Skating into a new ERa

By Heather Rule, photos provided

One of the big projects in Henning over the past year or so was adding a new skate park to the city’s roster of parks. The skate park provides additional recreational opportunities for kids, families and community members in the Henning area.

The skate park, located in the fairgrounds in Henning, was completed in 2024 with a grand opening in August 2024. It’s right on Highway 108, visible to people as they travel through town. The skate park, with its niche usage, has received positive feedback so far.

“People are exploring it and discovering that it’s out there,” said Dan Broten.

Broten, director of the Henning Landmark Center, was a member of the four-person skate park committee that submitted the request for grand funding from Blandin Foundation a couple of years ago to help make the skate park a reality in Henning.

There are future plans for potentially adding pickleball and basketball courts, along with a sports complex.

Amundson Park also received some upgrades this year including a new shelter and bathroom building. Henning also has nine holes of frisbee golf throughout all of its parks, with plans to add another nine holes in spring 2025 to make it an even 18 holes. With those additions, frisbee golf will span all of Amundson Park through the baseball fields. It should make for a challenging course for anyone looking to test their frisbee golf skills.

At the Henning baseball fields, they’ll host high school, legion and summer recreational baseball this year. They’ll also host a few softball tournaments. The three softball fields and one baseball field are getting redone, too, with irrigation and land work completed in fall of 2024 and updated infrastructure by 2025.

Another exciting thing for Henning this year? It will be officially added as a stop on the Otter Trail Scenic Byway. Henning will be a location on the map with a new extension route which will come right through Henning.