Opportunity missed to draw tourists

Letter to the Editor:

I believe Ironwood is missing out on an opportunity to draw and hold a category of tourists. That category is RVers.

Ironwood’s RV park is Curry Park in front of the fair grounds. It has a very large portion that has no services (designed before modern RV units) and a newer part with 10 spots that have water, electric and sewer. But the electric service supports only 110 volts and all newer RVs are either 20 AMP or 50 AMP power needs. I have recently camped in the newer portion (using a plug adapter), and have seen three cases of larger motor homes driving in and then driving out when they see the electrical hookup cannot accommodate their unit.

So the city has lost a little revenue but more importantly those people have left town and spent zero dollars in Ironwood. Ironwood welcomes tourists for the most part, but it is missing out on a tourist segment that has money and spends money as it travels the highways. A number of cities in the UP have very nice municipal RV parks, Wakefield being one. Ironwood has a very nice large park site, but it goes unused due to inadequate electrical service, and no water, electrical or sewer services at all in most of the park.

Also the park sign on the highway cannot be read by passing traffic as it directly faces the road and cannot be seen by drivers until they are going past it. A two sided ‘V’ sign would be helpful to travelers. My hometown is Ironwood so I am aware of the lack of funds to do much, but I encourage the city council to consider upgrades to the park over time so your businesses can gain some revenue from those who stop and stay. Some might stay longer to see the sites once they get a taste. But the RVers have to have a place to camp to spend some time seeing the area.

Rick Antin

Nekoosa, Wis.