River Valley

The Kee High School Speech program is getting its competition season underway, beginning with Conference Large Group Speech Contest scheduled for this past Saturday, January 18 in West Union but canceled due to winter weather and not to be rescheduled. Kee will be taking 38 students involved with 12 competing teams to the District Contest this Saturday, January 25 in Decorah. Those Kee teams include one each competing in One Act, Reader’s Theatre, Radio Broadcasting and Solo Mime, three competing in Group Mimes, three in Improvisational Acting and two in Ensemble Acting. State Contest is scheduled for February 8 in Dubuque. The Kee Speech Department will also host its annual Speech Dinner Theatre at TJ Hunters Banquet Hall on Main Street in Lansing March 7. Submitted photo.

by Alexis Johnson

The regular meeting of the Lansing City Council was held Monday, January 20. Discussion centered around the consent agenda and marina report.

The consent agenda consisted of council meeting minutes from January 6, 2020 and liquor license for Shep’s Riverside Bar and Grill. A motion was made and seconded to approve the consent agenda with minimal discussion.

The Friends of Pool 9 organization is interested in creating a “No Wake” zone on the west side of the main channel of the Mississippi River for a certain distance extending from the river bank in an effort to increase dock safety. This effort has to be pursued through the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) before any further steps are taken locally. A motion was made and seconded to proceed with further steps required to create the “No Wake” zone.
 

The Safe Routes to School program offered through Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC) will be hosting its Beat the Blues Winter “Marathon” Challenge once again with the start of the new year. Starting January 1 in northeast Iowa, anyone can challenge friends, family and themselves to complete a full “marathon” worth of activities, or more, between January 1 and February 12 of this year.

Participants can run, walk, ski, snowshoe or bike 26 miles outdoors at their own pace when it works for them and their family during that timeframe, or play outside for 30 minutes in any activity to equal one mile. They can then record their mileage and submit it online after each “marathon” they complete for a chance to win a $50 gift card to Decorah Bicycles to rent skis, ice skates or bikes.

The Driftless Half Marathon committee, coming off a second successful event, spent the holiday season distributing event proceeds to area emergency response agencies and law enforcement. Through efforts of sponsors, volunteers and runners, the Driftless Half Marathon has been able to give back to its host community to the tune of over $8,000 in donated funding. Proceeds from the 2019 event produced donations to the Lansing and Harpers Ferry Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Departments, the Lansing Police Department’s Kindness Campaign, a scholarship to Kee High School, and the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Department K9 Fund, all of which are pictured in the photos surrounding this article.

by Alexis Johnson

The Lansing City Council held its first meeting of the new year Monday, January 6. Discussion centered around the consent agenda, building permit approval and appointment of a new fire chief.

The consent agenda consisted of council meeting minutes from December 16, payment of claims, library board minutes from December 17, utility reconciliation from November 2019, and utility reconciliation from December 2019. A motion was made and seconded with minimal discussion to approve the consent agenda.

A motion was made and seconded with unanimous approval of a building permit at 1091 North Front Street with stipulations. Constructed improvements, including the deck, must be 15 feet from the front property line, and the wrap-around deck must adhere to setback rules on all sides.

The Harpers Ferry Booster Club and the Allamakee County Conservation Board will be hosting the Harpers Ferry Youth Ice Fishing Clinic at Nobles Island Boat Access at 645 Hwy. 364, Harpers Ferry Sunday, January 26. Registration for youth aged 15 and under will begin at 11 a.m. and fishing will go until 2 p.m.

Youth participating in the clinic may use their own equipment, but ice fishing equipment will also be available to youth who do not have their own. Food and drink will be available for those participating in the clinic. Prizes will be awarded to participants in each of three age groups.

In case of inclement weather, all cancellations and delays will be posted on the Allamakee County Conservation Board Facebook page the day of the event. For more information on this program or any program offered by the Allamakee County Conservation Board contact the office at 563-538-0403 or follow Allamakee County Conservation on social media.
 

The Welsh Family Christmas was celebrated in Lansing, a tradition since 1920, with next year being the 100th annual celebration. The Welsh Family are descendants of Mary and Patsy Welsh of the Lycurgus area. 385 ornaments decorate the family’s Christmas tree representing each family member. Pictured above at the event, left to right, Maralyn Welsh, Bernard Welsh, Leona Welsh and Essie Welsh. Submitted photo.
 

The Main Street Madness punch card promotion recorded $301,100 in downtown spending in a month’s time, which is an $81,000 increase over last year’s numbers. During the holiday shopping season, Main Street Lansing sponsors “Main Street Madness”, which invites shoppers to fill out punch cards in $5 increments; once a card has $100 worth of purchases recorded, it can be entered to win a variety of cash prizes as well as local gift cards.

The 2019 prize winners are listed below:

The New Albin V.F.W. Auxiliary of the Kenneth Casey Post 5603 held their regular monthly meeting December 16, 2019 at the New Albin Community Center beginning at Noon with a potluck dinner.

At 1 p.m., President Anne Falken called the meeting to order. Roll call was taken with seven members present. The Chaplin prayer and Patriotic prayer were each read.

The Pledge of Allegiance was held followed by the Recognition of Helen Maust. The Secretary’s Report and Treasurer’s Report were each accepted as read. No bills were presented.

The spaghetti supper was reviewed and declared a complete success. General orders were reviewed. The Auxiliary report was reviewed for the District meeting to be held January 11.

The Ferryville Vision and Promotion Board will once again be hosting monthly soup and salad suppers in 2020 from 5-7 p.m. at the Ferryville Community Center, located at the south end of the village. The first Supper for this year will be Thursday, January 9, 2020.

The menu will include 5 or 6 hot and tasty soups, a nice variety of salads, and an assortment of delicious desserts along with water and coffee. A free will offering is available for diners to help raise funds for a new playground set at the village park.

The new playground is being planned for a spring or summer 2020 installation.

Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend the soup and salad suppers. Watch for further announcements relating to when the supper in February will be held.

If you have questions relating to this project, contact Chris Hendrickson at 608-444-7986.