Grant helps power new veterans park to new upgrades in Crooks

The Crooks Veterans Park will be getting some upgrades.

The project was one of five AARP grant recipients in South Dakota and one of 383 nationwide, bringing a boost of funding to the park, which sits on 2 acres across from Tri-Valley Elementary.

The grant for the Crooks Veterans Park project is part of the 2025 AARP Community Challenge. The flagship grants are intended to support quick-action projects to make communities more livable for all ages — especially for adults 50 and older.

“A lot of our veterans are getting elderly,” Crooks Mayor Butch Oseby said. “To be able to have the accessibility and walkability — to be able to use your wheelchair and get around — it’s pretty important.”

The possibility of an AARP grant was brought into the conversation during a meeting with the organization and a few mayors from surrounding communities that was arranged by Sioux Metro Growth Alliance. After learning about the possibility of a grant, Oseby brought the idea back to Veterans Park volunteers.

The grant, however, certainly was not the starting point for the project. Having broken ground on Nov. 12, 2023, Veterans Park progress has been driven by community effort.

“Crooks is just a prime example of some of that passion in the small towns — not only for South Dakota but for our country,” said Tyler Tordsen, CEO of Sioux Metro Growth Alliance.

After Todd Myhre’s father — a military veteran — died in 2021, the Crooks resident began to consider ways to both honor his father’s legacy and contribute to the community.

A memorial park seemed like a step in the right direction, he said. Once organized, a well-attended meeting in 2022 clarified the community’s position on the matter.

“I could see there was a lot of interest,” said Myhre, now president of the Crooks Veterans Park.

Once a board of directors was formed, the fundraising process began. From poker runs and pancake breakfasts to gun auctions and raffles, the Crooks community — along with surrounding communities — showed up in support for the park.

“We were doing something monthly. Whether it was an event or a round of grants, we always had something going on,” Myhre said. “We weren’t sitting around waiting for money to walk in the door — we were trying to do it on our own.”

Along with the revenue generated by individual pavers bought by families, local sponsors funded the park’s flagpoles, benches, picnic tables and garbage cans. A handful of grants generated roughly $50,000 to $60,000 for the project. In total, the Veterans Park has raised more than $350,000.

Even so, no two contributions look alike. With contractors discounting their efforts in favor of the project and community members reaching out to donate materials or assist with landscaping, fundraising extends beyond cash contributions.

“It’s just nice seeing so many people come together and believe in a project,” Tordsen said.

Now in its third construction season, the park has seen a number of additions over the years.

Its 2 acres include a flag display with nine flags, monuments to honor every branch of the armed forces, individual pavers, a picnic shelter and a gazebo with a handmade weather vane among other landmarks. The park sits next to a new water tower, which — when lit in red, white and blue —  will be “quite the thing,” according to Oseby.

The money from the AARP grant specifically helped install additional lighting along the walking trail and in the picnic shelter.

The park also will tie into the city’s pathway, which was constructed last year and runs throughout Crooks.

“One of the first things that you see when you come into the community is a beautiful new veterans memorial park, a new water tower, a new elementary school, new housing developments and a sidewalk that connects the whole community,” Tordsen said. “It just really speaks volumes to the pride and appreciation that the residents have.”

Once the park is finished, Myhre said he hopes it will be a respectful community space. Its focus on amenities for all ages ensures that it stays accessible for all.

“The interesting part of the project is that I’ve also learned of so many people that I know personally that I did not know were veterans,” Myhre said. “Not because they’re not proud to be a veteran but just because it just never came up.”

While the park is open to visitors, Myhre aims to have it completed by Veterans Day.