MASON CITY – In a developing story, a number of kayakers were trapped at a dam on the Winnebago River in Mason City and pulled to safety Friday afternoon.
Mason City police and fire medics were called to the area of 12th Street NE and Elm Drive, where a bridge crosses 12th Street. There is a dam in the river, below, where approximately four kayakers became trapped Friday at about 1:15 PM.
At least one person sough medical attention, and oxygen was given. Emergency responders were pulling kayaks out of the river. More on this developing story as it becomes available.
I grew up in this area and this happened a few times to people that were unfamiliar with the river, it is a dangerous dam.
When I was a kid we used to tube the river from Spring Park to East Park and we would always get off the river at the slab and carry our tubes to the other side of this dam, tube the rest of the way and get off the river before we hit the East Park dam.
Of course we would spend the rest of the day sliding down slippery dam at East Park though!!
http://www.iowawhitewater.org/lhd/damsmap.html
http://www.iowawhitewater.org/lhd/LHDmasoncity.html
This info is out there at the push of a button or two. I don’t paddle yet I know of this stuff. If the water had been higher it could have been tragic. LVS, a low head dam presents danger whatever the water level, best to avoid them.
@grizz-You are correct. My brother almost drowned in that river in East Park. He went over the damn in a tube and was dumped out. He got caught in the undercurrent at the damn. He was lucky the water was low or he wouldn’t be here.
River is tricky this time of the year. Lots of undercurrents.
Did they not know it was there? It’s not like that dam was built yesterday. Or did they think, oh it’s just a little dam, we can handle it?