Ribbon cutting planned for Ice Rink
Rec Director Jessica Thurman is ready for a busy January.
The Soda Springs Recreation Department is planning an official ribbon cutting and opening of the city’s new ice skating rink. The rink had been set up at the end of 2025, but weather has been something of an issue since then. The rink was put together by Jessica Thurman and Amber Torgesen of the Recreation Department, along with a number of volunteers, and then filled to wait for the right temperatures to set the ice.
Since then, Caribou County (along with the rest of the state) has seen high winds, unseasonably warm temperatures, occasional snowfall and warming, and other “not great” weather patterns. Due to a certain amount of uncertainty, the Department has decided to pick a date and hope for the best before summer gets here. So make your plans for January 14 at 6:00 p.m. and be ready to “swim or skate” with the community to celebrate the opening of the facility.
The event will include an official ribbon cutting, family skating, hot cocoa, and a pick up hockey game at 8:00 p.m. Fingers crossed that the weather will cooperate. Temperatures are forecast to be in the twenties and low thirties for the next week, with overnight lows in the teens. Snow is likely early this week, with cloud cover for the next ten days of so. If that goes according to plan, the conditions should be right to allow for the ribbon cutting to go forward as planned!
Sponsors include ICCU, Rotary Club of Soda Springs, Mountain View Dental Clinic, Get Outside and Live, Bayer, Braden Lott, Heather Lott, Nolan Lott, Casey Hlavaty, Garrett Hill, Eddilyn Hill, Zaz McDonald, Jessica Thurman, Charlotte McCulloch, Tyler Henesh, Mike Nally, Dillon Liechty, Amber Torgesen, and Sunrise Automotive.
In the meantime, there are several other things in the works for the Rec Department. Thursday the 8th (our publication date, unless you get your copy from the stands), the Enders Hotel will host the first of its kind “Open Mic Night” from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The event is planned as the beginning to an ongoing schedule of open mic events, planned for every second and fourth Thursday going forward.
Assistant Rec Director Amber Torgesen came up with the idea last year, and has been working to get things ready for Thursday. “This is Amber’s baby,” Jessica Thurman said. The idea, as Amber explained it, is to give people an opportunity to show off their talents in a non-sports recreational environment. “It’s a different kind of recreation,” she said when explaining the idea, “but there are people in the community with a whole range of different skills.”
The Open Mic night is open to anyone from inside and outside the community, although the rec department is clear that the content presented must be appropriate for an audience that will include children and families. One or both members of the Rec Department will be on hand to act as emcees for the events.
Finally (for now), registration is currently open for 3 on 3 Mens and Womens Basketball tournaments. You can find information and links to registration at City Hall, or on the Soda Springs Recreation Facebook page.
