Tight budget sinks Camp Dodge pool

A central Iowa summer tradition may have entertained for its final season. The landmark first built for military fitness training may be near the end of its life as a popular public recreation site. The swimming pool at Camp Dodge was dedicated in June 1922. The national guard’s colonel Robert King says the cost of operating the swimming pool runs to 75-thousand dollars a year, something the guard can’t justify when money’s needed for homeland defense. When commanders learned this week that the Des Moines Playground and Recreation association won’t run the attraction, as it has in summers past, the orders came down: the pool will not be filled this summer. It’s right next to the guard’s Gold Star museum, and might become part of the depiction of the camp’s history. Parts of the pool complex, like the concessions stand and bathhouse, were recently added to the national list of historic places.