These projects will have an economic benefit as well as a recreational one, according to Matt Cosgrove, director of Webster County Conservation.

“You’ve got to have these amenities to attract a workforce,” he said.

Completing the projects will be a joint venture of the Fort Dodge and Webster County governments.

Nature center

-Submitted photo
A natural play area featuring things like big logs may be constructed near the nature center in a riverfront park, described as a “front porch” for downtown Fort Dodge. The park would be near the west end of Central Avenue in what is now a wide open area where an AGP plant once stood.

“This will be the hub of conservation and recreation in Webster County,” Cosgrove said of the nature center.

“We will bring you inside to get you back outside,” he added.

The nature center will be located near the Des Moines River in downtown Fort Dodge. It will be on 4.98 acres between First Street and the river.

It will be a 15,000-square-foot building, featuring exhibit space, classrooms, a kitchen and offices. It is estimated to cost $5.5 million.

In July, the Webster County Board of Supervisors hired firms to design the center and its exhibits. It will seek bids from construction contractors early this year.

Riverfront park

The riverfront area at the west end of Central Avenue has been an open, largely unused spot since the old AGP plant that once sat there was destroyed in a pair of major fires about 20 years ago.

The plan for the area includes picnic shelters, a river overlook, and an area called the Karl King Sculpture and Sound Garden.

There will be trail connections throughout the park.

Trails

The planned trail projects include:

• Completing the loop around Badger Lake at John F. Kennedy Memorial Park (1.4 miles).

• Connecting the north end of the Fort Dodge Nature Trail at 170th Street to the soccer fields at Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex (1.5 miles).

• Connecting Fort Dodge to Badger along Paragon Avenue (4.7 miles).

Cosgrove said planning is underway for trail loops around Dayton and Gowrie.

Little dam area

What Fort Dodge residents referred to as the little dam and most of the Hydroelectric Dam were removed in an effort that started in January 2019 and ended in August 2020.

Where the little dam once spanned the river, a series of jetties will be built from the riverbanks out into the water. There will be three or four jetties on each side of the river, according to Chad Schaeffer, the city’s chief development officer.

The jetties will be constructed of large rocks and fill.

Their tops will have a hard, smooth surface so that people, including those who use wheelchairs or have trouble getting around, can go out to the end of each jetty.