LIVE: Red River Zoo Says Carousel Will Spin Again Soon; Lost $100k Without It

The Red River Zoo's 1928 Carousel Broke Last July

Fargo, N.D. (KVRR) – An economic engine of the Red River Zoo will spin once again soon.

The Zoo’s 1928 carousel has been out of commission since last July.

They thought it would be back spinning in weeks. That turned into 8 months.
A part in the center of the carousel cracked.
They don’t just have parts lying around for 95-year-old rides, so the zoo had to get the part made especially for them.
That took a while, but the carousel is important to them.
It generates money through individual rides, getting people to buy zoo memberships and from people renting it for events.
Executive Director Sally Jacobson says the zoo has lost about 100 thousand dollars due to the ride sitting still this long.

She adds, “You think of zoos you think of fun. The carousel itself is not a mission piece but it helps fund out mission and it helps fund our animal care so we are just ecstatic to know that it’s going to be running soon.”

The zoo is taking the opportunity to take the entire carousel apart and inspect the rest of the antique parts. Industrial Builders in West Fargo and Rick Electric in Moorhead are helping in the process. They expect to have the ride up and running this spring.

Watch the video above to meet a couple of the zoo’s turtles, a Carnivorous Aquatic Turtle named Vespucci and a Box Turtle named Shelly.