River Valley

The Lansing Iowa Food Trust (LIFT) performed a ribbon cutting ceremony prior to opening its doors to the public Wednesday, October 3 in the office space of the former Rethwisch Lumber Co. building in Lansing. Pictured above at that ribbon cutting ceremony are: Left to right - Front row: LIFT Board members Faye Halverson and Chris McKee, Main Street Lansing Executive Director Andy Kelleher, LIFT Board President Karen Galema, Gary DeVilbiss. Back row: Bruce Palmborg, Jana Schoh, LIFT Board Secretary Gary Krapfl, Rhianna Galema, John Hisel. The new LIFT facility will be open to distribute food to qualifying individuals each Wednesday from 4-8 p.m. Photo by Susan Cantine-Maxson.
 

The first-ever Driftless Half Marathon will be taking place Saturday, October 13 along the Great River Road (County Road X52) between Harpers Ferry and Lansing, and motorists are advised to be aware of event traffic throughout that morning. Although the roadway will remain open to traffic, motorists are advised to try and seek an alternative route from 5 a.m. to 12 noon to aid safety and successful completion of the event.

The Driftless Half Marathon will take place from 7:30-11:30 a.m. that Saturday, beginning at the intersection of Collins Ridge Road and Great River Road (approximately one mile north of Harpers Ferry) and ending at the Softball Complex in Lansing. The route will also include a loop on Red Oak Drive. A map of the route highlighted in wide dark gray is picture at right.

Barbara Kailean Welsh, the author of “Blazing a trail: The unconventional life of Harriet Hosmer,” will be discussing her book and its namesake at Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library Thursday, October 18 at 6:30 p.m. with a light supper being served at 5:30 p.m. Harriet Goodhue Hosmer became America’s first female sculptor, with her work still displayed across the globe.

Attendees will hear the story of her life, from childhood tragedy to fame and notoriety, always boldly taking the path that was right for her. They will also learn about her historical connection to Lansing.

Welsh, the book’s author, grew up on a farm near Lansing. Her interest in local history began with her grandmother’s antique postcards and grew through her work as editor of The Allamakee Journal.

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

Lansing Iowa Food Trust (LIFT) will open its door to the public for the first time Wednesday, October 3 from 4-8 p.m. Located at 220 South Third Street in Lansing in the former Rethswich Lumber Yard office, LIFT will be dependent upon donations and volunteers for its continued operation.

LIFT will also be dependent on monetary donations to help pay the rent for the site as well as to help purchase some food supplies through  the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. Monetary donations may be sent to: LIFT   P.O. Box 421 Lansing, IA 52151.

After the site is up and running, future volunteers will be needed to unload trucks, to take in food donations, to stock the shelves, and to work when the site is open.

by Macie Hill

The Lansing City Council met in its regular session Monday, October 1. Discussion during the meeting centered around postponing the purchase of a back hoe previously considered at an earlier meeting and discussing further consideration of dock quotes received for the City Marina.

The purchase of the new back hoe for City departments will be postponed until the next regular council meeting, which is scheduled for October 15. The postponement was decided upon in order for the council members to do more research on the machine the City is considering purchasing.

The Kee High School Post Prom Committee will host Bingo Sunday, October 14 in the Kee High School cafeteria in Lansing. Games will start at 4 p.m., with doors opening at 3:30 p.m.

Participants can bring a non-perishable food item to be donated to local food banks and play an extra Bingo card free. All players will be eligible for a door prize drawing at intermission. Proceeds will be used to fund 2019 Post Prom prizes and entertainment.

The Northeast Iowa Food Bank has recognized a need in eastern Allamakee County for the services of a community food bank. There are two food bank programs in the western part of the county, in Waukon and in Postville, but recognizing that Allamakee is one of the poorest counties in the state, a third site was deemed as being needed.

Based on those findings, and as a result of follow-through by many local volunteers, the LIFT (Lansing Iowa Food Trust) Food Pantry will be opening Wednesday, October 3 in the Lansing Properties Building office area located at 220 South Third Street in Lansing (formerly the Rethwisch Lumber building). Hours of operation will be every Wednesday from 4-8 p.m. and those who meet the qualification guidelines are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to supplement their food needs.

The Allamakee County Historical Preservation Commission has decided to go ahead with a long-term local project involving the recording and identifying of each rural country school that existed within the boundaries of Allamakee County from the 1800s through the 1960s.  This will be a multi-phase project as the Commission would like it to be as thorough as possible.

It is thought there were 80 to 90 country schools in Allamakee County at one time, some with a longer lifespan than others. At this time, it is strictly a paper project with the idea to create a portfolio or file of history for each school. In 1912 Allamakee County had 18 townships with nine divided into 63 independent school districts.  The other nine were organized as school townships with 60 sub-districts. As one can imagine, this resulted in a great number of rural country schools.

The Allamakee County Community Foundation (ACCF) has announced that Krista Rasque has been selected as a new board member. Rasque is a long-time resident of Lansing.

She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received her Master’s in Social Work. She was employed at the La Crosse County Department of Human Services for several years, where she investigated child abuse cases and helped families overcome challenging times. She was then employed at Gundersen Health System as a social worker helping families facing substance abuse issues during pregnancy.

“The ACCF board is very pleased that Krista will be representing Lansing on the board”, stated Betty Steege, ACCF Coordinator. “Krista brings a different skill set to our board plus a unique perspective to our endowment building.”

Andy Kelleher has been hired as the new executive director of Main Street Lansing. Kelleher is a local area resident who has lived in New Albin since he was very young. He graduated from Kee High School in Lansing as co-valedictorian in 2014.

Much of his working career has been involved with church work, from serving on the leadership team at Village Creek Bible Camp to helping develop new churches and ministries across the nation. Along with his work with Main Street Lansing, he also serves as a youth pastor in New Albin. He has shown a strong interest in rural revitalization, and he brings a vast background of public relations and program planning to the job.