Deferred maintenance targeted at North Dakota state parks
Arnie and Donna Hatzenbuhler are no strangers to state parks.
The retired Bismarck couple moved back to North Dakota three years ago after living 30 years in Hawaii, bought a recreational vehicle and stayed at all 13 state parks in a summer. Amid the coronavirus pandemic last fall, they camped in several Western states from Montana to California.
"The parks here are the best. They are," Donna Hatzenbuhler said, sitting outside the RV in their recent camp at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park south of Mandan. "There's a lot of nice parks, but these parks in North Dakota are really, really nice."
Millions of dollars aim to keep them that way.
Parallel to a record 1.3 million state park visitors last year amid the pandemic, the 2021 Legislature budgeted $7.9 million in federal CARES Act coronavirus aid for North Dakota's Parks and Recreation Department for deferred maintenance and capital projects the next two years. The $74 million deferred maintenance backlog comprises roadways, buildings and shorelines.
Read more: https://bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/deferred-maintenance-targeted-at-north-dakota-state-parks/article_eff5a258-29d7-5c0b-9633-5918cc0550cc.html