It has been only a few days since Carroll’s population swelled to nearly 50,000 people, but there is little physical evidence left that tens of thousands of RAGBRAI riders, support teams, and vendors spent the night here on Monday. Chamber Program Director and Carroll RAGBRAI Executive Committee Member Ashley Schable says the clean-up effort from riders and volunteers was impressive.
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The unofficial estimate from Monday shows around 35,000 people came to Carroll, either riding the route or for the day’s long list of entertainment options. Carroll was host to people from all 50 states and 16 different countries, and Schable says they all had nothing but positive things to say about Carroll and the other local pass-through towns.
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While most of the physical remnants might be gone, RAGBRAI didn’t go without leaving a donation of $22,000 to be split between the Carroll Community School District, the Kuemper Catholic School System, and the Carroll American Legion. Chamber Executive Director Kimberly Tiefenthaler says it is nearly impossible to calculate the economic impact of RAGBRAI’s visit, not to mention the intangible effects.
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Tiefenthaler says, overall, they are quite pleased with how everything went and offers a huge thanks to everybody who played a part.
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Tiefenthaler says it will likely take at least a few weeks to fully wrap up with RAGBRAI, as bills are still coming in for services that were provided. Carroll Broadcasting will bring you more information once it becomes available.