Calmus Creek
Where is Calmus Creek?
Along the Lime Creek nature trail on the north end of Mason City is Calmus Creek. In 1986, a man by the name of Ernest Zerble wanted to build a bridge across the Calmus Creek and this became the topic of much controversy in Mason City, because he had it built without proper permissions. The first bridge was a small structure made of power poles and planks with a rail. This bridge did not meet the approval of the Park Board or the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The proper permissions were granted after the fact and the bridge stayed. It was washed away by a flood in 1993. The Park Department would find the bridge downstream and re-install it when the water level went down. In 1995 another structure was installed further east and a bit higher. This bridge was damaged by the flood of 2004. Finally, a new bridge was installed using a railroad flat car from Erman Corp. of Kansas City with funding from the Muse Foundation and is still in existence today.