The Portage la Prairie Rotary Club has been working on the Island Park Duck Pond rejuvenation project for the past few years, and they're excited to say they've hit the halfway point.

Public relations director Preston Meier says phase three of the project comes after getting rid of the weeds that were present at the pond, cleaning up other areas in and around the pond, and building a deck on the south side. He notes this phase is when the club will emphasize adding other elements to the pond.

"We have the lighting, whether it be electrical, some of the pea gravel that's going to be in and around the actual deck as well," explains Meier. "We've got some finishing up to do with some plantings, seedlings, and some other things as well that go there."

He adds the final of the four phases will start next year with the club putting up a retaining wall, as well as a gaming area. That area will include checkerboard stations for people to bring their own checkers or chess sets.

While a lot of the news surrounding the duck pond has been positive, there have unfortunately been some trouble around the duck pond as well.

"Unfortunately we did have some vandalism," mentions Meier. "A couple of lights were broken, we had some low-level lighting that was kind of taken away and we did have some damage to the waterfall. The club, of course, puts their best foot forward and we try to come up with a solution and we're going to certainly correct what's there, and we hope people respect it."

He notes the entire Rotary Club is excited to see the pond being used for weddings, socials, and more in the future.