AUSTIN, Minn. — A vision of whitewater kayaking in Austin, Minnesota began with a trickle of inspiration from a local resident.
"It started when I was kayak fishing locally," said Nate Smit. "I would go out on the Cedar River but I couldn't get very far because of the dam."
Smit, who works for Hormel Foods Corporation as the enterprise lead for breakthrough innovation, says his fishing struggle soon led him to a different kind of breakthrough.
"I was stuck close to home because of the pandemic, so I went on Google earth and I thought, if the dams didn't exist, how far could I get down the Cedar River?" he said. "I was following the river and I got down right over the border, and in Charles City, Iowa, I saw that the water looked different down there."
Upon closer inspection, Smit realized that he had stumbled upon Charles City Whitewater Park.
"That's when I realized you can build whitewater courses on rivers, by channeling the river," he said. "I thought why not do that here?"
In the years since, Austin Whitewater on the Cedar has gone from a grassroots concept, into a community fundraiser that commissioned its own feasibility study.
"It'll be designed for tubers, river surfers and kayakers," Smit said.
The local watershed, tourism office and local employers have all contributed money to the effort and last month, the Austin City Council approved a pre-design plan that could make it a recreational reality.
"It's going to be a couple of years before we can break ground on any sort of project," said Assistant City Engineer Mitch Wenum.
The first step in any construction would require approvals and permits from the DNR and Army Corps of Engineers, in order to demolish a century old dam downtown.
"We would take the 12 foot high dam that we have here today and create a series of five drops," Wenum said. "There would be two feet of elevation drop at each one."
Those rapids would stretch about a quarter mile downstream.
"It's long enough so that its a fun time to be on a tube, but short enough so you can walk back and not be exhausted," Smit said.
And that will just be a fraction of the traffic they expect it to attract, thanks to a redesign that would make the bike and walking paths, along with recreational fishing, more accessible.
"We found out that in other communities there's a four to one ratio," Smit said. "Four times as many people just come to enjoy the water and the amenities and restaurants, as go down the rapids."
He says that means the river could soon go from a dam dead end, to a potential gold rush for the community. Especially because whitewater kayaking has been an emerging and popular attraction, and it's even an Olympic sport.
"I don't think we could have the Olympics in Austin," Smit said. "However, we could train the next generation of Olympians."
Early estimates for the white water park suggest it would cost about $10 million dollars, but the city expects state and federal grants, along with local fundraising, will cover most of it.