Pitching in for the park

MANAWA – Following recent severe weather, Manawa’s Lindsay Park was left with significant flood damage and scattered debris, but a massive community cleanup effort has accelerated the park’s recovery, bringing hope that local youth sports might return sooner than expected.

According to the City of Manawa, more than 70 volunteers gathered May 6 for a cleanup event, accomplishing far more in a four-hour timeframe than organizers initially thought possible. Crews hauled away eight dump truck loads of debris in just the one evening.

Volunteers cleared grass away from the fences, sprayed out the softball bathrooms and removed downed trees and stumps that had smashed against and through the park’s fencing. They also successfully cleared out the debris that had collected inside the ball courts and the pavilion.

“It was so unbelievable the amount of things that got done last night, that there is a strong possibility the baseball team may have a chance to play a few home games before the end of the season...as long as the fields keep drying out,” the city posted on social media following the event.

Lindsay Park is Manawa’s largest park and hosts the city’s youth sports. The park includes the city’s only baseball diamond, where the Manawa Wolves play.

City workers have been actively removing build-up from the fields and flattening the grounds to aid the drying process.

The city noted that public works officials are currently in discussions with the athletic director to try and schedule games this year, as long as the weather continues on a drying trend.

The recent flooding came less than two years after the park underwent roughly $100,000 in repairs following the July 2024 Manawa dam failure. Unlike the 2024 incident, community members successfully sandbagged the nearby wastewater plant this time, preventing any sewage from escaping into the park.