Under the new ownership of partners Dave Halbur, Mike Deeth, Doug Zook, Steve Bauer, and Roger Slater, who have been working non stop on the restoration, the bowling center has been transformed into a family fun center.

They promise to astound and amaze people at the changes that have been made. Nothing remains from the old bowling center as all new fixtures from floor to ceiling have ben installed.

The total renovation includes the kitchen, restrooms, floor coverings, tables and chairs, ceiling tiles, lights and ceiling fans to all new graphics and decor.

The lanes have been coated with a top coat that contains a special glow in the dark additive so that the lanes will glow under a black light. The lanes and approaches were pulled with the new finish just Monday morning. The lanes shine like glass.

With the glow finish, Coon Bowl will be a full blown cosmic bowling center, the only one in four county area. In fact, Coon Bowl brags about eing the "biggest and baddest" family fun center in the area, and plans to do all it can to uphold that promise. Coon Bowl has contracted with a group from Norwalk to provide the latest in new arcade and video games.

Boasting a whopping 5,000 watts of stereo power and 200 CDs in the juke box, Coon Bowl will have music to please any age. The light and sound system were designed by co-owner Doug Zook of A to Z Enterprises.

The decor is retro with laminated posters to fit in with the rock and bowl theme that include Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, the Beatles and Elvis, all to give it the 50's and 60's twist. Again, Coon Bowl plans to provide something for everyone, young and old alike.

Serving from the new kitchen will include all types of snack bar items such as sandwiches, pizza and malts.

With all the new facilities has to offer, Coon Bowl III will remain open through the summer months. Owners have already begun to book private parties and hope to target others such as class reunions and kid's birthday parties. They plan to offer party packages that include banners, special promotions and lots of extras.

Don Sapp and Leon Dorpinghaus offer years of experience in managing and running bowling lanes and they will be on hand to run the center that will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to close.

All the improvements at Coon Bowl III have gotten bowlers excited. The men's and women's leagues have been formed and are full, with only a few openings for subs. Mixed doubles leagues will start later in the year and bowlers are still needed for that.

Junior bowling will be emphasized this year and interested bowlers are asked to call the bowling center to sign up. Coon Bowl has on-staff certified insturctors to help with this program.

With all the chnges and improvements, owners of Coon Bowl have not found it necessary to raise any bowling prices.

All the work has taken the owners away from home a lot in the last few weeks. They are all very appreciative of the support they have received from their wives and families who have had to put up with a lot of late nights.

After being closed for two months and putting in countless hours the last five weeks during renovation, Coon Bowl III is set for its grand opening celebration on Friday, August 29. Free glow bowling is from 7 to 9p.m. on a first come first served basis. There will be drink specials and door prizes with everything from bowling balls to t-shirts being given each hour. Radio station KKRL from Carroll will be on hand beginning at 5 p.m. for the Friday Night Traffic Jam live broadcast from Coon Bowl.

Proprietors are expecting a huge crowd that night, and hope that patrons will not be disappointed if they don't get the personal attention that will be a constant at Coon Bowl. Their advice is to come early and stay late for all the festivities.

The grand opening celebration continues on Saturday morning, August 30 with free bowling for the kids from 10 a.m. to noon. Lots of specials will be availale for the kids including free pop and an arcade promotion that for every quarter spent on video games, Coon Bowl will chip in a quarter.