City of Wabasha Celebrates Wabasha Dog Park Grand Opening

     On Friday, August 2nd the City of Wabasha celebrated the grand opening of the Wabasha Dog Park.  Over 30 dogs and their owners in attendance. The lovely shaded dog park, with two fenced-in areas for dogs, fresh water, benches, and tables for the owners is located on Bailey Avenue between 11th Street and 12th Street (across the street from Marcou Park).  The Wabasha Dog Park is the result of the Wabasha Changemaker Retreat held in June 2023. The Changemaker Retreat was led by the University of Minnesota Extension and was sponsored by the Blandin Foundation and the City of Wabasha. The Changemakers Retreat encouraged local community leaders to develop a community focused project or event in Wabasha or the surrounding area. The Wabasha Dog Park was the Changemaker project of City of Wabasha Finance Director and Wabasha resident, Tyler Grabau.

       “The Changemaker Retreat helped me realize that creating a dog park for Wabasha residents and their pets was a project that I was very passionate about,” said Grabau at the grand opening. “Thank you to everyone who has helped make the Wabasha Dog Park a reality.”

     The Wabasha Dog Park fencing and signage were funded by grants from the Blandin Foundation ($5,000) and the Wabasha Kellogg Area Community Foundation ($2,500). In addition to the grant funding, donations were received from several area donors.

      At the ceremony, Grabau thanked several groups that helped make the Wabasha Dog Park a reality including City of Wabasha Public Works Department (Tony Johnson, Riley Costello, Matt Wobbe, Brandon Huth, Zach McNallan, Ryan Johnson, Matthew Fox) and Wabasha Dog Park Committee members (Joani Mangold, Sharon Burke, Jeff Sulla, Lisa Springer, and Riley Costello).