The puck drops here: city of Dike constructing new ice rink

Shane Metz still vividly remembers his first Waterloo Black Hawks game. It was 1980, he worked at John Deere, the union provided him with free tickets and the beverages were aplenty.
           
“If something’s free, you’re gonna go,” he said. “I went and had a great time, and pretty soon my wife (and I)—after I got married—we went, and before you know it, the whole family’s going almost every night.”
           
He’s been a diehard hockey fan ever since, and his love of the sport has inspired the latest public works project in Dike, where Metz serves as the city superintendent. With the help of his fellow employees and D-NH senior Dillan Barker, who’s enrolled in a job-training program, the dream of a full-size ice rink in town is quickly coming to life.
           
The idea sprung from a posting on a public surplus website advertising the equipment from the former home of the Sioux City Musketeers—one of Waterloo’s biggest rivals in the United States Hockey League—but they had one problem: the municipal government there wanted twice as much as Metz was willing to pay.
           
Time passed, and the unit still hadn’t sold. Eventually, Sioux City relented and cut Metz a deal, and two years ago, he made the long trek west, returning home with the fiberglass pieces. Now, for the hard part—piecing it all together and adding the wooden support planks.  
           
“It’s about having a place for kids to come and do something in the winter,” Metz said. “If we can get them out on nice days and keep some ice in here, I think it’ll be a great thing for the town.” 
 
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