Monday, January 6, the Lansing City Council convened to discuss various significant community issues. Much of the meeting discussion focused on financial matters, with public safety initiatives and infrastructure developments also being addressed during the meeting.
CITIZEN CONCERNS
During the meeting, no citizens were in attendance to voice any concerns. However, the council discussed a previously reported issue regarding tree roots interfering with the sewer line at 511 Dodge Street. This concern was initially raised by resident Linda Loomis, underscoring the ongoing challenges associated with Lansing’s aging infrastructure. The council recognized the significance of this problem and proposed that it be considered in future infrastructure review and planning initiatives.
Coffee and Connections: Building Bridges in Lansing is a quarterly community get-together hosted by Main Street Lansing and scheduled to be held at rotating locations in Lansing each quarter throughout the year. The free community event is focused on highlighting and celebrating the businesses and spaces that make the Lansing community unique, and offers a chance to connect with residents, visitors, non-profits, and local businesses while enjoying a free warm cup of coffee and great company.
The inaugural Coffee and Connections is scheduled for next Wednesday, January 22 at the Driftless Area Education & Visitor Center in Lansing from 7:30-8:30 a.m. Coffee will be provided, and the free event is open to all Lansing area residents, as well as anyone from neighboring communities, in an effort to strengthen regional connections and better support the entire area.
The first two games of the new year for the Waukon boys basketball team yielded different results on the first two Friday nights of 2025. The Indians first fell at Oelwein Friday, January 3 by a 55-49 final result before pulling away from another close battle at Crestwood Friday, January 10 for a 58-46 victory.
Now holding a 3-5 overall record, including a 2-2 mark in Northeast Iowa Conference play, Waukon’s boys were next scheduled to travel to Prairie du Chien, WI Tuesday, January 14 before back-to-back nights playing at New Hampton Friday, January 17 and then playing Wapsie Valley Saturday, January 18 in the Upper Iowa University Shootout hosted in Fayette. They will then host Independence Monday, January 20 before doing likewise with MFL/MarMac Friday, January 24.
Elevated effort ... Kee boys basketball sophomore Tanner Troendle glides toward the basket in the Hawks’ 51-40 home loss to South Winneshiek Friday, January 10. Troendle finished the game with two points. Photo by Danielle Potter. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this webpage.
The start to the new year has not been kind to the Kee boys basketball team, as the Hawks have fallen in all three of their games played so far in 2025, with all three of those losses coming to Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) foes. The first two of those Kee losses came against teams they entered the new year sharing the UIC lead with without a loss in league play prior to the holiday break, falling at overall undefeated North Fayette Valley Friday, January 3 by a 58-41 final result before also falling at UIC-undefeated MFL/MarMac Tuesday, January 7, 65-57 and closing out the week with a 51-40 loss at home to South Winneshiek Friday, January 10.
Pin at 132 pounds against Charles City ... Waukon boys wrestling 132-pound sophomore Jaxon Regan works for a fall in the Indians’ home double-dual split with Charles City and Caledonia, MN Thursday, January 9. Regan recorded this fall in 1:06 to help the Indians record a 60-9 team win over the Comets, and he also received a victory by forfeit in the Tribe’s 35-30 team loss to Caledonia, MN. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this webpage.
The Waukon boys wrestling team returned from its holiday break with its busiest week of the season, competing in what amounted to six dual meets and a weekend tournament over the course of five days. The Iowa/Wisconsin Border Battle hosted by Postville Tuesday, January 7 had been postponed from December 19, with the Indians sweeping through each one of their four duals against Wisconsin opponents at the rescheduled event, including wins of 81-0 over Boscobel/Wauzeka-Steuben, 53-19 over De Soto, 78-6 over River Ridge, and 77-0 over Viroqua.
The mat Tribe is next scheduled to wrestle at Crestwood again Thursday, January 16 in dual meet action before competing in the Cascade Tournament Saturday, January 18. The Indians will then host North Fayette Valley Thursday, January 23 before wrestling in the Northeast Iowa Conference Tournament Saturday, February 1 at Charles City and the competing in a final dual meet Friday, February 7 at MFL/MarMac.
Soaring and scoring ... Kee girls basketball freshman Morgan Mohn charges to the hoop despite the efforts of a South Winn defender in the Hawks’ 49-32 home win over the Warriors Friday, January 10. Mohn finished with six points, three assists and two each of steals and rebounds. Photo by Danielle Potter. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this webpage.
The start to the new year 2025 wasn’t exactly happy for the Kee girls basketball team, as the Lady Hawks returned from their holiday break to lose the first three of four games they played to start the new year over the past week-plus. Those three consecutive losses included the Kee girls’ first defeats in Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) play, as the Hawks first fell at North Fayette Valley, 53-47, Friday, January 3 and suffered a similar fate, 50-49, at MFL/MarMac in a Tuesday, January 7 clash that went right down to the wire. The Kee girls finished their recent start to the new year with back-to-back home games, suffering a third consecutive loss, 59-37, to Class 4A Decorah Thursday, January 9 before breaking that new year skid with a 49-32 UIC win over South Winneshiek Friday, January 10.
Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
January 20: Office closed in observance of Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr
January 31: Deadline to request 2024 MALs and LDPs for all eligible wool, mohair and unshorn pelts
February 17: Office closed in observance of Presidents’ Day
In the past few months, we were approaching one of the most looked forward to days of the year - Christmas! But by now, some have already taken the Christmas tree down, removed the lights, and are preparing for the next season.
We celebrate Christmas on December 25th, but have you ever wondered why? How do we know Jesus was born on that day when the Bible doesn’t even tell us? People who doubt the Bible will often claim that Christians used this date to replace pagan festivals. Yet, this argument does not have any real historical evidence. What’s more, there are also many good reasons which show Jesus was born on December 25th. One of them comes from Luke 1.
Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) in Waukon was recently notified of its 5-Star Rating for Patient Care Transitions, making them one of the 189 top hospitals for Care Transitions in the United States. This is awarded according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) results from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS). HCAHPS is a national, standardized survey used by most hospitals, including Veterans Memorial Hospital, for hospital patients to rate their experiences during a recent inpatient hospital stay.
The primary CMS measurement for Care Transitions in hospitals assesses how well patients feel prepared for discharge from the hospital. This includes these three key areas: whether patient and family’s preferences were accounted for in the care plan, whether patients understood their role in self-management after discharge, and whether appropriate medication education was provided.
January is Radon Awareness Month in Iowa. Radon is an odorless, colorless, tasteless gas that causes no immediate health symptoms, but long-term exposures can cause lung cancer. It comes from the breakdown of uranium in soil. Simple test kits can reveal the amount of radon in any building.
All of Iowa is considered to have unsafe levels of radon, however, Allamakee County is prone to have even higher numbers due to the fractured bedrock and karst topography under our feet. Fractures in the bedrock create small cracks and fissures that allow radon to move easier through the stone and soils and make entry into homes.
