ECC students enjoy new playground turf

Donation from Koch Fertilizer made upgrade possible

The days for enjoying recess outdoors this fall may be dwindling, but every time the students at the Early Childhood Center in Fort Dodge do get out on the school's playground they will be on some new turf.

Thanks to a donation from Koch Fertilizer, a section of the playground that was often a muddy mess has been covered with artificial turf.

Koch Fertilizer, which has a plant near Duncombe, donated $19,925 to pay for the recently installed turf.

"It turned out fantastic," said Nicole Ahrens, the assistant principal of the Early Childhood Center.

She said the new surface has essentially doubled the playground area for the children.

"We're very thankful for a partnership like this," said Josh Porter, the superintendent of the Fort Dodge Community School District.

Kevan Reardon, the manager of the local Koch Fertilizer plant, said the company looks for ways to support the communities where its employees live.

"This school does have the ability to have an impact on the entire community," he said. ""It made a lot of sense."

He added that there is a Koch employee who has a personal connection to the school. That individual mentioned the playground turf project as something the company could support, he said.

"Every opportunity we have to give back and partner with our community is awesome," Reardon said.

The Early Childhood Center at 104 S. 17th St. has about 380 students in pre-school through kindergarten.