Iowa plans to evict park rangers from state-owned homes

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources plans to evict more than two dozen park rangers and other state parks workers from government-owned houses inside the parks, citing the estimated $1 million expense of needed renovations and maintenance of the homes.

The agency has determined that it would cost $341,000 to get the 26 houses up to code and another $556,000 for maintenance such as replacing windows, roofs and central air and heating systems, The Gazette reported. It would cost another $100,000 per year for ongoing maintenance, it said.

DNR officials said they haven’t figured out future plans for all of the houses, including whether any should be demolished, but that some of the structures could be turned into public cabin rentals.

The agency said moving rangers and other workers out of parks, where they live rent-free, will not affect the parks’ safety because staff will continue to work their regular shifts and be available for emergency response.

But critics say moving the rangers out the parks would mean the public would have to wait much longer for help to arrive in the event of crimes, medical emergencies and other crises.

“What do you do when the electricity goes out in the middle of the night and there’s no heat in the cabins? You can’t call the sheriff’s department for that. It is disheartening,” said Dave Sunne, who was a ranger and lived in Backbone State Park, near Dundee, for 24 years.

At least one state lawmaker, Dubuque Democratic Rep. Chuck Isenhart, questioned why the state isn’t willing to spend $1 million to fix up the homes when it has a $1.24 billion general fund surplus.

Isenhart has introduced a bill that would allocate $20 million from federal pandemic relief funds to go toward repairs and renovations of buildings in Iowa’s 71 state parks, forests and preserves. That includes $4 million for state park houses.

Sue Cave, who oversees the union representing park rangers, conservation officers and other law enforcement officers, said forcing rangers to move out of the parks will reduce services to park users. Some of the state’s most popular parks, such as Macbride State Park between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, swell to the size of a small city on summer weekends, she said.

Rangers might also have a hard time finding affordable housing near their assigned parks, forcing them to move even further away, Cave said.

“Some of these parks are out in the middle of nowhere, so your only other option is calling 911,” Cave said.