River Valley

Main Street Lansing and participating downtown Lansing businesses will be offering Downtown Trick-or-Treating Friday, October 30 from 4-6 p.m. Interested businesses are invited to decorate their windows, dress up, and have some fun with this community event.

This year, the event will also add a Touch-a-Truck experience, Trunk-or-Treat, and other activities for local youth. Downtown Trick-or-Treating is organized by the Main Street Lansing Promotions Committee. Committee members will deliver large printed pumpkins to participating businesses during the week prior to the event. The pumpkins should be displayed in a front window or on a front door so families know to stop inside for a treat.

It should be noted that residential trick-or-treating will still take place Halloween, October 31, according to the City of Lansing. No specific timeframe will be set. Residents are simply encouraged to turn a light on for trick-or-treaters.
 

This Halloween, Saturday, October 31, from 4-7 p.m., the Ferryville Tourism Council is planning its first-ever “Scaryville in Ferryville” event. The riverside village will have trick-or-treating, trunk-or-treating, spooky music, kids’ games and activities, costume contests for adults and kids, hot dogs and snacks, and lots of spooky decorations to add to the evening.

The event will begin at 4 p.m. on the north end of the village near the old - and possibly haunted - school house, and end at 7 p.m. Guides will be there to direct attendees to various spots for fun and excitement.

A food tent will be set up in the small parking lot between the Wooden Nickel and the Swing Inn. Hot dogs, buns, chips, and cookies will be available for a freewill donation. A book fairy will also be handing out books for all ages including adults.

by Joshua Sharpe

The Lansing City Council approved a letter supporting Main Street Lansing’s proposed $50,000 grant application during its Monday, October 19 regular meeting. Main Street Lansing Executive Director Jackie Cooper explained that funding from the Iowa Rural Development Council and Wells Fargo Foundation would help businesses prepare for anticipated Highway 9/Main Street construction in 2028. The application deadline is October 30, and Cooper said no matching funds are required.

by Joshua Sharpe

The Lansing City Council approved bids for two projects tied to remaining FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) funding during its Monday, October 5 meeting, moving forward with revetment work at the South Front Street bridge and resurfacing work on Shaw Street. City Clerk Teresa Severson told the council approximately $53,000 remained in the FEMA account.

At the same time, the two project bids total substantially more: $44,500 for the bridge revetment project and $69,075 from River City Paving for Shaw Street. Additional state funding is also expected, but the city will still be responsible for a significant portion of the combined cost.

Mayor Mike Verdon summarized the financial situation by saying, “The FEMA money plus a little bit of state money will not quite come to one-half of the total for these two projects, so a little more than a half will go out of the city’s coffers.”

Roadrunner Coffee is a small, seasonal coffee stand that also serves espresso and Lotus Energy drinks, located at 224 Railroad Avenue SW in New Albin and owned and operated by Jess and Brennan Welsh of New Albin. The new business celebrated with a ribbon-cutting held Monday, September 21 following the regular weekly meeting of the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors at the New Albin Public Library.

Main Street Lansing and participating downtown Lansing businesses will be offering Downtown Trick-or-Treating Friday, October 30 from 4-6 p.m. Interested businesses are invited to decorate their windows, dress up, and have some fun with this community event.

This year, the event will also add a Touch-a-Truck experience, Trunk-or-Treat, and other activities for local youth. Anyone who has - or knows someone who has - a business outside the downtown district that may want to participate in Trunk-or-Treat, or someone with a unique vehicle or piece of equipment for Touch-a-Truck, is encouraged to participate or spread the word.

Downtown Trick-or-Treating is organized by the Main Street Lansing Promotions Committee. Committee members will deliver large printed pumpkins to participating businesses during the week before the event. The pumpkins should be displayed in a front window or on a front door so families know to stop inside for a treat.

The New Albin Public Library will be hosting a Meet the Author event Friday, October 16, beginning at 4 p.m. Lansing native Martha Dunlevy Peters will be present to discuss her recently published book about her hometown community, Lansing Locals: The Stories That Connect Us.

Passionate about preserving the stories of Lansing and its surrounding communities, Dunlevy Peters follows in the footsteps of her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, who were all editors of the former Allamakee Journal newspaper. What began as a shared vision between a father and his daughter - to capture the voices and experiences of their hometown - became a deeply personal journey after his passing, with that journey now reaching its pinnacle with publication of the book this past summer.
 

by Joshua Sharpe

The Lansing City Council moved several infrastructure and community matters forward at its Monday, September 21 regular meeting, with much of the discussion centered on the upcoming Main Street reconstruction project and utility work, access to Mt. Hosmer, the upcoming opening of the new Mississippi River bridge, and clarification of planned Halloween activities. The council also established annual operating dates for the splash pad, approved a three-percent increase in marina winter storage rates, and heard updates from PeopleService and the Lansing Police Department.

Downtown Lansing will come alive with creativity, music, food and family-friendly activities during the second annual Makers on Main, taking place Sunday, September 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free, and everyone is encouraged to spend the day exploring downtown, meeting the makers and experiencing everything Lansing has to offer.

Presented by Main Street Lansing, this free community event will feature 38 vendors, two live musical performances, live painting and a Kids’ Creative Corner. Visitors are invited to shop, eat, create and explore while supporting artists, makers, entrepreneurs, food vendors and downtown businesses.

In addition to the Artists & Makers line-up, several Main Street storefronts will also feature special participants throughout the event, and there will also be food and drink vendors. Live music will also be featured throughout the day.

by Joshua Sharpe

The September 10 Bridge Talk at Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library took on a different tone than earlier updates on the Iowa 9/WIS 82 Mississippi River bridge, as the project now moves toward an early-November opening and crews focus on the work needed to make the new crossing ready for traffic. Iowa Department of Transportation District Staff Engineer Clayton Burke led much of the presentation alongside HNTB structural engineer Travis Konda, walking attendees through roadway reconstruction, bridge-deck work, safety barriers, remaining structural connections, and the work expected to continue after the bridge opens.

Burke described the number of activities underway across the project as crews work toward the accelerated schedule, saying there are “all kinds of things going on all at once by so many different people” as crews work “to make this early opening happen.”