River Valley

Pictured above, left to right - Officer Maison Schoh, Chief Ross Kolsrud, K9 Officer Tyr and Officer Makayla Walleser. Submitted photo.

This week's edition of the Standard includes the Heart of Lansing column by Jackie Cooper, Main Street Lansing Executive Director which includes information relating to the new Lansing-New Albin Police Department.

Pick up the Wednesday, July 2, 2025 print edition of The Standard or subscribe to our e-edition or print edition by clicking here.
 

by Joshua Sharpe

The Lansing City Council convened Monday evening, June 16 to address a wide range of municipal concerns, from infrastructure payments and staffing to fund transfers and a proposed relocation of City Hall operations. Throughout the evening, council members weighed financial responsibilities, addressed matters involved in official agreements, and held discussions about the long-term future of city facilities.

Following consideration of the consent agenda, the council reviewed and approved the first partial payout for the Platt, North, and 4th Streets infrastructure project. Mayor Mike Verdon conveyed his satisfaction with the project’s progress, remarking, “I think they’re making pretty good progress… they’ve got a bigger crew here now… They’re still thinking that by the end of June we can hopefully be pretty close to done with phase one of the project.”

The Ferryville Tourism Council is sponsoring the second of three Chautauqua Summer programs scheduled for this summer. This second program will be held Wednesday evening, July 9, at 6:30 p.m. in the Ferryville Village Hall.

The featured presenter will be Larry Scheckel, and his topic will be “Amish in Wisconsin”. Scheckel is a retired social studies/science teacher. He has previously presented programs in Ferryville on the Clara Olson murder, one room school houses in Crawford County, and his adventures growing up on a farm in the Ferryville, WI area.

Scheckel and his wife, Ann, currently live in the Tomah, WI area. He will bring some of his books for purchase after the program.

Treats will be available. The final Chautauqua Summer program for the 2025 season will be August 13 and will feature Robert Taunt speaking about Marquette and Joliet.
 

An author native to the Lansing area will be hosting a pair of local book signing and reading events within the next few days. Those events will be held this Saturday, June 21 at 10 a.m. at Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library in Lansing and Monday, June 23 at 10 a.m. at New Albin Public Library in New Albin.

The general public is invited to join author, Lansing native and Kee High School graduate Destiny Welsh Teixeira for a special reading and signing of her book “Mr. Lloyd’s Lesson - A Story of Catching & Releasing” during both of those events. Set in Lansing and inspired by true events, this heartfelt children’s book is a tribute to the author’s father, the late Lloyd Welsh of Lansing, and serves as a reminder that mistakes people make can become lessons and learning opportunities for them - and that love and forgiveness can last a lifetime. Everyone is invited to come and celebrate a story rooted in love, forgiveness, and memory.
 

The Allamakee County Conservation Board has announced the offering of three free summer day camps for local youth this upcoming summer season. Each day camp will be for a different age range and will feature outdoor activities along a certain theme.

Registration is required and space is limited. For more information or to register, call 563-538-0401. The day camps being offered include the following:

Insectigations (Students entering 1st-2nd Grade): Wednesday, July 9 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Waterville Farm. Come and explore all the tiny critters Iowa has to offer. Participants will dig in to the fascinating world of insects and explore how they may be small but they are just as cool.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is seeking informal comments on administrative rules for Iowa fisheries and related programs. Executive Order 10 (EO10), signed by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds January 10, 2023, requires all state agencies to identify which administrative rule chapters will be retained or rescinded. The EO10 process includes public engagement with the opportunity for input.

The Iowa DNR has reviewed the following rule chapters relating to programs administered by the Fisheries Bureau: 571 Iowa Administrative Code (IAC) Chapters 79 (Fish Stocking Procedures and Fees for Private Waters), 81 (Fishing Regulations), 82 (Commercial Fishing), 83 (Scuba and Skin Spearing of Rough Fish), 84 (Promiscuous Fishing), 86 (Turtles), 87 (Mussel Regulations), 89 (Aquaculture), 90 (Aquatic Invasive Species), and 113 (Restitution for Pollution Causing Injury to Wild Animals).

by Joshua Sharpe

Monday, June 2, the Lansing City Council held its regular meeting to address a variety of community, infrastructure, administrative, and policy matters that encompassed both long-term planning and immediate operational concerns. The council engaged in discussions regarding topics ranging from the revitalization of residential areas to the refinement of city regulations, in addition to several personnel matters involving compensation.

“Little Known Facts About the American Civil War” will be presented by speaker and author Bob O’Connor at Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library Friday, June 13, at 1 p.m.

Does anyone know, for instance, that Robert E. Lee was not a citizen of the United States when he died?  Or that a Civil War soldier invented Coca Cola to overcome his addiction to morphine? Or that there were brothers in the South who were Siamese twins - one was drafted while the other wasn’t.

Does anyone know what Ulysses S. Grant’s middle name was? Or that both sides in the Civil War used camels as pack animals?

Find out about these and other facts that will stump even the most avid Civil War enthusiast. For more information contact the Lansing Library at 563-538-4693.

O’Connor lives in Charles Town, WV, close to most of the sites of his books. He has now published five Little Known Facts books and is working on book six.
 

The Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center in Lansing will host its next Conservation Cafe session Wednesday, June 11, starting at 9:30 a.m. This is a new series that has been started at the Driftless Area Education & Visitors Center to enjoy some social time with a hot beverage and a conservation-focused program following. The program will be free of charge, but advanced registration is encouraged.

The Ferryville Tourism Council has announced the first in its annual series of three Chautauqua Summer Programs to be held throughout this summer. The first program will be held Wednesday, June 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the Ferryville Village Hall.

The June 11 presentation will be “Rattlesnakes of the Driftless Region” and will be given by Erik Wild, a herpetologist associated with University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point who has been surveying rattlesnakes for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for over 10 years.  Most recently he has played a key role in the DNR’s rattlesnake research in the Rush Creek State Natural Area and is passionate about sharing the benefits of these elusive creatures.

Anyone who loves snakes, or is terrified of snakes, or is nervous about snakes, or just has an abundance of curiosity is welcome to attend. Treats will be available.