River Valley

Kerndt Brothers Bank has announced that Patrick Dinan has joined the bank as Market President. He is responsible for providing lending and deposit services to agricultural and commercial customers throughout Allamakee and Winneshiek counties in Iowa and Vernon County in Wisconsin. His responsibilities also include business development and creating new relationships for the bank.

Dinan joins Kerndt Brothers Bank from Citizen’s State Bank in New Vienna, where he focused on building relationships with existing customers while developing new business. He brings over 27 years of experience in various business positions, including 24 years in banking with progressive responsibilities related to leasing, lending and bank management.

by Alexis Johnson

The regular meeting of the Lansing City Council was held Monday, July 20 with discussion centering around the consent agenda, parks report and several hirings and appointments. The consent agenda consisted of council meeting minutes and parks board minutes from July 6, library board minutes from May 26 and marina board meeting minutes from July 6. The consent agenda was approved and seconded with minimal discussion.

Approval was given to Payment #2 and Change Order #2 for the Clear Creek Syphon FEMA project. The council also approved a reduction in the amount of $77.28 to the sewer bill at 191 South Fifth Street.

A motion was made and seconded to appoint Scott Smith to the Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library Board of Directors. The council also approved sending an abatement letter drafted by the City Attorney for the partial removal of a fence at 661 South Front Street.

For a two-week period in early July, Main Street Lansing offered Lansing area residents and visitors the opportunity to complete a COVID-19 Recovery Survey. In partnership with Main Street Iowa, Main Street Lansing offered the survey as an opportunity to assess the impacts of COVID-19 on Lansing as the community has entered and progressed through the reopening and recovery phases.

The survey received 229 responses, and Main Street Lansing appreciates the input from everyone who took the time to complete the survey. Main Street Lansing’s Board of Directors has offered the following analysis of the survey results:

With recent announcements of job cuts at the Alliant Energy Lansing Generating Station due to the facility currently operating at lower capacity and unofficial stories circulating about pending closure of the facility, Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD) Superintendent Dr. Dale Crozier outlined some facts clarifying what the impact of such a closure would be on the school district. Alliant Energy officials have previously stated that they regularly review their generation resources in order to operate their facilities in the best interests of their customers, but no decision has been made regarding the future of the Lansing Generating Station at this point in time.
Dr. Crozier’s released statement follows:

Eastern Allamakee Community Schools will not be affected at all if Alliant Energy would close; and there are facts that people should know about this:

The Allamakee County Conservation Board (ACCB) has announced the donation of 25 acres of land from the Francis Garrett family to  Allamakee County in memory of his late wife, Celia Sander-Garrett.

The property is located on the west side of Lansing and has Clear Creek running the length of the property. Clear Creek is a trout stream which holds both Brown and Rainbow trout. The property contains a high quality wetland which provides a location to view various species  of waterfowl and migratory birds.

COVID Recovery Iowa has begun offering virtual support groups for parents, teens and pre-teens. Mandy Gesme, Child and Family Team Lead for COVID Recovery Iowa, said the organization has been getting many requests from parents for activities they can do with their children, and advice for how to help their teenagers through the pandemic.

“We thought it would be great to give them the chance to talk to each other with their ideas and strategies,” Gesme said. “It’s just one more resource we can provide.”

COVID Recovery Iowa is for all Iowans who have been affected in any way by COVID-19. In addition to support groups, activities and resources, COVID Recovery Iowa offers free, confidential virtual counseling to all Iowans. Activities include cooking classes, yoga and meditation and more to help Iowans through this stressful time.

The Northeast Iowa Regional Housing Trust Fund (NEIRHTF) is accepting applications for first-time homebuyer down payment assistance and housing rehabilitation\improvement projects. Applicants must be low-moderate-income first-time homebuyers, homeowners, landlord/for-profit organizations or non-profit organizations to promote and create affordable housing activities.

All applicants must be in one of the following counties of Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, Howard and Winneshiek. Eligible projects include rehabilitation and repair of existing housing, including, but not limited to roofs, windows, siding, plumbing, electrical, energy efficiency, lead paint issues and handicap accessibility.

IMT Insurance, a provider of personal and commercial insurance products in the Midwest, recently collaborated with its Independent Insurance Agents to support COVID-19 relief efforts in their communities. Agencies made donations, across six states, ranging from $250 - $1,000. Through IMT’s Month of Giving program, Agency donations were matched by IMT, dollar-for-dollar, totaling more than $37,000.

Lansing Iowa Food Trust (LIFT), submitted by Gary DeVilbiss of Kerndt Brothers Insurance Agency (KBIA), was chosen as one of the 2020 IMT Month of Giving recipients. Pictured above at the presentation of a combined $1,000 donation are, left to right, Steve Sopha from IMT Insurance, Lansing Iowa Food Trust (LIFT) Board of Directors Vice President Chris McKee and Kerndt Brothers Insurance Agency President Gary DeVilbiss. The donation was made possible by a $500 grant from IMT Insurance and a matching donation of $500 from Kerndt Brothers Insurance.

Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) officials opened Hwy. 82 (more locally known as the Dike Road) connecting Iowa and Wisconsin via the Black Hawk Bridge at Lansing to single-lane traffic as of Thursday, July 2 after several weeks of having the road closed for repair work on some of the smaller slough bridges along that route.

Officials advise that construction work that is part of the overall original project to maintain and upgrade those smaller slough bridges was scheduled to resume Monday, July 6 and will continue until the project’s completion date, which had originally been scheduled for July 31 and will likely need to be extended beyond that original date due to the unanticipated repair work on those bridges that resulted in the road’s complete closure these last several weeks. The remainder of the project will allow for single-lane traffic with a flagger system controlling that traffic until the project is completed.

by Alexis Johnson

The regular meeting of the Lansing City Council was held Monday, July 6, 2020. The meeting centered around the consent agenda and the city clerk’s report.

The consent agenda consisted of council meeting minutes from June 15 and June 17, payments of claims, and Expresso liquor license. A motion was made and seconded to approve the consent agenda with minimal discussion.

The City of Lansing is still looking to fill the deputy city clerk position. Interested applicants should email deputyclerklansing52151@yahoo.com or contact Lansing City Hall at 563-538-4757 to have an application mailed. Applications will be accepted until Noon this Friday, July 10.