River Valley

by Joshua Sharpe

The Lansing City Council convened Monday, December 16 addressing a wide-ranging agenda that included infrastructure updates, public safety initiatives, and administrative challenges. The water system improvements project involving Platt, North and Fourth Streets occupied much of the business that was approved at the meeting, with the council also discussing requests by the fire department and police department.

submitted by the Iowa Department of Transportation

We are closing in on the end of 2024. Even though we are in the winter months, things are not slowing down at the construction site for the new Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing. Work is happening on both sides of the river, as well as in the river. We’ll start on the Wisconsin side and work our way west to Iowa.

During our last update the contractor, Kraemer North America, had just started the upper portion of pier 3. This is the pier closest to the shoreline in Wisconsin. The portion of the pier above the footing consisted of three concrete pours. All three of those pours have been completed, including the top of the pier, otherwise known as the cap.

The recent blast of arctic air is growing ice on lakes and ponds across the northern two-thirds of Iowa. Outdoor ice enthusiasts are ready to get out ice fishing, snowmobiling, ice skating or fat-tire bike riding. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recommends a minimum of four inches of clear ice for fishing and at least five inches for snowmobiles and ATVs.

Ice forms at different rates on each body of water depending upon the size and water depth. Once frozen, conditions change constantly and ice thickness can vary across the lake. Rocks, trees, docks or other things that poke through the ice will conduct heat and make the ice around it less stable. Trust instincts - if the ice does not look right, don’t go out.

by Joshua Sharpe

The Lansing City Council convened Monday, December 2 to discuss a variety of topics. Among the agenda items were trash collection contracts, policy updates, infrastructure improvements, and administrative software challenges.

Join a park ranger at Effigy Mounds National Monument Monday, December 23 at 1 p.m. for a program on the winter birds of the park. This family-friendly program will start in the auditorium.

Attendees will learn basic bird identification and then make a bird feeder craft to take home. A short bird walk on the Yellow River boardwalk trail will follow the indoor program. Attendees are reminded to come dressed for the weather and prepared to walk half a mile on an accessible trail.

Join the Allamakee County Conservation Board (ACCB) for a Moonlight Snowshoe Hike Sunday, January 12 at 6:30 p.m. The hike will take place just south of Lansing on County Road 527.

The route will be approximately four miles on mostly flat ground with views of the Mississippi River. County Road 527 is located four miles south of Lansing on Power Plant Drive. Participants are asked to park near the Rural Recycling drop-off location.

The Moonlight Snowshoe will be a guided trail hike taking place after dark to enable the participants to see the stars and moon like they may have never seen before. The event requires preregistration for those wishing to use snowshoes provided by the ACCB and is open to all ages. However, anyone under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.

This past Veterans Day, Monday, November 11, the Eastern Allamakee Community School District hosted a celebration for local veterans at Kee High School in Lansing. In honor of their service and the service of all veterans, seven area residents were presented with Quilts of Valor during the program. Judy Schild, a Lansing quilter, gave a brief presentation about the significance of the Quilts of Valor program.

All those who received quilts were local area residents with the exception of Gary Gordon, who had traveled from Davenport to see his brother, Bill, receive his Quilt of Valor. When the quilters found out another veteran, Gary Gordon, was in attendance, they brought out another quilt to honor him as well. The quilts were made by Arlis Myhre, Eileen Smith and Judy Schild.

The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) notes that Kraemer North America, the contractor for the new Mississippi River Bridge project at Lansing, made the final concrete pour Tuesday, December 3 for the last pier on the Wisconsin shore side of the project. The DOT notes that this concrete pour was much different than others that took place earlier this year for the obvious reason of the much colder temperatures that gripped the area during the early to middle portions of last week, when the concrete pour was scheduled to take place.

Holiday shopping and gift-giving can often be challenging, but even more so when shopping for a person living with dementia. Depending on the stage of disease, some well-intentioned gifts may no longer be appropriate or practical for the person.

This holiday season the Alzheimer’s Association releases its 2024 Holiday Gift Guide, offering gift ideas for individuals living in the early, middle and late stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The guide also includes gift suggestions aimed at keeping those living with dementia engaged and involved in everyday tasks, as well as gift ideas for family members and friends serving as unpaid caregivers for these individuals.

Additional information and tips from the Alzheimer’s Association can be found at alz.org. Listed below is the 2024 Alzheimer’s Association Gift Guide:

Diamond Vogel and Keep Iowa Beautiful have announced that applications for 2025 Paint Iowa Beautiful grants opened Tuesday, November 19. The longstanding partnership provides free paint to a wide variety of public service and community betterment projects throughout Iowa.

Keeping up the appearance of buildings, facilities and parks is an important component of viable communities. Well-maintained and painted buildings reflect pride in communities. Thousands of gallons of paint have been donated to community groups through the Paint Iowa Beautiful program.

“Keep Iowa Beautiful is honored to continue our partnership with Diamond Vogel to award paint to these community betterment projects,” said Andy Frantz, Executive Director of Keep Iowa Beautiful. “We were thrilled to see the number of quality applications submitted by Iowans working to make their state a more beautiful place to live, work and play.”