River Valley

by Julie Berg-Raymond

The Lansing Police Department is initiating a D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Program at the Lansing Middle School, beginning in Fall 2022.

“It’s not just for drugs, it also covers vaping and teen suicide,” City of Lansing Chief of Police Conrad Rosendahl said during an informational presentation before the Lansing City Council at its regular meeting Monday, March 7. “If we can save one life then we’ve done something, in my opinion.”

He said another benefit of the program is that it involves “positive interaction with law enforcement.” The only cost to the police department would be for the 80 hours of training for certification, he said.

Lansing VFW Post #5981 has announced this year’s Voice of Democracy winners at the District level of the essay writing contest. The sister-brother tandem of Rhianna and Brendan Jones, children of Eric and Liz Jones of Lansing, are this year’s top award winners in that District contest.

Brendan Jones, a freshman at Kee High School in Lansing, was named the District 9 first-place winner of the contest and the recipient of a $100 award. He also received a $100 award from Post #5981 in the Voice of Democracy Scholarship program. As the top District essay, his entry advanced to the State level of competition, where it was not selected among the State placewinning essays.

Rhianna Jones, a junior at Kee High School in Lansing, was named the District 9 second-place winner and the recipient of a $75 award. She also received a $50 award from Post #5981 for her Voice of Democracy essay. VFW Post #5981 sponsored both essay writers.

The Lansing City Council will hold a special meeting, open to the public, Monday, March 14 at 4:30 p.m. to allow council members to address any last concerns related to the revised City Code.

Monday, March 21, an open public hearing will be held on the revised City Code, during the regular Lansing City Council meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend to make any comment or ask any questions regarding City Code revisions.

Youth Mentoring at Helping Services for Youth & Families is hosting a bowl-a-thon Saturday, March 19 at Skyline Lanes in Decorah. This event aims to raise $7,000 to connect youth in Allamakee, Howard and Winneshiek counties with a mentor.

Currently, 75 people are involved in Youth Mentoring at Helping Services. Now is the time to strike up a conversation with friends, neighbors, club members and co-workers to form a team to bowl. Proceeds support those youth and adults being friends in mentoring, and involvement can happen in two important ways: register to bowl and/or donate to the cause.

Brad and Mary Kerndt of rural Lansing and their daughter and son-in-law, Katie and Brendon Kacher of Decorah, teamed up with River N Ridge Outdoors of Lansing to host the first annual Ben Kerndt Memorial Ice Fishing Tournament in honor of their son and brother, Ben Kerndt, a former Waukon High School student and a 2013 graduate of Kee High School who passed away in July 2021. The inaugural tournament was held in conjunction with the Busch Light Curling Festival and other activities in Lansing Saturday, February 19 and featured 138 people entered in the tournament, which offered a raffle and prizes from donations given by local businesses. The tournament raised $3,360 that was donated to the Lansing Fire Department. Pictured above at that donation presentation are, left to right, Troy Hill and Kenny Johnson of the Lansing Fire Department, Brad and Mary Kerndt, Katie and Brendon Kacher, and Mark Peterson of River N Ridge Outdoors. Submitted photo.

Main Street Lansing will be holding its 2022 Annual Meeting Wednesday, March 16 at 6:30 p.m. at Safe House Saloon on Main Street in Lansing. All are invited to attend and hear about Main Street Lansing’s efforts over the past couple years and plans for the future.

There will also be a presentation of the annual Leadership Award, which is given to a volunteer with unmatched dedication to improving Downtown Lansing. For additional information, call 563-538-9229 or send an email to director@lansingmatters.com.
 

VFW Auxiliary Gustave F. Kerndt #5981 is still accepting entries for the VFW Auxiliary’s National Anthem Singing Contest, “Get Excited for the Red, White and Blue!” Local youth in grades K-12 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 video of their solo vocal performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Video must be saved to a DVD or flash drive, or uploaded to an online video platform (e.g., YouTube or Vimeo) and submitted to a local Auxiliary for judging.  The video must be recorded between July 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022. Entries will be judged on vocal ability, mastery of lyrics, originality or interpretation and entertainment value.

Lansing Hardware & Service in Lansing received the 2021 President’s Paint Award at United Hardware Distributing Co.’s Spring and Summer Buying Event, held January 6-8 at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, MN. The President’s Paint Award is given to the top 100 stores overall that excelled in paint sales and promotions during 2021. Pictured here, left to right, United Hardware Distributing Co. President and CEO Doug Audette presents Dave and Laurie Janzen of Lansing Hardware & Service with the President’s Paint Award. United Hardware Distributing Co. is the parent company of Hardware Hank & Trustworthy Hardware stores and is located in Maple Grove, MN. Submitted photo.
 

by Julie Berg-Raymond

Mayor Pro Tem Curtis Snitker conducted the regular meeting of the Lansing City Council Monday, February 21. Mayor Melissa Hammell was absent because of a death in the family.

Allamakee County Emergency Management Coordinator Corey Snitker addressed the Lansing City Council Monday night about the railroad merger between the Canadian Pacific (CP) and Kansas City Southern (KCS) railroads - which, he estimated, could double the number of trains passing through Lansing each day.

The Ferryville Tourism Council has made the decision to cancel the planned Bald Eagle Day event that had been scheduled to be held in Ferryville, WI Saturday, March 5. The difficult choice was made when some council members expressed concerns about the prevalence and risks of COVID-19 and variants.  As a result, the program presenters have all been contacted and rescheduled for 2023.

Prairie du Chien Tourism and Chamber of Commerce will be holding their Eagle Day events this weekend, February 25-26 at Hoffman Hall. Those Eagle Day events offer another area option for area residents and visitors to learn more about Bald Eagles of the region.