Longer Camping Stays Boost Memorial Park Revenue in Watertown, SD

Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - Longer camping stays boosted revenue at Codington County's Memorial Park last season despite a slight dip in total reservations, Facility Manager Steve Molengraaf reported Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026.

Molengraaf presented his monthly facility manager report to the Codington County Board of Commissioners at its regular meeting at the Codington County Courthouse in Watertown.

Memorial Park Reservations and Winter Prep

Molengraaf provided commissioners with year-over-year camping reservation comparisons for the park. In 2026, the park recorded 1,735 total reservations: 1,368 online and 367 offline. By comparison, the park recorded 1,753 total reservations with $167,710.50 in revenue in 2025, and 1,889 reservations with $161,187.50 in revenue in 2024.

While the total number of individual reservations has decreased slightly over the past three years, Molengraaf said annual revenue has climbed because campers are booking longer visits.

"Our revenue has been going up each year, but partly, our numbers have gone down, but a lot of it is people are making longer stay reservations is what's going on," Molengraaf said. "We didn't really change the rate to anything the last few years. It's just longer stays. So they're staying one to two weeks longer."

Park staff is currently cutting logs for next year's firewood supply and cleaning the grounds ahead of winter. In addition, staff is scheduled to install light sensors in the park bathrooms this week.

Courthouse and Ag Building Maintenance

At the Codington County Extension Complex (Ag Building), staff continue maintaining the facility for upcoming meetings and events. Molengraaf also reported that technicians resolved a recurring issue with the building's fire panel losing its phone line connection by replacing components inside the panel.

In the government buildings, maintenance staff discovered another leaking drain line in the first-floor restrooms. Because the building's limestone construction prevents crews from easily removing the pipe, the county plans to have the drain line lined instead.

Molengraaf also noted that he and staff members are scheduled to attend a safety conference in November.

Weed Spraying and West Nile Update

Seasonal weed spraying across Codington County is scheduled to wrap up this week, with crews finishing one remaining township and a section along a state road. Once spraying is complete, crews will clean and winterize equipment as weather permits.

Molengraaf concluded his report by noting that South Dakota has recorded 55 human cases of West Nile virus so far this year.