Minnesota Kiwanis Club Creates Safe Aqua Play Solution for Community

Chisholm Kiwanis Club Wins AquaSmart® Package from Legacy of Play H2O Contest

When Shannon Kishel-Roche, Shelly Lappi and Kim Stirewalt joined a video call with Kiwanis International and Landscape Structures last week, they anticipated a few follow-up questions about the Chisholm Kiwanis Club’s entry to the Legacy of Play H2O contest. The three women were quickly overtaken with joy when they learned their club had won the contest.

“Oh, my goodness! I’m tearing up! We’re so grateful!” exclaimed Kishel-Roche.

“We’re just so thrilled!” said Lappi, again and again.

Landscape Structures and Aquatix® partnered with Kiwanis International to create the new Legacy of Play H2O contest to help Kiwanis clubs achieve their goal of bringing play to all children. The Chisholm Kiwanis Club of Chisholm, Minnesota, will be awarded an AquaSmart® Package from Aquatix valued at up to US$50,000.

Chisholm is a mining town on the Mesabi Range in Northern Minnesota with a population of less than 5,000. While the town is built around the 158-acre Longyear Lake, it is not fit for swimming and several nearby open pit mines are not monitored or safe for swimming. That’s why the Chisholm Kiwanis Club was focused on bringing an option for safe water play to the community.

The club will install the splash pad equipment in Memorial Park, a space that already offers football and softball fields, sand volleyball, bocce ball and pickleball courts, as well as the summer recreation program. The addition of the splash pad will encourage even more community members as well as surrounding communities to visit and enjoy the beautiful town of Chisholm.