River Valley

Kerndt Brothers Bank has announced that Evan Kooiker has joined the bank as Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer. Kooiker is responsible for the bank’s accounting functions, policies and funds management activities. Kooiker joins Kerndt Brothers Bank from Prime Bank in LeMars, where he focused on accounting, investments and asset liability management. He brings over 12 years of experience in banking.

Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library will be hosting a “Conversation with Jim Rossi” Thursday, June 3, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The event is open to the public and will be held inside the library.

Rossi is a resident of Lansing and one of the last remaining World War II Veterans in the local area. When he was just 18 years of age serving under General Patton’s Army leadership, his tank battalion came upon a horrific place called Buchenwald, a Nazi concentration camp located near Weimar, Germany.

One of the first and largest such camps, Buchenwald was created in 1937, and many of its first internees were Communists.

Rossi’s service helped liberate Europe during World War II. He will be sharing some of his stories from the diary he kept. For additional information, contact the library at 563-538-4693.
 

The Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation (DOT) are holding a public hearing and requesting public input for a proposed replacement of the Iowa 9/Wisconsin 82 (Black Hawk) bridge in Lansing over the Mississippi River.

In order to accommodate the new bridge, approximately 5.9 acres of easement and fee title is needed from the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, which is owned and managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The Iowa Division of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) intends to make a de minimis impact finding in accordance with 23 CFR 774 as the project is not expected to adversely affect the activities, features and attributes of the refuge. The Iowa DOT would like to gather public feedback on the environmental documentation, preferred alternative and potential impacts related to the planned improvements.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has issued an alert to boaters to use caution at the Lansing Village Creek boat access with lower water predicted through this next week. Boats could run aground as river levels drop due to a partial closure of the boat channel at the mouth of the creek and the channel going under the bridge.

Boaters are encouraged to seek other ramps in the area, including New Albin’s Army Road north of Lansing and at Heytman’s Landing, south of Lansing. There are many ramps on the Wisconsin side of the river as well. The Big Slough and Winneshiek Slough Landings are just beyond the Iowa/Wisconsin border after crossing the Black Hawk Bridge at Lansing. Blackhawk Park near the De Soto, WI area has multiple ramps and Dairyland Power access south of Genoa, WI also has plenty of parking.

Main Street Lansing will be participating in Great Give Day with the Allamakee County Community Foundation. Scheduled for Thursday, May 13, Great Give Day is a 24-hour online giving event established by the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque to celebrate and support local nonprofits and build a stronger community. Since 2014, Great Give Day has raised more than $2,000,000 for regional nonprofits; last year alone saw $340,000 in donations.

Community members are invited to visit GreatGiveDay.org online to support Main Street Lansing (and other area nonprofit organizations) with online donations of $10 or more. Gifts can be made May 13 or scheduled beginning May 10.

Kee High School junior student Daniel Wagner has been selected to attend the 2021 Boys State scheduled for June 13-18 at Fort Dodge in Johnston. Local selection of attendees is being sponsored by the Lansing Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5981 and Lansing American Legion Post 50. Wagner is the son of Andrew and Erica Krause-Wagner of Lansing.

Begun in 1938, Boys State is a six-day course in self-government, consistently taught with a hands-on approach. The young men of 2021 Boys State, all of whom will have finished their junior year of high school, will be divided into 32 cities. Four cities constitute a county and eight counties make up Boys State.

The cities are composed of members of the Nationalist and Federalist parties. The citizens within these cities hold party caucus meetings, conventions, campaigns and general elections.

by Alexis Johnson

The Lansing City Council held its regular meeting May 3. Discussion centered around the consent agenda, citizen concerns, Street report and Clerk’s report.

Citizen concerns consisted of Resolution #953 regarding a subdivision lot north of town and reviewing and considering a proposal at 1073 North Front Street. The Council also discussed street project bids and Marina electric project increases, with decisions on all of the above matters being postponed until the council’s May 17 meeting.

The council also discussed ideas for new Main Street lighting. A further update will be provided at the May 17 council meeting.
 

Students from Kee High School visited Thornton Manor in Lansing Saturday, April 24 prior to their Prom celebration, parading in front of the building windows to show residents and staff their Prom attire. Many of the students work at Thornton Manor, and employees Abby Wood and Elizabeth Bahr helped organize the event.

“The residents and staff loved seeing the students and are very appreciative to all for taking the time to parade around the nursing home for all to see,” shared Karen Ulrich, Recreation Therapy Director at Thornton Manor. Submitted photo.
 

Mississippi River Pool 9 fishing guide Capt. Ted Peck of New Albin has published his third book, entitled “More Tails, Trails & Tales with the Old Guide” (pictured at right). Peck describes the book as “selected scrawling from over 2,500 newspaper and magazine articles I’ve written dating back to 1973.” Inside its cover Peck says readers will “find more stories about the outdoor life during what may have been the pinnacle of freedom in our Grand Republic,” further describing the content of the book as “how we used to ride here along the immortal Mississippi River.”

“Rummage Along the River” is a 70-mile garage sale extravaganza that winds along Hwy. 35, Wisconsin’s Great River Road. The garage sale event will take place Friday and Saturday, May 14 and 15 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. each day. Stoddard, Genoa, the Bad Axe, Victory,  De Soto, Ferryville and Lynxville are the river towns in Wisconsin, and participants can also swing up County Road E to Hwy. 27 and Seneca and Mt. Sterling for more shopping.

There is a website available for information on sales, www.rummagealongtheriver.com. Information can also be found on the Rummage Along the River Facebook page. The garage sale map will be placed online May 13 and may be printed off for convenience.