John Castle, Operation Manager at Coralville Lake, will retire at the end of the month.  Castle has worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Coralville Lake for 35 years and spent 20 serving as the operations manager.  He also worked a brief stint at Saylorville Lake, in Central Iowa.

“I don’t think I’ve had more than 2 weeks off since 1979,” Castle said.  “So I’m looking forward to sleeping in every once in a while.”

Castle said he decided to retire because “now just feels like the right time.”

“The floods of 1993 and 2008 were the most memorable (moments),” Castle said.  “Particularly ’93 because it was the first time.”

Recreation growth around the lake has been a highlight for Castle.

“Watching the camping growth has been exciting,” he said.

At this point the Corps has yet to hire a new operations manager at Coralville Lake.  Castle said he still enjoys parks and hasn’t ruled out seeking a part-time job with the county or City of Iowa City in the future.