Main Street Iowa and Downtown Professionals Network offer strategies, resources for Lansing area businesses facing upcoming bridge closure

by Lissa Blake

It’s going to take communication and collaboration for the small town of Lansing to navigate the pending closure of the Black Hawk Bridge. That was the message at last week’s “Bridge the Gap” Business Strategies meeting, which was attended by about 20 Lansing area business owners, workers and residents Wednesday, September 3 at The Works in Lansing.

Jay Schlinsog, representing the Downtown Professionals Network, presented at the meeting, initiated by Main Street Lansing. It was the second in a series of meetings scheduled to share information and strategies for the upcoming closure of the Black Hawk Bridge, which will come down this fall in order to facilitate completion of the new bridge. The completion of the new bridge is expected to take between 18 months and two years.

Also attending the meeting were Waukon native Carol (Caballero) Lilly, state coordinator for Main Street Iowa, and Brooke Prouty, business specialist for Main Street Iowa.

TOURISM DATA
Prouty opened the meeting with some data about the local “heat map,” affecting Lansing, which included where tourists come from and how many people travel in and out of Lansing for work.

Tourism data indicates that 73 percent of tourism activity comes primarily from west of the Mississippi River, including Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Dubuque, and the Twin Cities and Rochester in Minnesota, with the only large influx east of the river coming from Chicago, IL.

With regard to people who live in Lansing and work elsewhere, Prouty said there are “not a ton,” and the closure should not have a huge impact on the workforce. She said a challenge will be to focus on growing the retail trade area in northeast Iowa.

COMING TOGETHER
During Schlinsog’s presentation, he said it is going to be important for the community to come together to support the business community.

“As I visited with merchants today, I had one tell me they get approached for donations almost every week,” he said, adding the bridge closure will be the perfect time for customers to return that support.

Schlinsog explained Main Street Iowa consultant Ben Muldrow is currently assessing the opportunities in Lansing and, within the next four to six weeks, will be publishing a “tool kit” or a book of strategies for local businesses. “We all have shared goals, which include minimizing disruptions to businesses and retaining customers and businesses,” Schlinsog said.

Schlinsog’s presentation included a variety of pictures and anecdotes from communities around the country that had pulled together to survive massive construction project hurdles. 

“I am not here to sugar coat the impact of this project. The new bridge will take 18 months to two years and the Main Street (highway reconstruction) project after that will take a year. It’s going to take a community pulling together,” he said.

To read the full article, pick up the Wednesday, September 10, 2025 print edition of The Standard or subscribe to our e-edition or print edition by clicking here.