The fruits of months of hard work and collaboration to bring an ice rink downtown Marshalltown were celebrated as the ribbon was cut and skaters both young and old hit the ice at the southwest corner of Center and Main streets on Wednesday afternoon.

City of Marshalltown Parks and Recreation Director Geoff Hubbard, who worked in tandem with the Iowa Wild and MARSHALLTOWN Co. to make the rink a reality, thanked everyone who attended the ceremony and all of the businesses and individuals that helped through the process, including his own staff, the Wild, MARSHALLTOWN, the Marshalltown Central Business District (MCBD) and Alliant Energy for their assistance with the lights.

“I found out ice rinks are a lot of maintenance, but we’re gonna get through the season and it’s gonna be awesome,” Hubbard said.

Zach Stahlin of MARSHALLTOWN Co. also spoke briefly, thanking Hubbard and the Parks and Recreation Department for allowing the use of the city-owned lot and reminding those in attendance how to get skates through Parks and Rec. The Wild’s mascot, Crash, also made the trek up from Des Moines along with several representatives of the team.

After the ribbon was cut, the first few skaters hit the ice, which was still a bit soft in spots, while others simply watched, and Stahlin, Hubbard and MCBD Executive Director Deb Millizer reflected on how it felt to bring such a positive attraction to the community.

“I think it’s amazing. I love the crowd that we have here. (For) the grand opening, the ribbon cutting, we pulled the day together rather quickly, and for this many people to come out after throwing it together really quick is amazing,” Millizer said. “The community is really celebrating it, and seeing that first kid come out on the ice and then the other one — I would call that a huge emotional paycheck from all of the emails and trying to figure things out and rolling with it. I just think it was amazing.”

Although the initial plan “didn’t always work,” in his words, Hubbard was grateful that everyone involved was able to wing it when they needed to and make adjustments.

“This is the first time we’ve had a rink in Marshalltown, so everyone was like ‘Well, what are you gonna do? What are you gonna do?’ And I said I don’t know. I’ve never filled up 12,000 gallons of water,” he said. “So again, this is a whole learning experience for us. We’ll be learning all season long and making notes, but it’s awesome to see this many people turned out and I’m hoping that when I drive past after work at 5:00, there’s someone on it.”

He also hopes to see people skating on the weekends, but there’s one thing he doesn’t want to see: hockey, which is strictly forbidden. Stahlin commented on how MARSHALLTOWN’s financial support for the rink fit into the company’s larger mission.

“I think it fits perfectly. We’ve got a great crowd today. This is another asset right in the heart of the community that hopefully people will come downtown, visit the businesses in Marshalltown (and) bring the families out. So we’re really excited from that standpoint,” he said.

Several nearby businesses ran specials in tandem with the opening, and Lillie Mae Chocolates had gourmet hot cocoa for anyone needing to warm up as temperatures were higher than they’d been in recent days but still well below freezing. Millizer hopes it will also serve as a boon to the aforementioned businesses.

“Everyone that I’ve spoken to is just pumped to have this in the heart of our downtown,” she said. “And I think, kind of like what Geoff said, we’re also figuring it out on how we’re gonna cross promote and build upon this. This is a first experience for us, so we’re gonna be creative and we’re gonna figure out some different things to do. I just think the whole thing is amazing for the downtown community. We’ve been through so much, and then to have this wonderful free attraction in the heart of our downtown is wonderful. It’s just wonderful.”

Hubbard encouraged residents to follow the Parks and Rec Facebook page for updates on which days the rink will be open for skating and which days it will be closed, and he also plans to schedule some special events in the future like hosting a DJ and food trucks. If the green flags are up, it’s open from dawn until 9 p.m., and if the red flags are up, it isn’t.

And above all else, he hopes to dispel a complaint he often hears in his position.

“If people say there’s nothing to do in town, they’re not looking hard enough,” Hubbard said.

To keep up on the latest developments, visit https://www.facebook.com/MarshalltownParksandRecreation.

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.