Your Town Tuesday: Royalton Mayor Talks Highway 10, Splash Park [VIDEO]

ROYALTON - This week in our "Your Town Tuesday" series we are highlighting the community of Royalton.

Royalton is a town of just over 1,200 people on Highway 10 right on the Benton and Morrison County line.

On summer weekends it's a roadway that can be very congested with folks heading to-and-from the cabin. Once the stoplight in Rice is removed, the light in Royalton will be one of the last ones standing in the way of vacationers.

Royalton Mayor Andrea Lauer says there's been a lot of debate about Highway 10 in Royalton. She says she is hoping to keep it just the way it is. She says, "because, as people slow down, they obviously will stop at businesses that are located there. And, that's part of why we want to keep it. But the other part is that, we want people to not only stop at the stoplight, but maybe take a little side trip and find the splash park, the skate park, and the disc golf course".

However, Lauer says she knows there will be future discussions with MnDOT about Highway 10. When Royalton did their 2005 comprehensive plan they discussed both an east and a west option, but there's pros and cons to both, with the railroad on one side and the river on the other.

The community made a splash earlier this summer with their new splash park. Lauer says it's a project they first started working on about five years ago. She says, "after five years of planning, and fund raising, and grant writing and probably a little bit of hair pulling out, we've been able to accomplish this. And, it's absolutely fantastic. We have had support from many of the area communities as well."

Lauer says the splash park, which includes: a splash pad, shelter, playground, and bathrooms cost about $300,000.

Royalton also boasts a skateboard park, and the Pine Ridge Disc Golf course. They're also two miles from the Soo Line Trail.

Upcoming events in Royalton:
- Halfway Jam July 24th - 26th
- Platte River Day Saturday, August 2nd

Next week we'll continue our "Your Town Tuesday" series when we feature the town of Clearwater.