The playground areas in Fourth Street Park and in Weed Park will be temporarily closed this week for general maintenance and repairs. The Fourth Street Park playground will be closed today (March 20) through Wednesday with the Weed Park playground closed Wednesday through Friday.
The City of Muscatine and the Parks and Recreation Department apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.
MUSCATINE, Iowa – Muscatine’s historic Weed Park will be shining brightly again this holiday season with stunning displays of Christmas wonder from December 12 through December 26. Viewers may drive through the park and witness the spectacle from 5:30-7:30 p.m. daily beginning at the Washington Street entrance and proceeding to the Colorado Street exit.
The elves in the Muscatine Parks and Recreation office have been busy since early fall working with local community organizations and businesses to help spread heart-warming joyfulness this holiday season. These volunteer groups have made Weed Park come to life with beautiful light displays that will help make Muscatine’s spirits bright.
This is the second year for the Festival of Lights in Weed Park with almost twice as many displays this year to delight park visitors.
Everyone will have the opportunity to get into the spirit of giving by donating a non-perishable goodwill food item that may be dropped into containers at the Washington Street entrance. All donations will be used to benefit local food pantries.
If you want to share your holiday spirit but just haven’t found a way to do that, it is not too late to adopt a display site. Volunteers may design their own light display near any available Weed Park shelter, gardens, and structures for the enjoyment of all this December. Interested organizations or businesses may submit their application by contacting the Muscatine Parks and Recreation Department at (563) 263-0241 or by emailing parksoffice@muscatineiowa.gov.
For additional information, contact the Muscatine Parks and Recreation Department at (563) 263-0241.
MUSCATINE, Iowa – Swimming at Weed Park has been a summer’s tradition in Muscatine for decades. Generations of youth and adults alike have learned the lifelong skill of swimming at the Muscatine Aquatic Center and in years past at the original Weed Park Pool.
That is where Lucille Friedan taught children to swim in the 1940s and 1950s. To honor her life and legacy, her family has kindly donated funds to the Muscatine Aquatic Center to support swimming for our local youth today.
Information detailing American Red Cross Learn-to-Swim classes will be prominently displayed in the entryway kiosk purchased with the funds donated. Alongside class offerings will be information on programs for free and reduced Family Swim Passes, reduced entry passes for Muscatine children and support for swim lessons.
Muscatine Parks and Recreation staff would like to extend their gratitude to the family of Lucille Friedan for supporting safe swimming at the Muscatine Aquatic Center for decades to come.
For more information on Aquatic programs, please contact the Muscatine Parks and Recreation Department at (563) 263-0241.
MUSCATINE, Iowa – The green grass of Weed Park will be filled with colorful eggs on Saturday (April 9) as the Muscatine Parks and Recreation Department hosts the 2022 Easter Egg Hunt.
Children are invited to bring their baskets, and their parents, to the Hunt that will be held on from 10:00-11:00 a.m. in the upper loop of Weed Park. The Easter Bunny has promised a beautiful but, perhaps, a little cool spring day Saturday so come early and stay late to enjoy the Hunt and Weed Park amenities.
Families and interested spectators attending the event may gather near the Rose Garden playground in the Upper Loop of Weed Park prior to the official start time. Children will be split into three age groups to hunt for their prize-filled eggs in specific locations including three years and under (10:00 a.m. start time), four years through kindergarten (10:05 a.m. start time), and first through third grade (10:10 a.m. start time).
Participants will be asked to closely follow age categories. Children are encouraged to bring their own Easter basket.
Celebrate the holiday, enjoy the start of spring weather, and gather with both family and friends in the Weed Park Upper Loop. This is a FREE event that is sure to be fun for the whole family.
For more information, please contact the Muscatine Parks and Recreation Department at (563)263-0241.
MUSCATINE, Iowa – The green grass of Weed Park will be filled with colorful eggs on April 9 as the Muscatine Parks and Recreation Department hosts the 2022 Easter Egg Hunt. Children are invited to bring their baskets, and their parents, to the Hunt that will be held on from 10-11:00 a.m. in the upper loop of Weed Park.
Families attending the event may gather near the Rose Garden playground in the Upper Loop of Weed Park prior to the official start time. Children will be split into three age groups to hunt for their prize-filled eggs in specific locations including three years and under, four years through kindergarten, and first through third grade.
