River Valley

A hunter-harvested adult doe taken in southeast Wayne County in south central Iowa along the Missouri border during the first shotgun deer season has tested positive for the presence of chronic wasting disease (CWD). This is the first hunter-harvested wild deer outside of northeast Iowa to test positive for the always fatal disease. The deer was shot December 5.

“We contacted the hunter once it was confirmed,” said Terry Haindfield, wildlife biologist and coordinator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) chronic wasting disease monitoring effort. “The test results are disappointing but not surprising. We are seeing an increasing number of CWD positive deer in northeast Iowa and from our neighboring states."

The Harpers Ferry Booster Club and the Allamakee County Conservation Board will be hosting the Harpers Ferry Youth Ice Fishing Clinic at Nobles Island Boat Access, 645 Hwy. 364, Harpers Ferry this Sunday, February 18. Registration for youth age 16 and under will begin at 11a.m. and fishing will continue until 2 p.m.

Youth participating in the clinic may use their own equipment, but ice fishing equipment will be available to youth who do not have their own. Food and drink will be available for those participating in the clinic. Prizes will be awarded to participants in each of three age groups.

In case of inclement weather, all cancellations and delays will be posted on the Allamakee County Conservation Board Facebook page the day of the event. For more information on this program or any program offered by the Allamakee County Conservation Board, contact the office at 563-538-0403 or follow on Facebook.
 

Several dozen people stood on the icy shore at the Village Creek State Boat Landing in Lansing Saturday, February 10 to watch river history re-enacted during the Lansing Ice Harvest, hosted by Allamakee County Conservation. Local residents demonstrated the process used from the beginning of the 1900s until the 1960s to harvest ice for local ice houses. The event was conducted by Gary and Karen Galema of Lansing, who own the ice saws and equipment.

Ask any second grader from New Albin Elementary School what algorithm means and they become a coding expert following a recent program held in New Albin. Algorithm, bug, debugging and program are the basic vocabulary to begin coding. Youth learned what an algorithm is by planting seeds. First, they had to come up with a set of rules or instructions, and then follow those instructions to correctly plant the seed. To further explain the concept, one partner wrote an algorithm using arrows for the directions. The second partner became the robot and stacked cups according to the algorithm (pictured above). Bugs could be found in this process and students worked hard to debug (fix) it. Students received hands-on learning when coding on code.org and investigating the many robots supplied by Keystone Area Education Agency. Code-a-pillar, Lumi, Cublets, MiP, Coji and the bee-bots (pictured below) were just a few robots made available.

Iowa award-winning nature photographer Ty Smedes will present pictures and stories from his current book “The Return of Iowa’s Bald Eagles” Thursday, February 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center in Lansing. Anyone who is interested may attend the program free of charge. “The Return of Iowa's Bald Eagles” and other books and photographs by Smedes will be available the night of the program.

Smedes has been photographing Iowa’s nature since 1980 when he bought his first 35mm camera. His photography work was first published by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in 1983 and now can frequently be seen across several publications in Iowa and the United States. He has photographed nature in seven different African countries, South America, The Falkland Islands and Antarctica. Pictures, stories and more information on Smede’s photography adventures may be found at www.smedesphoto.com.

by Macie Hill

The Lansing City Council met in regular session Monday, February 5. Discussion centered around an engineering proposal for the Clear Creek Project and a WHKS radium proposal.

John Beiderman was at the meeting proposing a FEMA-approved Clear Creek project which involved creating a new gravity main with a lift station. Beiderman stated that, “By redoing the gravity line as it crosses under the creek and getting that significantly deeper, the erosion problem should go away with the depth we will be at.” This plan would cost approximately $406,383. Discussion by the council concerning this proposal will be held at a future meeting.

by Shirley Darling

We who are lucky enough to live within eyesight of this beautiful “Father of Waters” have much to share with others. One could be persuaded to think that the course of the Mississippi River has been the same for eons and gives us nothing new at which to marvel.

For eons, the waters have traced a southward journey from the river's source in Lake Itasca, MN to its final emptying into the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana.  Sounds like a ho-hum trip day after day with no change worthy of notice.

So, what’s the big deal?

That question can be answered with a quote from Lansing resident Steve Casterton, whose home overlooks this river. In Steve’s words, “the view from my front yard changes every five minutes.”

That’s not a claim that can be made by every home owner, but those with a view much like Steve’s know that his claim is no exaggeration.  That view, literally, does change every five minutes.

Editor's Note: The following article was first published in the December 31, 2017 issue of the La Crosse Tribune and is being reprinted here with permission of that publication. Mary Meehan-Strub, the subject of the article, is a Harpers Ferry area native, the daughter of the late Lloyd and Ethel Meehan. She is married to Lansing area native Dennis Strub.

by Randy Erickson
La Crosse Tribune

In the spring of 1976, life took Mary Meehan-Strub in a direction she wasn’t exactly expecting to go. But there’s something about Meehan-Strub - a combination of work ethic, determination, intelligence and sense of mission - that almost guaranteed she’d succeed whatever path she took.

The Nightcrawlers Forever committee is planning its annual community benefit potluck to be held at T.J.'s Banquet Center in Lansing Sunday, February 25. A pork dinner, kid's games, silent auction and raffles will be starting at 11 a.m., with an auction to begin at 1:30 p.m.

The committee members appreciate the support of the many local businesses and individuals who have made this event successful in the past. Those who have not contributed in the past are asked to consider a donation to this year's event. Contributions can be made either in the form of cash or merchandise.

The Lansing ice harvest scheduled for Saturday, January 27 has been rescheduled to February 10 due to poor ice conditions. The Allamakee County Conservation Board, along with Karen and Gary Galema of Lansing, will now be hosting an Ice Harvest Demonstration at Village Creek State Boat Landing on the south edge of Lansing Saturday, February 10. The ice harvest demonstration will be held from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Anyone who is interested in the event is asked to park in the boat landing parking lot and walk to the boat ramp area.

Harvesting ice during the winter months was important before modern refrigeration was found in households, and Lansing was home to seven different ice houses throughout the period. Ice houses were large, stone buildings where the ice could be stored, buried in saw dust for use during the hot summer months. The demonstration will be performed using equipment that was used during ice harvests in and around Lansing from the 1900s to the 1950s.