Board votes on Brooks Golf management agreement

Dickinson County Conservation voted Wednesday to sign a 10-year agreement with Brooks Management LLC to run Brooks Golf in Okoboji.

The Dickinson County Conservation Board took ownership of Brooks Golf in March and signed a management agreement through 2019 with Brooks Management to run the course as the conservation board discussed the future of the course and the land management in general.

“Public comments were sought this summer, and the community expressed the desire that the area should remain a golf course,” said Kiley Roth, community relations coordinator for the Dickinson County Conservation Board. “The conservation board voted to have the land remain a golf course, and proposals were sought from management companies.”

A committee made of Dickinson County Conservation board members, staff and Dickinson County supervisors reviewed the submitted proposals and recommended that Brooks Management LLC be awarded the 10-year contract. The Dickinson County Conservation Board voted at a special meeting Oct. 30 to sign an agreement with Brooks Management LLC, with a revised financial proposal.

“We were glad to see that we had multiple companies interested in the operation of Brooks Golf,” said Lee Sorenson, Dickinson County Conservation executive director. “The scoring and ranking of the proposals really gave us a look at the variety of different aspects of the course. The conservation board feels that the best proposal rose to the top, and along with its years of experience of operating Brooks, Brooks Management is the right choice.”

Dickinson County Conservation became owners of Brooks Golf in 2019 when an anonymous donation of $3 million was given to the Conservation Foundation of Dickinson County — the non-profit fundraising arm for the conservation board — to purchase the course. The CFDC then gave possession of the 230 acres, including the pro shop, clubhouse restaurant and maintenance structures to the conservation board. Minerva’s Restaurant and Arrowwood Resort & Conference Center are separate entities and not included in the transaction.

Part of the donation agreement was to place a conservation easement on the land to protect it from development in perpetuity, and the Dickinson County Conservation Board is working with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation on this easement, to be finalized at the conservation board’s Nov. 13 regular meeting.

For more information on the Dickinson County Conservation Board, call 712-336-6352. To find out more about Brooks Golf, visit www.brooksgolf.com.