New programs focus of city update

The first quarterly update was given by Southern Prairie Family Fitness Staff Tuesday to Creston City Council.

After receiving $60,000 from the city in June, the fitness center has worked hard to pick up the pace in bringing programs and memberships in.

When Southern Prairie first spoke to the city about a donation, a primary focus for the center was to hire a program coordinator. Once the money was pledged, SPFFC Director Dana Dodge worked to find the best fit for this position, hiring Brandon Rafferty for the position in August.

Dodge and Rafferty shared future plans the center had during the city council meeting, explaining a variety of new programs Rafferty plans to start.

“My hope is just to help bring some more attention over to Southern Prairie. I’m not saying I’m a magic maker or anything like that,” Rafferty said. “However, I’ve got some ideas and I’d just like to give them a try and again see if we can make Southern Prairie a community place where everybody feels welcome. I’ve got about seven things that I’m wanting to start up in the next two months.”

There’s something both children and adults in these seven programs. Starting in October is a “youth sports sampler,” which will take kids at ages 5-8 through five different sports, spending two weeks on each. Sports scheduled for the camp include T-ball, flag football, basketball, soccer and field hockey.

For those who know they already enjoy playing soccer, a youth soccer program for children ages 8-10 will take place every Saturday morning in October.

For a wider age range, parents can drop their children off at Southern Prairie Oct. 3 for a First Friday Kid’s Night. The event lasts from 5:30 to 8 p.m. and welcomes children ages 5-12.

“We’re going to watch the kids and engage them in some activities, whether that’s foosball tournaments or kickball tournaments, just kind of engage and let them have some fun and let the parents get away a little bit,” Rafferty said. This is planned to be a monthly event. Cost is $10 per child.

For the adults, Rafferty is starting a new adult swim conditioning class.

“Once an adult is aged out of high school sports and athletics, they’re able to still swim and compete in USA swimming if they so choose, or they just might choose to have it as a conditioning workout,” Rafferty said. “We will post the swimming workout three times a week. They come in, do the workout. I’d offer them any kind of coaching if they want, some tips on how to get better at their swim.”

Other programs include a Halloween Splash and Paint, a Nerf war night and a youth swim club.

For more information on any of these programs, contact the fitness center at (641) 782-9622.

While all this is planned for the future, the council asked how the last few months have gone. Dodge said they were glad to bring the kids day camp back for the summer and that membership numbers were slowly beginning to climb.

“The board did approve at the last board meeting that we are dropping the joining fee, so there will no longer be a $55 joining fee to become a member,” Dodge said. “We’re trying to make the expense not so much for people. We still have 429 full-paying memberships.”

However, one area of struggle for the fitness center is with SilverSneakers. This program describes itself as “a health and fitness program designed for adults 65+ that’s included in many Medicare Advantage plans.”

With SilverSneakers, local residents can attend Southern Prairie at no cost of their own. However, the fitness center only receives money from SilverSneakers if the member comes a minimum of 10 times a month.

“Only 29 of those 192 are coming in enough times for us to get reimbursed. That’s $59,000 a year that we don’t get,” Dodge said. “I think they see it as a free membership with their health insurance, and we offer it, so they come with good intentions, but if they don’t come 10 times (per month), we don’t get the $30.”

As summer fades and the cold seeps its way back into Iowa, Dodge expects to see memberships rise, though extra programming will likely help.

For more information on weekly schedules or upcoming programming, the fitness center encourages people to look at their Facebook page.