Two months ago a tornado took or damaged a material percentage of Wadena’s residential homes, their high school, several businesses and all of the community center which contained an ice rink.

On Aug. 17, Wadena’s City Council will vote to approve the construction of an ice rink on the same pad with the same compressors where it stood before. If the city council does not approve the plans as negotiated, there will be no hockey season for Wadena-Staples cooperative this year. Hockey is a four month season. If the process of reconstruction doesn’t get underway immediately following the city council meeting we will lose this entire year and there is the chance that hockey could be lost in this area for several years.

Wadena Hockey feeds these businesses: restaurants, hotel/motels, grocery stores, gas stations, the Cozy and more. Not just in Wadena, but here too.

The Wadena Hockey Association and all of its members have reached out to everyone to get hockey back in their kids’ lives this year. Staples can help by communicating our appreciation for Wadena City Council’s support of the Hockey Arena.

Christopher D. Stone Staples, Minn.