Arnold’s Park Temporarily Closed Due to COVID-19 Spike

My first recollection of a roller-coaster comes from a trip to the South Dakota State Fair. It was probably one of those 'kiddie coasters.' You know the one where the parents send an older sibling with their younger child to ride for the first time. Later it was places like Valleyfair in Shakopee, Minnesota [temporarily closed] or maybe Worlds of Fun in Kansas City [Opening June 22, 20202]  riding a 'coaster' like the one pictured above. If you live in southeast South Dakota, chances are your first roller coaster ride was at Arnold's Park in Okoboji, Iowa.

Fast forward to 2020; when you see the word roller-coaster, what do you think? For many, it may be the worldwide pandemic that we're all dealing with in one way or the other. Or you may think of a childhood trip to the fair or carnival when it came to town on a real tangible roller coaster.

Just when you thought it was OK to go back to some semblance of normal places like Arnold's Park in Okoboji, Iowa, and riding their famous roller coaster, they have decided to reign it back in. According to a press release from Arnold's Park;

As a local business, we have an obligation to this community to provide a safe environment for our guests and our staff, therefore we will be closing the Park, Museums, and The Queen II temporarily starting tomorrow, Saturday, June 13.  We want to assure the community that we have had no cases of COVID-19 in our organization, but our number one priority at all times is safety.  We hope to do our part now and slow the spread in this community so that we can come back together later on and enjoy a great summer season. We will reopen when it is safe to do so. We will post updates on our website and social media pages.

Here's to getting back on the real roller coasters very soon!