For the second year in a row the road to the Riverside Town and Country Golf Club collapsed.
It is a bit of deja vu all over again, as the Riverside Town and Country Golf Club gets ready for the big fundraiser – Riverpalooza.
Last year the road to the golf course, which is very near the Blue Earth River at one point, collapsed down into the river after heavy rains in June of 2024.
Now the same thing happened again last week.
“It started to give way in the same place on Wednesday, Aug. 20,” says Mike McNerney, the president of the Riverside Town and Country Golf Course, and the co-chairman of the Riverpalooza fundraiser event. “In three days it had collapsed down five or six feet.”
McNerney stressed that the golf course remains open and traffic can get there on the damaged road, but by hugging the north side of the road and it is one lane traffic.
“We are business as usual,” McNerney says. “There is also a back way in, if people don’t want to drive close to the cave in area. It is on County Road 8, but it is a gravel road.”
Riverpalooza is another deal, however, McNerney says. It is set for Saturday, Sept. 13.
“We expect a really big crowd and it will be dark out when people leave and there is poor lighting out there,” McNerney points out. “Safety precautions are a big concern. So we will make a final decision this coming Tuesday on where it will be held.”
Just like last year, McNerney has already contacted the city of Blue Earth and the Faribault County Fair Board about having Riverpalooza at the fairgrounds in Blue Earth – which is where it had to be held last year.
One issue is that the fairgrounds is already set to be very busy that day, with a large go-kart racing event set for the Golden Spike Speedway.
“I think it is possible to have both events there on that Saturday,” McNerney says. “I think we can co-exist and do both.”
In the meantime, the question is going to be how can the road be fixed – again – and who is going to do it.
It is a Verona Township road and that is the entity that had it fixed last year. They did get some help with the expense from FEMA after representatives from that federal agency came and inspected the site.
“I guess it is up to the Verona Township Board to deal with it,” McNerney said.
