 Established in 1891, Atasca is the oldest state park in Minnesota and over its lifetime has grown into quite the attraction. For this week's community spotlight, Mal Meyer went to Park Rapids to check out how the park is passing on some of its rich history. While Atasca State Park hosts many activities all year round, the summertime has brought in influx of visitors looking to spend time in the great outdoors. Going to do some boating and fishing and relax and get out of the grind. But some are taking a break and headed inside to check out the Jacob V. Brower Visitor Center. It's here that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has built an interactive learning experience. They have like a beaver house over there where you can see up above and underground. It's been years since Amanda Thompson has been back to the park. Now traveling with her husband and three boys, she was happy to see so much on display. I have three, six and nine and they all found something that interested them. Even though Alden Hardwick returns to the area year after year, he continues to find new facts about the park. He was particularly interested in finding out more about the Civilian Conservation Corps. The trees we see along the road, the many parks, the nice buildings in the parks, the rock work, many places we go, all done by the CCC. He says the building provides a great opportunity to see how things have changed over time. The pictures are just great. What it was like in the old camps, what it was like with the old building of the roads, it's fun to experience it. The park provides many other ways for people to learn more, including educational programming. Staff from the International Wolf Center dropped by to teach about the world of wolves. Turri Garvey says she's never learned about them in school and was excited to do so today. What was your favorite thing that you learned about today? How soft wolf fur is. Soren Garvey was happy that the presentation cleared up some misconceptions. They're not that aggressive to people. There's plenty of things to see and do here at the park all summer long. More information can be found on our website that's lptv.org backslash news. In Park Rapids with this week's Community Spotlight, I'm Mel Meyer, Lakeland News. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.