momentum going,” he said, “but we’re really appreciative of Willis and Pat for this donation. It says a lot about what they think of New Hampton.”Those who are interested in making a donation to the pool renovations can do so by contacting Kramer at the Parks and Recreation Office at 641-394-5464.