Participants will be asked to closely follow age categories. Children are encouraged to bring their own Easter basket.
Celebrate the holiday, enjoy the start of spring weather, and gather with both family and friends in the Weed Park Upper Loop. This is a FREE event that is sure to be fun for the whole family.
For more information please contact the Muscatine Parks and Recreation Department at (563)263-0241.
MUSCATINE, Iowa – Numerous reports of geese grazing outside the confines of Weed Park in Muscatine have been received by Animal Control and the Muscatine Police Department, but the number of geese is much more manageable now than four years ago according to the Parks and Recreation Department.
Still, geese have been spotted wondering around the Muscatine urban area in recent weeks, and that is causing concern from residents about the safety of the birds. Many people have wondered why the aerators are not working in the Weed Park lagoon and if this is driving the geese out of the park in their search for good and water.
The public is urged to be cautious around these birds and to avoid feeding them, especially during the winter months.
The aerators were removed from the Weed Park lagoon in 2018 as part of a Goose Management Program developed by the City of Muscatine in cooperation with Muscatine County Conservation and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
“We were given several options for maintaining the population of the geese by the Iowa DNR,” Nick Gow, Superintendent of Parks, said. “We considered all of the options and determined that removing the aerators was what we wanted to try first. Staff is open to further discussion on how to best manage the geese population at the lagoon with the overall goal of providing safety for all in Weed Park.”
Management of Canada geese populations in Iowa is under the direction of the Iowa DNR and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
In 2018, the City of Muscatine consulted with Muscatine County Conservation and the DNR to implement a geese management program at the lagoon in Weed Park. In the years leading up to the winter of 2018, numerous comments and concerns that were made about the high geese population occurring in Weed Park and the surrounding areas, and the mess that was being left on the trail and surrounding areas of the park.
Several options were given to the City of Muscatine including stopping all recreational feeding of the geese, modifying habitats to make them less attractive to geese, harass geese pairs prior to nesting, eliminate or minimize attractive nesting sites, allow urban wetlands to freeze over during the winter, encourage hunting within city limits, and discourage goose use of specific areas by hazing or installing barriers.
City staff determined that the best option would be to allow urban wetlands to freeze over during the winter months. Geese need a source of water during the winter for drinking and feather maintenance, and will concentrate on even small ponds that maintain open water areas with aeration systems or fountains. These concentrations of geese can pose a threat to human health or safety.
The aerators were removed from the lagoon during the winter of 2017/2018, and have not been used since. Parks and Recreation staff believe that the goose management program implemented by the City has been a success with a reduction of the mess left on the trail and surrounding areas of the park.
According to the Management Guidelines for Controlling Canada Geese published by the DNR, Giant Canada geese find urban environments particularly attractive because these areas have all the habitat elements important to these birds: wetlands surrounded by short grass, harvested crop fields during the fall, winter and spring, low predator populations, and safe, secure loafing sites.
As urbanization increases, the DNR said, Canada goose migration decreases.
“Expansive, manicured lawns and mand-made ponds have become new favorite hangouts for these birds,” the DNR said. “Natural predators aren’t very common in these spots, and constructed water areas are often heated and don’t freeze during the winter. Geese love the large grass spaces because they can digest grass and have wide, unobstructed views to keep an eye out for anything coming toward their young. With food, water, and safe places, these geese no longer need to leave during the winter.”
In a story published by RadioIowa, Iowa DNR waterfowl biologist Orrin Jones said that when we toss bread and other treats to these birds it is teaching them to be depending on humans.
“We want to encourage them to find food on their own,” Jones said in the article. “These birds are migratory in nature and it’s very important that they go and distribute, and finding food is part of that migratory process.”
The article was written by Matt Kelley who noted that “as we’ve all learned during the past pandemic year, sometimes being in close proximity to one another is a bad thing, and the same goes for birds, which will cluster around when there’s free food.”
And feeding them can be a critical mistake for the health of the birds.
“They really need to find natural foods to get a wide range of items in their diet to satisfy their nutritional needs,” Jones said in the article. “Human food is oftentimes detrimental and can even be dangerous to these birds so you might actually be harming them by feeding them.”
8 cool things you should know about Canada geese – Iowa DNR
Waterfowl biologist says don’t feed the geese – RadioIowa