OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — Earlier this month, the Oshkosh Parks Department announced it did not have the budget to continue operating the Menominee Park train. Now, there's a chance to get the historic ride back on track.
Walking through the empty train station at Menominee Park, Adrea Matulle reflects on her childhood.
“Ever since I could, like, walk almost, I would just come to the train and ride it,” she says.
When Matulle heard the train was leaving Oshkosh, she wanted to take action.
“I was like, oh, I should make a GoFundMe, and it blew up from there,” she says.
Matulle's efforts didn’t go unnoticed. After seeing the community's pushback, Council Member Joe Stephenson says he worked with his colleagues to find a solution.
Watch: Oshkosh City Council to vote on saving Menominee Park Train
“After seeing all the public outcry, I was like, hey, this is important to other people, not just important to me,” he says. “I wanted to make sure we could get this thing back on track.”
At Tuesday night's meeting, the City Council will vote on allocating $50,000 to the train.
The money would come from the interest the city earned by loaning out ARPA funds—the COVID relief funding signed into law by President Joe Biden.
“First step, get the train back up and running, and then over the summer, I think we’re going to come up with a long-term plan,” Stephenson says.
The news is a relief for Matulle.
“We really want to save the train,” she says. “I think this is a historic part of Oshkosh that needs to be cherished and not just thrown away.”
Oshkosh Parks Director Ray Maurer says there is still no confirmed funding source for the long-term future of the train.
