Our Town: Community support for public pool and library

CASCADE, Iowa (KCRG) - A popular place in Cascade on hot summer days is the new swimming pool.

“We have a lot of people who come just for the day. They don’t have a pool pass. They just come for the day just to experience our new pool because everyone’s heard about it,” assistant pool manager Grace Rhomberg.

The pool opened briefly in 2020 before closing due to COVID and re-opening fully in 2021.

“The people here talk about how nice the pool is, how nice our bathrooms are, the high dive is especially a big pull for people,” said Rhomberg.

This new facility cost $3.3 million dollars. $500,000 of that came from community donations. The pool is a point of pride for the community and for those who work there.

“I get a lot of compliments, wow your staff is so amazing. They’re so good with kids, they’re really patient,” said pool manager Davis Manternach.

With the pool complete, another big project is in the works. A groundbreaking for a new library is set for October. The current library was built in 1968 and is 2000 square feet.

“Being on the board, I like to attend some of the activities. I was here one day when we had about 55 kids, and you know it was hard to have fun because it was so crowded, it was hard to move,” said Monica Recker with the library board.

The new library is set to be much larger, 7200 square feet with plans for a conference room, study rooms, and a teen section.

“Get people to come together and have a place to chat and visit and check out their books,” said Cheryl Reiter with Friends of the Library.

The total cost of the new library is $3.5 million dollars with $1.1 million coming from community donations.

“Community members will step up when asked,” said Reiter.

The new location will offer a view of Cascade’s Riverview Park. Construction is set to start in March 2024 with an anticipated opening in spring 2025.

Copyright 2023 KCRG. All rights reserved.