The annual University of Okoboji Winter Games begin today with thousands of people expected to take part through the weekend.
Okoboji Director of Tourism Rebecca Peters estimates the games for the fictional university have a $3 million economic impact on the area. “That’s huge for all of our local businesses. And because we are such a small area, almost all of our businesses are locally owned. They’re small, independent businesses. And this makes a big difference to their bottom line,” Peters explains.
The games feature everything from broom ball, a polar plunge, snowmobiles, and a kite festival. Most of the tourism in the area happens when the lakes aren’t frozen and there’s no snow on the ground.
“We really rely hard on Memorial Day to Labor Day and so for our businesses to be able to have a weekend as big as Fourth of July in the middle of winter is just amazing for our community,” Peters says
Peters says there’s another benefit to the winter games as she says finding ways for locals to enjoy
Okoboji beyond the summer months has helped fuel population growth in Dickinson County.
(By Kendall Crawford, Iowa Public Radio)