Warming house plans heat up at City Park

Aitkin, Minn. — Plans are moving ahead for a community room and warming house at Aitkin City Park, and free food, door prizes, and activities are planned at the ice rink on Feb. 12 from 1-4 p.m.

Earlier this summer the City of Aitkin submitted a request for Capital Budget funding to construct the Community Fieldhouse. Amanda Lowe presented the project to a group of State Legislators in early Fall in Grand Rapids at Itasca Community College where legislators were able to ask questions about the project and about our community.

After the meeting, a representative from the Blandin Foundation spoke with Lowe about the project and recommended she reach out. Blandin, located in Grand Rapids, Minn., awarded The City of Aitkin Parks and Recreation a grant in the amount of $57,000 to begin working on the design of the Fieldhouse/Warming House. The total budget for this portion of the project is estimated to cost $86,000.00. The Blandin Grant brought the City much closer to the amount needed to begin the project and with the generous donation from the Aitkin Fire Relief Association of $25,000 the City Aitkin is able to begin planning.

The goal of The Fieldhouse is to provide a warming house for our hockey and figure skaters and to provide a multi-purpose facility that includes a meeting room for small events and education along with concessions and space for the warming house. Wide hallways and modern bathrooms provide enhanced access in the fieldhouse for wheelchair users and individuals with mobility limitations.

The City of Aitkin will find out more about the Capital Budget funding request in the late spring.