River Valley

Residents and visitors are invited to come and find their treasure at the end of the rainbow in Lansing in early March. From March 1 through March 17, one “gold coin” will be hidden in downtown Lansing each day. Each coin is a “treasure” from one of the Lansing businesses - perhaps a gift card, or free haircut, or gift basket.

Local residents and visitors from anywhere are welcome to search and enjoy time in downtown Lansing. When a gold coin is found, instructions for claiming the prize associated with that coin will be on the back.

Participating businesses include Red Geranium, Driftless Edit, Driftless Gypsy, 2nd Hand Heaven, Arla’s Sewing Room, Lansing Hardware, Welsh’s Village Farm and Home, Shep’s Riverside Bar & Grill, Coffee on the River, Main Street Lansing, Studio K, Safe House Saloon, Kerndt Brothers Savings Bank and The Buck Stops Here. Watch for advertisements within the pages of this publication for additional information.
 

Lansing VFW Auxiliary #5981 is holding a Soup & Sandwich Supper to honor all Veterans Thursday, March 21 from 3-7 p.m. at Immaculate Conception Church Hall, 648 Main Street in Lansing. A special ceremony, to commemorate National Vietnam Veterans Day and to honor Veterans and widows of Vietnam Veterans, will begin at 5 p.m. Keynote speaker is Steve Bartels, Vietnam Veteran and Lansing native, who now resides in Indiana. Everyone is invited to attend.
 

The Loose Threads Quilting Group, consisting of members from Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, presented 29 comfort quilts created by group members to Gundersen Palmer Lutheran Home Health & Hospice, based out of West Union and serving the northeast Iowa area. The 29 quilts presented Wednesday, February 7 were created during a 10-week time frame, with 33 ladies participating in the most recent sewing effort for the project.

Plan now to attend the free 14th Annual Bald Eagle Day Saturday, March 2 in Ferryville, WI at the Village Community Center located on State Highway 35, “The Great River Road”. This program is sponsored by the Ferryville Tourism Council, co-sponsored by Friends of Pool 9, and is free to the public.

Friends of Pool 9 is an organization that does so much in the local area to preserve and protect the environment and the Pool 9 Region of the Mississippi River.

Free refreshments and children’s craft activities will be available throughout the event. There are many eagle nests in the area, including a new one just south of Ferryville and another new nest on Hwy. 82 crossing the river into Lansing. The Pool 9 section has more nests than in any other part of the Mississippi River.

According to the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), those who travel on North Front Street in Lansing will need to be aware of an ongoing road closure that may impact their trip for the next several months.

Beginning Friday, February 16, crews have now closed the segment of  North Front Street between Henry Street and Hale Street to start work on Pier 1 for the Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing replacement project. That closure will take place in the one-block segment that lies directly beneath the existing Black Hawk Bridge.

DOT officials say that portion of North Front Street will be closed through the fall of 2024. Another anticipated closure of North Front Street will be from the fall of 2025 through the summer of 2027 as the bridge construction project continues.

by Ryan Henry
Gundersen Health System

Over the next three years, the Black Hawk Bridge, an iconic steel span that links Lansing and Crawford County, WI over the Mississippi River, will slowly be replaced by a wider, more modern structure that will improve traveler safety on the bridge and in Lansing.

As construction ramps up, workers from around the Midwest will settle into the area, calling this part of northeast Iowa their home away from home for an extended period. With this influx of temporary residents, Gundersen Lansing Clinic was called upon to partner with the Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation (DOT) to provide for the medical needs - both those related to the job and otherwise - of the crews.

Thursday, February 22 David Faldet will be at the Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library to talk about and read from his book Oneota Flow: The Upper Iowa River and Its People. Faldet will be presenting his program at the library at 6 p.m. that Thursday.

The book, a natural history of the Upper Iowa River basin, is a nonfiction blend of history, environmental research, and personal experience that argues taking care of the rivers in the surrounding area is a necessary way to protect future. It was published by the University of Iowa Press as part of its American Land and Life series.

Oneota Flow is organized into chapters that follow the story of the river from its geological beginnings to the present. In each chapter Faldet surveys persons who are currently involved with resources of the river basin in ways that connect to that chapter of its history.

by Julie Berg-Raymond

During its regular meeting Monday, February 5, the Lansing City Council approved entering into a contract with Altumint Services for the installation of four monitoring systems, commonly referred to as “speed cameras,” at two locations (each location will have two systems, one facing each direction on the roadway) in Lansing.

The vote to approve the contract with Altumint Services was split, with council members Steve Murray, Benjamin Ghelf and Lisa Welsh voting to approve; Council members Corey Richards and Mike Manning voted against the motion to approve.

VFW Auxiliary Gustave F. Kerndt #5981 has announced the VFW Auxiliary’s National Anthem Singing Contest, “Get Excited for the Red, White and Blue!” Local youth in Kindergarten through 12th grades can showcase their talent, display their patriotism and express their creativity while competing for their share of $2,000 in national awards.

Contestants must submit a recorded live unedited video of their solo vocal performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The video must be recorded between July 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024. The student shall state name, age and grade level prior to the vocal performance. The student may sing acapella, with backing tracks or instruments, and in the arrangement and genre of their choice.

The Northeast Iowa Community Connectors group is hosting a “Flannel Friday” event this Friday, February 9 from 5-7:30 p.m. at The Landing located at 211 College Drive in Decorah. The event is open to the public, and it is “a pay on your own” evening to connect with people in the local region.

No flannel to wear, no problem; participants can come as they are. Adults of all ages are welcome.

Community Connectors is a newly formed group with a goal of “connecting” northeast Iowa community members through social gatherings to form friendships, make professional connections, and create mentorships. There is no cost to join.

For more information on the NEIA Community Connectors and their upcoming events, follow them on Facebook at facebook.com/NEIACommunityConnectors. To receive updates on future events, email neiacommunityconnectors@gmail.com.