March 24, 2008

Today I received some outstanding aerial photography of the lodge. I want to thank Ron Clester, photographer, and Rich Willetts, the pilot, (both of Albia) for these great pictures.

March 14, 2008

With the lodge taking shape so quickly, I have many people asking how they can follow our progress. I always suggest checking this construction journal or reading local press, such as the Daily Iowegian, that does a great job of covering this project.

If you actually want to see the lodge, go to the original Honey Creek State Park. You can get a very good view of the construction from the boat ramp, or from the many finger roads that are on the Honey Creek branch of the lake. I took the following picture from Honey Creek State Park that gives a very good lakeside view of the resort.

Please do not attempt to view any of our construction by using the Honey Creek Resort State Park entrance road. This road is very muddy and heavily traveled by construction vehicles. Non-construction traffic can be very dangerous for both the un-authorized visitor and the construction crews.

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March 12, 2008

It is important to note that the Lodge/Convention Center/Waterpark being built by Hansen Company, is not the only construction occurring at Honey Creek Resort State Park. Currently five general contractors, and dozens of sub-contractors, are working on the entire Resort Park.

Here is a picture of the heavy machinery from McAnnich Corporation. McAnnich will be building the sewer lagoon, rip-rapping some of the shoreline and building wetland dams in the Resort Park. I took this especially for my two-year-old son who loves bulldozers. This crew is preparing the shoreline for the two boat ramps at the Resort Park. They are placing rip-rap along the shoreline to prevent erosion.

March 11, 2008

Temperatures hit the mid-50s today and will be in the 60s later this week. It is nice to no longer be fighting sub-zero wind chill, but the rapidly melting snow does bring a new problem: MUD. Mud is everywhere around the construction site, sometimes 6 to 8 inches deep. Moving supplies and equipment is very hard, but work continues despite the new challenge.

	With the quick thaw the road into the park has become very rutted and slippery. I need to thank the Appanoose County Road crews that have been blading the road and adding gravel to make sure construction is not delayed. Here is a picture of my DNR Taurus covered with mud from the road.Only one thing is safe from the mud during construction - Rathbun Lake. It is very important to the Department of Natural Resources, and all our partners on this project, that we protect the Rathbun Lake watershed.
To date we have installed more than 25,000 linear feet of silt fence and put down thousands of square feet of erosion matting to protect the lake during construction. After construction is completed, many new erosion control and watershed protection measures will be in place including bio-retention basins and extensive use of rip-rapping that will actually improve water protection of Rathbun Lake.
	While driving away from the site today, I saw an American Bald Eagle circling over the lake. I frequently see eagles around the Resort Park, but whenever I see one I stop and look. This beautiful bird was near extinction a few decades ago, but now after concentrated conservation efforts it is a thrill to see the numerous eagles at Lake Rathbun.

March 4, 2008

In a major construction project like this one, it is very exciting as elements are added to the project. It also can be exciting when things are removed from it. For most of the winter, two 100-foot construction cranes have worked non-stop building the lodge, waterpark, great room, convention center and restaurant. The first crane was disassembled and removed about a month ago. Tomorrow the last crane will be disassembled, signaling the structure of the lodge is complete. To honor the last day of the 100-foot crane at the site, I celebrated by going to the top of the crane with Reid of Wolfe Construction. From the top of the crane, I could see much of the lake, as well as Albia, Moravia and Centerville. From that vantage point, I took many aerial views of the lodge.

March 3, 2008

Last week was very exciting as we booked two major events for September 2008. Look for press releases in the very near future announcing these events.
We are not yet taking individual reservations for the Resort, which will be opening in August; however Rossie Baker is currently booking group events at Honey Creek Resort including conventions, weddings and family reunions. If you would like to book an event please call Rossie at 641-724-9600.