Informational meeting to be held about Columbus Bridge visitor center Jan. 15

The Allamakee County Conservation Board will host an informational meeting about the Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center planned for the Columbus Bridge property Thursday January, 15 from 5:30-7:30  p.m. at the Kerndt Brothers Savings Bank Community Center in Lansing (391 Main Street).
Staff from Fehr Graham Engineering will be present to discuss site planning, Martin Gardner Architecture on the building design, and Split Rock Studios on interpretive displays proposals. The public is encouraged to attend.  
Allamakee County is located in the heart of the geographic region referred to as the Driftless Area which encompasses the four state areas of Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. Educational displays in the center will reflect the unique features found in the Drifltess Area. The different levels of the building will feature education displays, fish and wildlife exhibits, cultural history displays, as well as classroom and public meeting areas. The center will also contain displays about area topography, geology, forestry, cold water streams and the Upper Mississippi River.
Other interpretive displays will provide information about the area's Native American heritage, the early European influences to the area, early town site development in Allamakee County, and the early industries of fur trading, commercial fishing, logging, agriculture, the steam boat era, railroad development, and the barge industry.   
For more information ,call the Allamakee County Conservation Board at 563-586-2996.