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Welcome Visitors

Five Island Lake

• Restoration Project
• Lake History
• Restoration Goals
• Accomplishments
• How Dredging Works
• Reference Map
• Tribute

A Tribute to Dr. James Coffey

Dr. James Coffey moved to Emmetsburg in 1955 because of Five Island Lake. He had made the decision to move his family and himself back to Iowa and had narrowed his search to three small communities. When he saw the Five Island Lake in Emmetsburg, he decided this was the place where he wanted to raise his family and to practice medicine. He and his wife, Eleanore, lived in Emmetsburg until his death in June 2007.

After a few years of drought in Palo Alto County, the lake began drying up. Every spring there would be a large fish kill all over the banks of the lake, and the algae would overtake the lake. When this happened, Doc became actively involved in trying to get the lake cleaned up. This became a crusade for him—to make the lake available for recreational use.

Doc, along with other residents of Palo Alto County, started looking into the possibility of dredging Five Island Lake. They ended up buying a dredge, but of course, none of them knew much about dredging. They discovered the dredge they had bought would not work on this lake, and that is when Doc Coffey started reading everything he could on dredging, to figure out what was needed and the cost involved.

Doc started talking to legislators and trying to get grants and raise money to get the process started. He made many trips to Ames, Des Moines, and Washington, DC trying to get funding and having the lake water tested.

After many years of dredging, the lake is now a beautiful place and is used by swimmers, boaters, and fishermen. All of this work was finally successful, although it will be an ongoing process to keep the lake from filling up with silt again.

The lake was the most important part of Dr. Coffey’s life, except for his family; and there were many times that the lake took precedent! He loved the lake and spent many hours studying and learning everything he could about preserving it. Hopefully, all of his work will continue, and Five Island Lake will be available for everyone to use for many years to come. Thank you, Dr. Coffey, for your dedication to this project.