Pretty big development along the Illinois River. Would love to see more regional collaboration between Tulsa/NWA on projects like this that help build up some of the natural aspects present in the region to help make this area more of an 'outdoors' destination.
https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/construction-to-begin-on-national-caliber-whitewater-park-made-possible-by-oklahoma-arkansas-partnerships-officials/article_9b272fa8-1883-11eb-97e8-5397ef87fd82.html$33 Million project.
The city of Siloam Springs and Oklahoma-based utility Grand River Dam Authority broke ground Thursday (Oct. 29) on a 30-acre whitewater park on the Illinois River, and the Walton Family Foundation is providing 95% of the money for the project.
The WOKA Whitewater Park will be built at the old spillway of Lake Frances in Oklahoma and near Watts, which is about seven miles southwest of Siloam Springs. The main attraction features a nearly 1,200-foot-long, 100-foot-wide side channel off the Illinois River with eight drop-features offering recreation and waves for kayakers, surfers and tubers of all skill levels, a news release shows. WOKA was formed from a combination of the words water, Oklahoma and Arkansas.