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Keokuk Foundation Wants to Bring Back Street Fair

An organization in Keokuk is working to bring back another staple of the city's past.

Doug Matlick, Robert Korschgen and Tom Bell formed the Lake Cooper Foundation last year.

"We formed this group to try to bring more things back for the people... to do in their own town," says Matlick. "Things that have been lost or forgotten."

Matlick says the foundation is a direct result of the effort to return the former Kilbourne Park rocket slide to Keokuk. 

That effort included purchasing the slide from an out-of-state owner, having it shipped to Keokuk from Las Vegas, and refurbishing it for placement in Triangle Park.

He says the foundation has now set its sights on bringing back the Keokuk Street Fair after a roughly 15-year hiatus.

"When I was a child, it was great, it was fun," says Matlick. "Everybody liked it and it was just one of those things that was forgotten and we want to bring it back."

Matlick says the foundation needs to raise at least $20,000 to make the street fair a reality next year.

The fundraising effort gets underway Monday, May 5 with a Cinco de Mayo celebration at Dr. Getwell's, which is owned by Matlick, in downtown Keokuk.

He says the proceeds from the event, which will include food, drinks, and live entertainment, will go towards the foundation.

The Lake Cooper Foundation meets the 3rd Sunday of each month.

Jason Parrott is a former reporter at Tri States Public Radio.