NORTH MANKATO — North Mankato’s Culture, Recreation and Quality of Life department reported high participation, expanded programming and economic impact across its library, swim facility and sports operations in 2025.
Library director Katie Heintz and Aquatics and Recreation Supervisor Sandy Bromley presented to the City Council at Monday evening’s work session, reporting the North Mankato Taylor Library recorded about 83,000 in-person visits in 2025. The Bookmobile circulated about 31,600 items and staff hosted 791 programs with about 28,500 attendees, Heintz said.
“We hope to add new programs and continue to be the leader of some of the local libraries around here,” she said.
The city’s swim facility welcomed just over 39,000 visitors during its 76-day season, Bromley said. Overall revenues reached over $500,000, while expenses totaled over $668,000. The Spring Lake Swim Facility will not open for the 2026 season while construction and repairs are completed. The closure follows damage caused by excessive rain and flooding in summer 2024. The facility is expected to reopen for the 2027 season, with updates to be posted on the city’s social media.
Despite the pool closure, Bromley said the department is coordinating programming during construction and expanding partnerships. For summer 2026, the department plans to offer a different youth-focused program each week to provide consistent activities for families and steady work hours for returning seasonal staff. The city intends to rehire as many returning employees as possible while limiting new hires.
Bromley said expenses have consistently met or come in under budget, but attendance has not reached the city’s annual goal of 50,000 visits since the facility opened in 2019. She told the council the department will reevaluate how the swim facility budget is structured as plans for a new facility move forward. The pool programs are designed to be self-sustaining, with registration fees covering program costs.
“If we want to make more money, it’s going to be that we have to charge more to the people that are coming in,” Bromley said. “I don’t know as a community entity, if that’s a route we want to go down to charge our residents more to use our facility.”
New offerings will include a youth sports sampler program, allowing children to try several sports over the course of a week, and additional outdoor exploration camps. The city applied for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ No Child Left Inside grant at the end of 2025 and expects to learn in the coming weeks whether funding will be awarded.
“This will give us all the equipment and everything we need to offer some angling, archery, outdoor exploration camps and stuff that we can do in Spring Lake Park to keep traffic coming down to that location, even if the pool can’t be open,” Bromley said.
In 2025, North Mankato received an age-friendly community designation from AARP. Bromley told the council the designation will guide evaluation of programs, potential grants and opportunities to improve accessibility and safety for residents of all ages, including initiatives such as safer sidewalks and routes to school.
Caswell Sports had strong youth and adult participation across multiple programs, with an economic impact estimated to be just over $12 million, Heintz told the council. The Caswell Softball Complex hosted 27 events and the complex welcomed more than 33,000 visitors. Heintz told the council the city will partner with West High School in 2026, with the complex serving as the school’s home field.
The Caswell North Soccer Complex hosted about 200 games, with new artificial turf installation on one of the fields planned later this year. Department-wide, additional adult events and new youth programs are scheduled for 2026 as the city continues expanding recreation and quality-of-life offerings.