River Valley

by Julie Berg-Raymond

In its regular meeting Monday, August 16, the Lansing City Council acted on three citizen requests for their respective properties - a temporary driveway permit at 294 Wall Street on a City platted street, a retaining wall at 691 South Front Street, and a fence variance at 190 Iowa Street.

Lansing City Clerk Katie Becker also spoke later in the meeting on the September 14 special election scheduled to fill the vacant mayor seat, noting that no papers of nomination have yet been filed by any candidates. Deadline for filing papers is this Friday, August 20 by 5 p.m.

Speaking on the request for a temporary driveway permit at 294 Wall Street, councilman Curtis Snitker said, “I think it’s a logical step to take and I think the area will be better off with (the resident) using that approach than the really steep incline on the left side of his property.”

The staff members of Thornton Manor and Thornton Heights Assisted Living in Lansing are hosting a quilt raffle to benefit the Lansing Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Ambulance Fund. The EMS-themed quilt  (pictured above) was pieced and stitched by Eileen Smith and Arlis Myhre, and it will be on display at this weekend’s Lansing Fish Days in the Lansing Fire Station. All raffle donations will go toward the purchase of the new Lansing EMS ambulance, with the raffle drawing scheduled to be held December 17 of this year. Multiple opportunities to view the quilt and purchase tickets will be made over the next five months. For more information on raffle tickets, call Thornton Manor at 563-538-4236.
 

The Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center will host two Building Better Birders workshops Thursday, August 19 from 6-8:30 p.m. The presentations will be presented by Kelly McKay, Mark Roberts and Brian Ritter. The programs will be free of charge, but advance registration is encouraged and attendees will be asked to fill out a quick survey to help the presenters.

At 6 p.m., the Summary and Results of the Milan Bottoms Bald Eagle Night Roost will be presented. The Milan Bottoms is an area along the Mississippi River similar to areas in Allamakee County. Those who have ever wondered where eagles go at night or how they prepare for the winter will want to attend this presentation.

At 7:30 p.m., the Assessment of Human Activity on Bald Eagle Nesting will be presented. This study took place in the Upper Mississippi Wildlife Refuge including areas around Allamakee County.

The Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center in Lansing will host live rattlesnake programs Saturday, August 14 during the Lansing Fish Days celebration. Programs will be held at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Each program will last approximately 20 minutes and will include time for attendees to ask questions about Timber Rattlesnakes in the Driftless Area.

For more information on this program or any program, contact the Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center at 563-538-0403 or follow Allamakee County Conservation on Facebook.
 

by Julie Berg-Raymond

In its regular meeting Monday, August 2, the Lansing City Council discussed a proposal by Damon Olson of Damon Construction of New Albin for repair work and renovations to the Lansing swimming pool guard house.

The council considered whether to replace or repair the building’s existing walls, as well as three options for the roof - including replacing it entirely. Council member Curtis Snitker suggested the present damage to the guard house walls is a water mitigation issue and could be corrected with repair to the walls and a new roof. Olson agreed, adding that “after 50 years, I’m actually surprised the damage (to the walls) isn’t worse.”

The Lansing City Council met in a regular session delayed a week to Monday, July 26 due to scheduling conflicts. The council was updated by Allamakee County Emergency Management Coordinator Corey Snitker on an alert system being tested for weather and other emergency situations, as well as continued participation in mitigation planning.

Michelle Barness with Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission also had some questions on the City Code of Ordinances she is updating. She will provide follow-up information at the council’s August 16 meeting.

The council approved all requests from the Lansing Lions Club for the 2021 Lansing Fish Days celebration coming up August 13-15. Approval was also given to hiring WHKS as engineer for the Center Street project.

The Ferryville Tourism Council is announcing the third and final Chautauqua Summer Program in its summer series. The program will be held Wednesday, August 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the Ferryville Village Hall, along Wisconsin Hwy. 35 on the south end of the village.

The final  program of this summer’s series will be given by Bob O’Connor, an author and historian from Charles Town, WV. His topic will be “Mrs. Slater, the Missing Lincoln Conspirator”. Sarah Slater was a courier for the Confederacy, moving parcels from the South to Montreal, Canada. During the course of her movements, she came into contact with John Wilkes Booth and John Surratt. She was very secretive by always wearing a mourning veil to cover her face. This greatly led to her anonymity both during her movements and after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln when no one could describe what she looked like.

The Lansing Fish Days Committee is hosting a photography contest in conjunction with the annual community celebration being held August 13-15. Photographers of all ages are encouraged to participate. Each photographer can submit up to three photos, and it is asked that all photos be in a 5”x7” format and printed on photo paper. The photos will be displayed in plastic sleeves.

The contest will involve two categories, “Out and About in Lansing” and “Lansing’s Black Hawk Bridge,” such as the submitted photo above. There is no fee to enter the contest, but all submitted photographs become property of the Lansing Lions Club to be used as seen fit. The images, however, remain the property of the entrant. Prizes will be awarded in each category, including First Prize of $25; Second Prize of $10; and People’s Choice Prize of $10. A Grand Prize of $50 and a Lansing Fish Days t-shirt will be awarded overall, with both categories being judged to determine an overall winner.

With summer’s temperatures soaring to their highest of the season, Iowa’s lakes and reservoirs are busy places as Iowans of all ages look to escape the heat. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is reminding boaters to exercise safe boating practices and to have a designated boat operator who abstains from drinking alcohol.

Susan Stocker, boating law administrator and education coordinator for the Iowa DNR, said the goal is to reduce boating accidents, injuries and fatalities caused by alcohol impaired operators.

“Alcohol reduces reaction time and the ability to make quick sound judgments in an emergency situation. Then, if we factor in the wind and sun and glare off the water combined with the water movement that enhances the effects of alcohol, that leads to a dangerous situation waiting to happen,” Stocker said.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has developed an online mapping application to help visitors navigate trails in state parks. Through GPS and mobile data, the application can be accessed on mobile phones and helps the user identify trail names, trail heads, acceptable trail use (i.e. hiking, biking, etc.), and distances.

The application is web-based rather than downloadable from an app store, so data service availability could be a factor when using the application. To access trail maps, go to iowadnr.gov/stateparks and click on Iowa State Park Trails.