Lansing City Council advances infrastructure projects, prepares for car ferry operations, reviews fiscal health at regular meeting
by Joshua Sharpe
The Lansing City Council held its regular meeting Monday, October 20 at City Hall with all council members present. The council approved the 2026 Driftless Half-Marathon date, adopted several financial and administrative resolutions, and reviewed progress on ongoing infrastructure projects.
DRIFTLESS HALF-MARATHON
Representing the Driftless Half-Marathon, race director Amanda Hess provided an overview of the year’s successes and plans for the future, noting there were 233 participants in this year’s event held Saturday, October 11 and requesting an October 10 date for the 2026 event. Lansing Mayor Mike Verdon added a positive reflection on the race experience, acknowledging both the challenges the course presents and its scenic beauty. Hess emphasized the importance of improved coordination with local authorities, with the objective being to enhance logistical efficiency through “potentially more hard (road) closes” to ensure safety.
In culmination, the mayor expressed an optimistic outlook on the event’s progress, noting, “It’s turned into a success and it grows every year. That’s great to hear.” The October 10, 2026 date was unanimously approved for next year’s event.
PLAT APPROVAL
City Clerk Teresa Severson facilitated a discussion concerning a proposed plat located near the city limits, highlighting the critical issue of ensuring that any changes would not impact Lansing’s boundaries. Council member Mike Manning responded, “It does have city limits. We really look at this just to make sure it’s not going to be a lot of harm, anything that affects the city limits.”
The dialogue remained focused on compliance with municipal regulations and the geographical accuracy of the proposal. Ultimately, the council reached a consensus to approve the plat.
CITY FUND DEPOSITORIES
Mayor Verdon presented the next resolution stating, “And this is just naming depositories for the Lansing city funds - Kerndt Brothers Savings Bank and Iowa Public Agency Investment Trust.” Councilmember Manning elaborated, “I called to see if that was enough with the projects that we do have coming up. She assured me that that is enough; we’ve got it covered.” The depositories were designated not to exceed $2,500,000 each.
PUBLIC HEARING FOR CDBG INFRASTRUCTURE
The council approved setting a public hearing for the status of funded activities for the City of Lansing water and sewer improvement project for 7 p.m. at its Monday, November 3 meeting. City Clerk Teresa Severson noted that the hearing is in regard to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) being utilized for the project and reminded the council of the program’s requirements, specifically mentioning, “we’ve spent or are near spending 50% of the CDBG grant.”
VETERANS MEMORIAL JURISDICTION
Mayor Verdon acknowledged the collaborative efforts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and various council committees in updating an outdated resolution that grants jurisdiction over two Veterans Memorial sites on Mt. Hosmer. He stated, “Thanks to a lot of work from the VFW, from council members (Steve) Murray and (Stan) Schwartzhoff, we have Resolution 1065, which amends Resolution 658 from years and years ago.”
Council member Murray contributed, “I think it was really helpful to meet with you guys as an entire group and make the process much easier,” and he recognized the individuals who played a significant role in the update: “Dan Hanson, John Rethwisch, Bill Burke, Don Peters, and Cheryl Garin were all part of that committee.” A representative from the Veterans organization also mentioned the involvement of the Lansing Veterans Memorial Association. The adoption of the resolution formalized the shared responsibilities for the maintenance and programming of the designated memorials.
To read the full article, pick up the Wednesday, October 29, 2025 print edition of The Standard or subscribe to our e-edition or print edition by clicking here.
