Neither rain, wind nor hail could keep the crowds away from Thursday’s grand opening of Willow Bend Park, and for one former city official, no amount of distance could either. Braving the elements along with dozens of others was former Loveland Parks and Recreation director Elizabeth Kayl, who made the trip from South Dakota to see the park she first dreamed up more than a decade ago come to life.

“It started with a phone call,” Kayl said.

That call came just a month after Kayl took the reins of the department in February 2015. A new resident asked where in Loveland she could find a universally accessible playground for her child, and Kayl regretfully told her there wasn’t one.

“But then I told her ‘what you’ve brought up to me has identified a deficit that is something I will be workin

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