Spring Lake Yacht Club enjoys rebirth and wide use along Little Sioux

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The Spring Lake Yacht Club was built in 2012-2013, funded primarily through more than $405,000 in local donations. The facility, which is booked solidly throughout the summer, can accommodate 100 guests with more on an overflow patio. The structure, which replaced an old flood-damaged site, is located less than one block from the Little Sioux River and Spring Lake on the south side of Cherokee.

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The box covering the device used to measure flood stage at the Little Sioux River in Cherokee, Iowa, is shown. It says, "United States Weather Bureau Wire - Weight Gage Type A. May 1932." The box is locked, and only a few keys exist to gain entry. The Little Sioux River, which cuts through Cherokee, seems to flood about every other year.

Tim Gallagher, Sioux City Journal

Floodwater from the Little Sioux River is covers part of U.S. Highway 59 in Cherokee, Iowa, in May 2013. Cherokee County faced $2.7 million worth of repairs from flood damage over that Memorial Day weekend. Rains in the county and in points north along the Little Sioux River often flood portions of Cherokee.

Tim Hynds, Sioux City Journal file

Juanita Cates, center, gives Shelly Urban a hug after she and her husband, Bill, checked on her Monday, June 28, 2010 in the aftermath of urban flooding in Cherokee, Iowa. The city saw its worst flooding since at least 1993 after the Little Sioux River left its banks over the weekend. Urban's basement was flooded and she and her two dogs had to be rescued from the home in the 100 block of South Roosevelt by boat .....Sioux City Journal photo by Tim Hynds

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TIM GALLAGHER

CHEROKEE, Iowa | The original Spring Lake Yacht Club at Cherokee withstood numerous Little Sioux River floods since it was built in the late 1930s.

It was actually a home in its original state, the residence for the parks director serving Cherokee and sprawling Spring Lake Park on on the shores of the Little Sioux River and Spring Lake on Cherokee's south side.

When the park director moved into a home at some point, the city modified the building and began offering it to residents for their use.

In 2011, however, it could stand no more. When flood waters subsided four years ago, city officials determined the old structure would need to be replaced.

Sheree Hauseman and a group of volunteers formed that December and began fund-raising efforts while planning the location and construction of a new Spring Lake Yacht Club at Koser Spring Lake Park. The facility, it was decided, would be relocated to a higher elevation within the park.

Private donations poured in over the next year, resulting in a $405,622 balance with more coming through in-kind donations for the patio and landscaping.

A groundbreaking was held in October 2012. The grand opening was held on July 4, 2013, a party complete with yard games in the park, a bike parade, local music and the cutting of a red ribbon.

The Spring Lake Yacht Club, which has a full kitchen (save for stove) has enjoyed a busy summer season already. Connie Ladwig, of the Cherokee Parks and Rec Office, noted that the facility, which can accommodate 100 guests, has been rented for wedding receptions, class reunions, family reunions and company picnics.

Its use isn't limited to warm-weather periods.

"It's booked every weekend this summer, usually with separate rentals for Fridays and Saturdays with events like wedding rehearsals and smaller wedding receptions, family reunions and class reunions," she says.

During May, several graduation receptions put the Yacht Club to use as grads and their guests gathered inside and poured out onto the attached patio, which can hold 48 guests who can enjoy the nearby Little Sioux River and the small Spring Lake, both of which are less than one block from the structure.

The Yacht Club name, according to Ladwig, is a tongue-in-cheek poke at the size of Spring Lake, which isn't Lake Michigan or West Lake Okoboji.

"I think the name comes from locals having a little fun with the size of our lake," Ladwig says.

The Spring Lake Yacht Club is heated and air-conditioned. It has a fireplace and is decorated with a tree at Christmas, allowing for four to five rentals per month during the off-season.

"People have Christmas parties there and celebrate Thanksgiving, too," she says. "It's a beautiful facility."

Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds toured the Spring Lake Yacht Club in April. During their visit, they recognized Cherokee's efforts at the site and announced that Cherokee had become a Skilled Iowa Community through the Iowa Workforce Development.

Julie Hering Kent, executive director of the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce, says the announcement came with more good news, for that day Cherokee also received $920,000 in Community Development Block Grants, funds that would be used for a sewer project and a downtown facade effort spread across 20 businesses.