River Valley

For the past seven years, Denise Becker of Lansing and her daughters, Jessica Verdon and Jennifer Becker, have run in the annual Chicago Rock and Roll Half-Marathon, which took place Sunday, July 17 this year. In addition to Sunday’s half-marathon, they also ran a 5K race the previous day, Saturday July, 16.

Every year Becker and her daughters run in the event to raise awareness of how Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) affect returning service members, helping to spread the message of “if we send them, we must mend them." Becker cites that, on average, 22 veterans take their own lives on a daily basis due to PTSD/TBI.

by B.J. Tomlinson

The Lansing City Council met in its regular session Monday night, August 15 addressing two issues that were postponed from the Council’s previous meeting. One was a request from organizers of the upcoming Bluff Country ATV ride to utilize Mt. Hosmer Park October 1 as part of an organized one-day event. Main Street Lansing Director Craig White said the group would be arriving in groups of 20-25 via South Road to Fourth Street, Center Street and Sixth Street, and that volunteers will be posted there for crossings. After discussion, the Council agreed to issue a one-day permit.

Finney, the wooden fish hidden somewhere within the Lansing community as part of The Standard newspaper’s promotion of this weekend’s Lansing Fish Days celebration, has been found. The nephew/uncle tandem of Jasper Peters, age two, of Lansing, son of Emmaline Peters, and Ezekiel (Zeke) Greenley, age eight, of La Crosse, WI, son of Kim Greenley, found Finney Wednesday, August 3 near the can collection cage by Lansing City Hall after following the clues available at each of the contest’s local sponsors. The two are pictured above displaying their prizes for finding Finney, which include $50 in Downtown Dollars donated by Kerndt Brothers Bank and Main Street Lansing, a gift bag with nutMeg’s items and a gift certificate donated by nutMeg’s, one large specialty pizza donated by Expresso, a $20 gift certificate donated by Studio K, pizza coupons donated by Kwik Star, and a $20 gift certificate donated by Carquest.
 

The Niña, a replica of the caravel sailing ship that was part of the famous trio of ships used by Christopher Columbus in his journey across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, is pictured above sailing south past Lansing on the Mississippi River about mid-morning Tuesday, August 2. The ship was accompanied by another replica from the original triad of vessels, the Pinta, on its recent Mississippi voyage, as both set sail from Riverside Park in La Crosse, WI, where they had been docked for public touring over the previous weekend. The third vessel of that famous threesome, the Santa Maria, has never been reconstructed because it would be far too large of a vessel to navigate the river waters the other two ships currently sail on as floating maritime museums. Both replicas were constructed in Valencia, Brazil, the Niña being built from 1988 until she set sail in 1991, and the Pinta being completed 16 years later.

The Ferryville Tourism Council’s second annual Summer Heritage Campfire Program is winding down. Presentations are taking place at the south end of Sugar Creek Park in Ferryville, WI and all begin at 8 p.m. with a talk followed by s’mores over the campfire. Attendees need only to bring lawnchairs.

Mary Antoine, the director of the Fort Crawford Museum in Prairie du Chien, WI, will be the guest speaker August 10. Her topic will be the Winnebago Uprising from a woman’s point of view. Antoine has researched this topic extensively and will present an interesting perspective on this historical event.

All of the programs are offered free of charge at Sugar Creek Park in Ferryville, WI. For more information, contact Sherry Quamme at 608-734-9077 or Joanne White at 608-734-9018.
 

Doctors and medical students from the group Climate 911 are touring the Mississippi River valley in August with a puppet show about climate solutions. They will do a free show at the Community Center in De Soto, WI Tuesday, August 9 at 6 p.m.  The physicians and their puppets will perform in 14 river towns between Minneapolis, MN and St. Louis, MO. In order to practice what they preach, the doctors are traveling by bicycle.

The show’s title is “D.O.G.S.”, which stands for “Dozens of Good Solutions”. The main characters are two dogs who train their humans to cut climate pollution in half in “a dog’s life” (14 years). This aligns with scientific consensus on what must be done to keep global warming below 2º C.

by B.J. Tomlinson

The Lansing City Council met in regular session Monday, August 1. After approving the Consent Agenda, the Council reviewed and approved two proposals related to street repairs. One proposal was for paving a portion of Valley Street which will become a part of the Clear Creek Project; the Council approved the Strub bid of (up to) $8,000, which will be considered a contingency cost covered by grant funds. The second was a proposal from IIW Engineers (Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin) for the South Road Bridge over the Clear Creek Project.

The Queen of the Mississippi riverboat sailed south past Lansing on the Mississippi River during the late afternoon of Monday, July 25 as part of an eight-day Upper Mississippi River Cruise from St. Paul, MN to St. Louis, MO. The Queen of the Mississippi is part of the American Cruise Lines fleet and it was built in 2015 to offer an authentic paddlewheel experience with all the modern comforts. Photo courtesy of Sue Stirn.
 

The Lansing business community has welcomed two new businesses to the downtown district recently. Representatives from Main Street Lansing recently presented The Main Channel Grill & Lodging - a restaurant and lodging facility, and River N Ridge Outdoors - a bait, tackle, fishing, hunting, gun and ammunition retailer, with welcome certificates and congratulations.

The Main Channel Grill and Lodging is located at 10 South Second Street and is open from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day except Tuesdays. Owners are Allyson Leppert, Lisa Leppert and Kirk Kious. Pictured at their welcome presentation are, left to right: Judy Schild, Sue Papp, Allyson Leppert, Lisa Leppert, Kirk Kious, Kelly Hutchison, Jana Schoh, Arlene Lynes, Mary Palmborg, Tom Limbach.

Thanks to a helpful community, the Sports Complex ballfield in Lansing has received a needed facelift. A series of projects has been completed over a two-year period at the sports facility.
Improvements during that renovation process cost approximately $50,000 and were funded by a diverse group of public and private entities. What began with complaints of a “rock-hard” infield to Lansing Parks Board members has now come to completion with a safer and a more fan-friendly venue for local sports events.

Improvements started with funding from the R.J. McElroy Foundation to aid in the purchase of a new scoreboard. With the assistance of Brennan Construction, Big River Companies, Mauss Electric and City of Lansing employees, the new scoreboard was installed. Tumbleweed Welding next installed a flag pole adjacent to the new scoreboard.