Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library to host presentation on "Ecology and History of the Mississippi River" April 6

Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library has invited Richard King to speak at its monthly Public Issues program Thursday, April 6. King is an expert on many facets of the Mississippi River and will be speaking on "Ecology and History of the River." His presentation is based primarily on the book "Great River: An Environmental History of the Upper Mississippi, 1890-1950" by Philip Scarpino.

King is with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region (3) based in La Crosse, WI, and is the former manager of Pool 9 Fish and Wildlife District.  He is well versed and has a great love for the subject - the Mississippi River.

King will take us on the river’s journey through time.  From the logging rafts, to the clamming, to the role of the Izaak Walton League’s preservation of the Winneshiek’s Bottoms and the founding of the National Refuge, the nine-foot channel and the locks and dams. All these items played a big role in the environmental values today prevalent today.

Of particular interest within this subject is how local and national government decisions were made and why; and their effect on the river and local communities. King's presentation will discuss the trade-offs the public has experienced.

King's presentation will take place Thursday, April 6 at the Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library. A soup supper starts at 5:30 p.m. with the program taking place at 6:30 p.m.

The next such program scheduled to take place at the Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library is slated for Tuesday, May 2 at 6:30 p.m. The subject of that program will be "Prohibition and Civilian Conservation Corps in Northeast Iowa" presented by Linda Betsinger McCann.  She has written two books, "Prohibition in Eastern Iowa" and “The Civilian Conservation Corps in Northeast Iowa.”

Prohibition was the 13-year period when it was illegal to manufacture, sell or transport any sort of liquor in the U.S. So, why did residents choose to break the law? McCann spoke with children of moonshiners and bootleggers to discover the answers. Al Capone did business in Iowa, and there reportedly were murders in Iowa over liquor. Whatever went on nationwide happened in Iowa also. McCann also researched the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and will talk about that book as well during her presentation.