Residents and visitors are encouraged to bike, walk and ride the Luverne Loop Path on Thursday, May 16, to highlight the route and the Roll On Luverne bike loan program.
“We want to celebrate the great job the city has done with the Loop and show residents what their tax dollars are being used for,” said Luverne Chamber Director Jane Wildung Lanphere.
The event will be staged at The Lake from 5 to 8 p.m. when people are encouraged to bring their bikes, hiking shoes, inline skates and strollers to travel along the Loop path.
Those who don’t have a bike can borrow one through the Roll On Luverne bike-lending program available at The Lake.
A picnic meal of a pork loin sandwich, chips, cookies, water and root beer floats will start at 5:30 p.m. The cost of the meal is $5 to benefit fundraising efforts for the July 4 fireworks at The Lake.
Chamber assistant Katie Oksness has taken the lead on a children’s promotion during Thursday’s event.
Each participating child will receive a lanyard where the badges can be attached at each stop along the Loop route in a scavenger hunt.
For example, all kids get a badge at The Lake where they start and stop, and they can collect badges at Kolbert Park, Hawkinson Park, the Nature Explore outdoor learning center at school, the ice arena and Rotary Park.
Crossing guards will be on each side of Highway 75 to help bikers and pedestrians safely cross the highway.
“It should be a lot of fun,” Oksness said. “The lanyards will be perfect for the kids to take home with them.”
The Chamber and city leaders organized a ribbon-cutting event last fall when the final stretch of Phase 2 was completed, but inclement weather hampered participation.
“We felt badly we didn’t get very many people out to see the path,” Lanphere said. “Especially our mature folks who really aren’t able to ride a bike or walk the trail.”
Next week’s event, like the one last fall, will have several golf carts available to transport interested riders over the course.
“It’s important for them to see it for themselves and understand what this means for our community,” Lanphere said, adding that the Loop is for all ages in Luverne.
“Kids can get from school safely to the south parts of town, and that’s really the big advantage.”
In early planning sessions several years ago, city leaders discussed ways that a bike path can improve a community — both in economic ways and in ways that enhance quality of life.
For one thing, city planners hope the route will expose users to community gems like The Lake, pocket parks and local businesses.
Also, communities with lengthy trails — 13 miles or longer — are often destinations for bicyclists.
Loop background
The Luverne Loop, when complete, will be 7 miles long, and it connects to the 6-mile Blue Mound Trail that carries hikers and bikers to the Blue Mounds State Park.
Phases 1 and 2 are complete, encircling the city’s northwest and west side, currently ending at the intersection of Gabrielson Road at South Highway 75.
Phase 3 of the Loop (1.15 miles) will continue east across Highway 75 along Hatting Street and follow the south property line of conservation farmland the city recently purchased from Warren and Loretta Baker.
It winds around the east side of the wastewater treatment plant near the Rock River along the west bank near the outfield of Redbird Field ball diamond.
The Loop ultimately connects with the Blue Mound Trail at the intersection of East Main Street and Blue Mound Avenue.
Total Loop construction is estimated at more than $1.5 million, with a good share of the costs being covered by state and federal grants.