Veterans with disabilities participate in the 2023 Veterans Casting Away Disabilities therapeutic fishing event on Lake Rathbun in Southern Iowa. This year’s event is set for May 12-19, though it will no longer have the sponsorship of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. (Photo courtesy of William Roepke)
Eldon Miller, who grew up cane pole fishing as a farm boy, looks forward to the Veterans Casting Away Disabilities fishing event on Southern Iowa’s Lake Rathbun every year.
Blinded by an explosion in the Vietnam War, Miller, 71, of Kalona, is enjoying the week on the water, fishing and meeting other disabled veterans from Iowa and surrounding states.
“I’m a housebound vet,” Miller said. “This is the time I can go out and enjoy life like everyone else.”
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has been a sponsor of the therapeutic fishing event for six years after encouraging the nonprofit Veterans Casting Away Disabilities group to bring the event from Minnesota to Honey Creek Resort, home of Lake Rathbun near Moravia, nonprofit leaders said. State conservation officers helped veterans get in and out of boats, stuffed fish the veterans caught and helped veterans sign up for fishing licenses.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources conservation officers often help fillet fish caught by veterans at the Veterans Casting Away Disabilities event at Lake Rathbun. The department has decided to limit the paid time staff can spend at the event this year. (Photo courtesy of William Roepke)
But this year, Iowa DNR Director Kayla Lyon told organizers she would no longer allow conservation officers or other department employees to spend more paid time at the event, and asked organizers to remove the name and the Iowa DNR logo from all marketing materials, boat trailers and other equipment associated with the event.
“I called him, invited them to come to our event,” Karen Fynaardt, a board member for the nonprofit group, said of her phone conversation with Lyon. “I wanted to know if we could have four to six people a day to help. He said, ‘nope, we’re not going. And there’s really no reason to meet with us.’
The Iowa DNR’s legislative liaison, Todd Coffelt, sent an email Feb. 16 to Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, when she asked him about the decision.
“The department is constantly evaluating the best use of its staff and resources,” Coffelt wrote. “While the department wishes it could fully participate in every beneficial event it is asked to support, it is not feasible. Other volunteer-driven events, such as Project AWARE, Women in Natural Resources, and many more, are treated the same, with staff participating on their own time.Employees can choose where to volunteer their time and we encourage them to do so.
Coffelt suggested that the Department of Veterans Affairs could provide educational programming on fishing trips. Iowa DNR spokeswoman Tammie Krausman said in an email to The Gazette this week that the department is still available to “provide educational presentations and conservation information.”
Jochum told the nonprofit the agency faces budget challenges. State appropriations to the Iowa DNR have been flat for the past several years.
“Obviously, the decision has nothing to do with the value of your program,” he wrote. “They are most likely out of staff and the Dept of Administrative Services is now responsible for the management of Honey Creek Resort.”
Achieva Enterprises last spring was named the new concessionaire for Honey Creek.
The event provides fishing, a break for caregivers
Kirt Sickels, a Navy veteran, has been planning annual fishing trips for veterans for 27 years, first as an employee at Veterans Affairs and now as a director of Veterans Casting Away Disabilities. This year, the group has 46 veterans and 31 caregivers signed up for the trip May 12-19.
More than 20 volunteers — including Iowa’s first gentleman Kevin Reynolds in recent years — bring their pontoons and fishing boats so veterans can get out and fish on Lake Rathbun. One man, a triple amputee, designed a fishing pole that attaches to his wheelchair with a reel on his arm rest, Sickels said. The nonprofit has other adaptive equipment, such as poles that vibrate or beep for people with visual impairments.
“It just depends on the veteran and the needs of the veteran,” he said.
A few years ago, a young Iraqi War veteran was struggling at home in Waterloo and his parents convinced him to go fishing, Sickels said. “It was difficult for him to participate in the first part of the week, but by the end of the week it was a complete turnaround. Now he is the poster boy for us.”
While veterans fish, the nonprofit hosts activities including shopping trips, crafts or pedicures for spouses or other caregivers. The nonprofit raises money to pay for lodging and meals at the state-owned Honey Creek Resort and also pays for Iowa fishing licenses for veterans.
The nonprofit needs more volunteers
Without the help of Iowa DNR employees, Veterans Casting Away Disabilities will have to recruit more volunteers with fishing and boat safety experience, Sickels said. It also incurred the cost of removing the department’s logo from a boat trailer and marketing materials.
Krausman forwarded to The Gazette an email sent by Todd Jacobus, commandant of the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs, to Sickels and another fishing trip organizer, writing that they could communicate their volunteer needs to the Commission of Veterans Affairs . The commission approved nearly $5,500 to pay for two dinners during the weeklong program, Jacobus said.
If you’re interested in helping disabled veterans get on boats safely or volunteering in another way, contact the nonprofit at [email protected]. You can also donate to the program on the group’s website.
Comments: (319) 339-3157; [email protected]
