River Valley

The annual Spring Migration Day Hike at Sugar Creek Bluff Natural Area will be held Saturday, May 8 at 8 a.m. This is the first of the “Linked to the Land” hikes sponsored by the Mississippi Valley Conservancy and hosted by the Ferryville Tourism Council as well. Several changes are needed this year for everyone’s safety. First of all, the hike is limited to 36 participants. Registration is required and can be done at www.mississippivalleyconservancy.org. Masks are also required for the safety of everyone. The group will meet at the trailhead, not at the Ferryville Village Hall as in years past.

Friends of Pool 9 (FOP9) will be hosting its Pool 9 Mississippi River Clean-Up Saturday, April 24 from 8 a.m. to 12 Noon. There will be no mass meetings of individuals at the Lansing VFW building or elsewhere, as in year’s past, and there will not be a lunch following the clean-up. All volunteers are required to sign the 2021 Friends of Pool 9 Release of Liability form before participating in the event.

by Alexis Johnson

The regular meeting of the Lansing City Council was held Monday, April 19 at Lansing City Hall. Discussion centered around the consent agenda, citizens action, Streets report and Parks report.

Citizens action consisted of Tom Burke’s tree maintenance plan for trees in City of Lansing parks. He is interested in cleaning up some surrounding trees as well as planting some other trees such as the previous tree at the ball field that was taken down a couple years ago. A motion was made and seconded to approve Tom Burke’s plan for City Park trees. The council also reviewed and considered Resolution #953, which deals with Andrew Burke’s proposed real estate subdivision plot.

Friends of Pool 9 (FOP9) will be hosting its Pool 9 Mississippi River Clean-Up Saturday, April 24 from 8 a.m. to 12 Noon. There will be no mass meetings of individuals at the Lansing VFW building or elsewhere, as in year’s past, and there will not be a lunch following the clean-up. All volunteers are required to sign the 2021 Friends of Pool 9 Release of Liability form before participating in the event.

The City of Lansing is requesting citizen participation in its upcoming Municipal Code Revision. City officials are working with Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission in conducting an overall update to the Lansing City Code to bring it more in line with modern day City operations and situations in order to provide greater clarity.

Those who have suggestions for updates to the City Code are asked to submit their proposals - in writing only -  via one of the following three ways: by email at lansingcodeupdate@gmail.com, by mail to Lansing City Hall, P.O. Box 307, Lansing, IA 52151, or by leaving them in the drop-box located outside the Lansing City Hall location at 201 John Street in Lansing. Proposals will be taken until April 16.
 

Upper Iowa Audubon Society is organizing a bird walk at Yellow River State Forest Saturday, May 1, starting at 9 a.m. The two-hour walk will begin at the main entrance to the Forest, approximately three miles off Hwy 76 on County Road B25/State Forest Road near Harpers Ferry.

There are several trail options depending on physical limitations and interests, including combination trails with ponds and some marsh areas. Participants can anticipate possibly seeing Cerulean Warblers, Red-shouldered Hawks and many other uncommon or migrating species. Yellow River State Forest is also home to an eagle’s nest and Iowa’s only fire tower.

After the walk, those who are interested will continue to Lansing for a sack lunch at the Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center, scheduled at noon. At 1 p.m. a caravan of birders will leave the Center to look at Peregrine Falcon nest sites near Lansing and stop at other locations where birds are easy to see.

At their March board meeting, the Friends of Pool 9 (FOP9) Directors voted to organize a Pool 9 Mississippi River clean-up for this year, and scheduled it for Saturday, April 24.

There will be no mass meetings of individuals at the Lansing VFW building or elsewhere, as in year’s past, and there will not be a lunch following the clean-up. All volunteers are required to sign the 2021 Friends of Pool 9 Release of Liability form before participating in the event.

“While the need exists to clean our beloved Mississippi River Pool 9, we need to remember the present COVID virus restrictions and limit the scope of the event,” FOP9 leaders shared.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS), and program partners, are proposing aerial treatments in Allamakee and Clayton Counties to slow the spread of the invasive gypsy moth. The proposed gypsy moth mating disruptant would be applied in late June by aerial fly-over methods.

In Allamakee County, the proposed treatment sites include two rural areas around Black Hawk Point and Lansing Wildlife Management areas totaling 5,018 acres between Lansing and New Albin along Highway 26. In Clayton County, treatments will focus on a 590-acre site including Marquette and the surrounding rural area. Trapping data has identified these spots where gypsy moth populations are starting to grow.

by Alexis Johnson

The Lansing City Council met in regular session Monday, April 5. The meeting’s consent agenda consisted of council meeting minutes from March 15, payment of claims, Parks Board minutes from April 1, 2021 and a liquor license for TJ Hunter’s Tiki Bar. A motion was made and seconded to approve the consent agenda with minimal discussion by the council.

The council reviewed and approved a building permit with variance for 140 North Third Street. Consideration was also given to a long-term Elm Street levee lot lease with Jesse Weymiller. The council also reviewed and approved a resolution supporting Main Street Lansing submitting an Iowa Rural Innovation grant that would assist in restoring businesses throughout Lansing by helping replace bricks, replacing windows, painting, etc. Approval was given to Maryann Baldwin submitting an Iowa Rural Innovation grant.

Allamakee County is planning to replace the Cota Creek Bridge on Lansing Harpers Road (County Road B25) on the western edge of the town of Harpers Ferry, beginning Monday, April 5. Lansing Harpers Road (B25) will be completely closed to traffic in the area of the Cota Creek Bridge (short red line with black X) as shown on the above map, with a quarter-mile gravel detour past the small electric station - marked with detour signs - allowing vehicles to connect Lansing Harpers Road (B25) with Great River Road (County Road X52/Highway 364) just south of Harpers Ferry, also as shown on the above map (longer red line). According to Allamakee County Engineer Brian Ridenour, the closure is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Monday, April 5 and estimated to be a 14-week closure, pending weather. Submitted image.