Breaking News
Todays News

Marshalltown hosts two major ribbon cuttings

Emerson Bridge, Franklin Field officially open for community

By Lana Bradstream 6 min read

Marshalltown celebrated grand openings of community amenities last weekend. It started with Franklin Field on Friday evening and ended with the opening of the Emerson Bridge early Saturday night.

Opening the Emerson Bridge event was Arts + Culture Alliance Executive Director Amber Danielson.

"I often talk about how moments like these can look like an overnight success," she said. "We gather, cut a ribbon, celebrate and suddenly there's a new space, but we know it didn't happen overnight. What you see here represents years of dreaming, planning, fundraising, problem-solving, partnerships and persistence. Above all, it happened because people believed in this community and are willing to invest in what it can become."

Danielson touted the work of Marshalltown Parks and Rec Director Kelsie Stafford and Public Works Director Heather Thomas for putting in hours of work to turn the bridge into reality. She also thanked artist Hilde DeBruyne, who was the mind behind the railing featuring lighted, colored acrylic panels.

"The colorful acrylic connects back to the [Apgar Family] Water Plaza while the design is inspired by the flow of Linn Creek, and the importance of flow to Emerson" Danielson said. "As the saying goes, 'If it flows through a pipe, chances are it's controlled by Fisher Controls.' At night the bridge takes on a whole new life, filling the district with color and vibrancy. That is the power of bringing an artist to the table from the very start."

Connection was the purpose of the bridge and the grand opening, she said. Two sides of Linn Creek were connected, along with the Ann C. Keyser Trailhead to Iowa River's Edge Trail, art to recreation, public investment to private generosity, residents to visitors and people to places where they can gather.

"Today, we get to stand inside an idea come to life," Danielson said. "Piece by piece, the [Linn Creek] district is becoming a vibrant arts, culture and recreation destination our community imagined decades ago."

Mayor Mike Ladehoff opened his speech by saying grand openings were becoming commonplace. He also spoke at the Franklin Field opening the night before, and the opening of the Apgar Family Water Plaza was held in June. Ladehoff said the project completion was turned into reality by the faith of the people working on it who jumped into it.

"All the way down, you're getting hit by the naysayers, the Facebook experts and you're dealing with budgets and all kinds of things that don't fit, missing materials, but you hold tight together," he said. "And when you land and the project is done, it's better than you could have imagined just by yourself. It makes everyone in this community proud."

Marshalltown City Councilor Jeff Schneider who is the president of Trails, Inc, was involved in the Emerson Bridge project since its inception.

"These projects almost didn't happen," he told attendees. "They were on the precipice many times, and it's not because it was a bad idea or it was too expensive or we couldn't afford it. It almost didn't happen because saying 'no' is way cheaper than saying 'yes.' 'No' costs you nothing. 'No' never goes over budget. 'No' never ends up in the paper for the wrong reasons and nobody has to stand at a podium and defend the thing that got built. That's the deal with 'no.' It's free. It's safe and leaves nowhere behind. Now look at where we're standing – a bridge, a trailhead decades in the making. Someone said 'yes' to this . . . and behind everyone of the yeses is a person who took a risk and a 'no' would have spared them that risk. That's the difference between a town that's going somewhere and one that's stuck in the past."

According to Schneider, Marshalltown is full of people who believe something will not work, but it needs an increase in smart, positive people who will do the work.

One business and sponsor which believed in the bridge was Emerson, which was represented by President of Flow Controls Kevin Meyer who also thanked everyone who had a hand in the bridge.

"Marshalltown has been Fisher/Emerson's home from the very beginning," he said. "We're getting close to almost 150 years, going back to 1880 of calling Marshalltown home. The Fisher family started a strong tradition of culture, giving back to Marshalltown and investing to make this a community we all love. It's a pleasure for us to continue that today and into the future with projects like this one. We;ve supported many, many things in Marshalltown, and we will continue to do that."

Franklin Field

Immediately before a preseason scrimmage between the Marshalltown Bobcats and the Bondurant-Farrar Bluejays in the first game on the new field, the Marshalltown Community School District hosted the grand opening and ribbon cutting.

The revamped $7.8 million Franklin Field is part of the larger Regimagine Miller project. It features an updated six-lane track, synthetic turf and field similar to Marshalltown High School, improved lighting, expanded west parking lot, new bleachers and a new concession, restroom and storage facility.

Superintendent Theron Schutte kicked off the ceremony by stating it was a great day to be a Bobcat and gave a brief history. Established in 1922, the field has been a cornerstone in Marshalltown athletics to numerous generations of students and community members, he told the crowd.

"Franklin Field also holds a place in broadcasting history as the first site of the first live sideline high school football broadcast in the United States in 1922 during the first game," Schutte said. "[It was] an extraordinary milestone in American sports media."

The 2024 bond referendum for the Reimagine Miller project made the revamping of Franklin Field possible, and ground was broken in May 2025.

"This initiative has allowed us to modernize the facility with synthetic turf, updated track and lighting and enhanced spectator amenities," he said. "These improvements were intended to honor the past while preparing Franklin Field for future generations, ensuring it remains a vibrant hub for education, competition, recreation and community pride."

Schutte said anyone who has driven by on evenings with good weather, they were sure to see activity on the field, even before Friday's grand opening. The amount of community activity is exactly what the district wants to see, he added.

Also speaking was MCSD School Board Member Zach Wahl, who said the project would not have been possible without the support of people in Marshalltown.

"What was neat about this project, not only was a lot of this built by the community, but we had local contractors, [such as] Con-Struct, American Aluminum Seating (and) CGA which helped with the project and we are very thankful to be able to be part of this," he said. "Going forward, we're excited about the recreation this provides for the community."

The ribbon was cut by former coaches and teachers -- Lew Kearney, Charlie Smith and Stan Wooster -- who left an indelible mark on the community, according to Schutte.

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.

Starting at /week.