The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks will host a groundbreaking ceremony at 11 a.m., Friday, to mark ongoing development of Lehigh Portland State Park at the south edge of Iola.
The public is invited to celebrate the work being done to bring Lehigh into its next iteration, including its visitors center.
The ceremony will be at the south edge of the park. Attendees should go to the south entrance along Montana Road.
A limited number of chairs will be available, although attendees are welcome to bring their own seating.
It is a park, after all.
The 100-acre park sits on land that for generations housed the Lehigh Portland Cement plant, until it closed in 1971.
The land was donated by Iola Industries to the state in 2023, as lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the park’s designation that same year.
