By Adam Strunk
With a bit of Googling, sleuthing and some good old fashioned walking, $500 could soon be yours.
The Sand Creek Summer Daze medallion hunt will start August 9, and last until someone finds it or the event ends the following Sunday.
The event has hidden an aluminum medallion in a public space in the Newton, North Newton area and each day will release one of eight clues to help searches find it.
“They’re going to send you in a general direction where you need to be and then draws smaller and smaller circles,” Organizer Greg Hanson said.
Clues will be posted on the Sand Creek Summer Daze Facebook page, as well as physically on the Newton Now office window at 706 Main St. Copies of the clue will also be located at the office.
“With the prize money we have and our Facebook reception there will be a lot more people looking for it,” Hanson said. “$500 is a big chunk of money.”
The event is sponsored by Pro Fencing and the medallion provided by Hinz Customs.
Hanson said he thinks it will take until the last few days of the contest for the medallion to be found.
“They’ll have to use the internet, scientific knowledge, pop culture, music,” he said. “To find the medallion, they’re going to have to expand their minds.”
Hanson writes the clues himself and said he’s spent hours on them, as well as looking for a perfect hiding spot.
“You scout the location. Then, you write some clues for it,” he said. “You look at maps for clues of nature. You look where you’re going to hide it. You try to follow your own writing to make sure if you were reading it you could find it in a timely matter.”
Hanson wasn’t giving any hints and noted the medallion could be anywhere in the city. He said he hoped it will encourage residents to get out and explore the green spaces and trails of Newton.
Along with the reward, they will be able to keep the commemorative medallion.
Last year’s winners, Tim and Heidi Collins had asked to keep the medallion they found.
“We were going to save it, but they thought it was so neat to have and wanted to keep it. We listened to the public and said ‘Yes.’ It’s a really sharp looking piece of aluminum.”
