That’s a question Stephanie Freund and her husband, Alex, have been pondering since they moved to Gowrie.

“We have been thinking about this project for about four years,” Stephanie Freund said. “My husband was a hockey player growing up in Minnesota.”

Their vision for a skating rink was realized on Saturday at Brockett Park, 1006 Lincoln St. A 105-foot-by-45-foot sheet of ice was installed and opened to the public.

The rink is about half the size of a full-size hockey rink.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Stephanie Freund, of Gowrie, helps her son, Larkin, 5, put on his ice skates on Saturday.

For the grand opening, free hot dogs were offered. It’s one of the few outdoor rinks open in the area.

Stephanie Freund said Ames has two outdoor rinks, which she said are fairly new.

“We wanted to give people in town something else to do,” she said.

Stephanie Freund said the community has been supportive of the idea. She’s on the city’s parks board.

“We special ordered the tarp from an online hockey store,” she said.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Barrett Thomas, 9, of Somers, moves on the ice at Brockett Park in Gowrie on Saturday.

Foxtail Floral donated money for the wood, which surrounds the ice.

“It took us about two weeks to put together,” she said.

The Gowrie Fire Department provided the water. It took about an hour to fill the space.

With temperatures in the 20s and very little wind, the weather on Saturday was about what Stephanie Freund hoped for.

“It’s a nice day for it,” she said.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Alex Freund, of Gowrie, closes in on a puck at the ice skating rink in Gowrie on Saturday. The ice rink at Brockett Park is a new opportunity for outdoor recreation in Webster County. Freund and his wife have been planning an outdoor ice skating rink for about four years.

For now, the public is asked to bring their own skates. Stephanie Freund said some skates may be provided or rented out in the future.

One thing that worries her is people getting on the ice when it’s too warm.

“The problem we have is keeping people off the ice when it’s too warm,” she said.

Tim Thomas, of Somers, was playing hockey with his son, Barrett Thomas, 9.

“He plays in Ames,” Tim Thomas said.

“I like it,” Barrett Thomas said. “It’s fun.”

Meanwhile, Tim Thomas said he would play hockey with many of his friends and relatives growing up in Des Moines.

“I’ve grown up playing hockey my whole life,” Tim Thomas said. “It’s in the blood. All my relatives played.”

Stephanie Freund is happy to help provide a different recreational opportunity for folks.

“Something free and fun to do outside,” she said.