River Valley

A Halloween Party has been scheduled for this Saturday, October 29 at the Splash Pad in the town of New Albin. The Halloween Party is a free family event and is taking place from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

There will be a hot dog lunch, and a costume contest will take place beginning at 12:30 p.m. with multiple categories and prizes. There will also be a hayride, pumpkin painting, a scavenger hunt and Halloween games to play.

Trick-or-Treat on Main Street is scheduled for Monday, October 31 from 4:30-6 p.m. at participating Main Street businesses. Participants are invited to stop by the Lansing Office Works location from 5-6:30 p.m. for Halloweenies and Haunted Chocolate.

Community Foundation (ACCF) is accepting letters of interest for its “Emerging Needs” mini-grant program. Organizations should visit dbqfoundation.org/accf for more information and submit a grant request letter by October 31.

The “Emerging Needs” Mini-Grant Fund was created to address funding for community projects outside of the Foundation’s regular grant cycle. Grants up to $500 are available for organizations with a 501(c)3 designation, along with schools and municipalities.

The Community Foundation accepts applications for grants in the areas of Health and Human Services; Education; Neighborhoods and Community Development; Environment; Children, Youth and Families; and Arts and Culture (including historic preservation) that will benefi t people residing in Allamakee County.

by Julie Berg-Raymond

During its regular meeting Monday, October 3, the Lansing City Council approved taking possession of and preserving a 30-by-30-foot section of the existing Black Hawk Bridge - the “west portal” - after it has been detached by the Department of Transportation (DOT) during the bridge replacement project scheduled to take place within the next several years.

Brennan Construction has offered an estimate of $5,000 to move the salvaged section (that estimate does not include any re-assembly). Because the DOT already has to remove the bridge section in question separately due to its location over the railroad tracks, the removal would not cost the City anything - provided the City takes possession of and moves the section in a timely manner. The council discussed places where the bridge section could be kept while a decision could be made about how to utilize it - among them, a location near Anderson Park and a location on the river.

The Allamakee County Community Foundation (ACCF) is accepting letters of interest for its “Emerging Needs” mini-grant program. Organizations should visit dbqfoundation.org/accf for more information and submit a grant request letter by October 31.

The “Emerging Needs” Mini-Grant Fund was created to address funding for community projects outside of the Foundation’s regular grant cycle. Grants up to $500 are available for organizations with a 501(c)3 designation, along with schools and municipalities. The Community Foundation accepts applications for grants in the areas of Health and Human Services; Education; Neighborhoods and Community Development; Environment; Children, Youth and Families; and Arts and Culture (including historic preservation) that will benefit people residing in Allamakee County.

Friends of Yellow River State Forest has a fun new contest this fall. The organization wants visitors to explore the forest and help locate the largest White Pine, Maple, Oak (any variety), Cottonwood and Cedar trees in Yellow River State Forest.

To enter the contest, include:
1) the type of tree;
2) the circumference of the tree measured three feet off the ground;
3) An accurate location of the tree, either by GPS coordinates or a concise description (for example, 20 yards west/northwest from post #5 in Luster Heights unit);
4) A photo of the tree (not required but recommended).

The person who finds the largest tree of each variety will win a Friends of Yellow River T-shirt, two free nights camping and bragging rights. Entries will be accepted via email or Facebook Messenger from October 1 to October 30. Winners will be announced mid-November.

The Lansing/New Albin Police Department will be hosting an inaugural Faith & Blue event this Saturday, October 8 at the Lansing City Park on South Front Street. The event is being held as part of the National Faith & Blue Weekend taking place across the United States this weekend, October 7-10, and will feature a picnic lunch and live musical entertainment from 12:30-2 p.m. Saturday. A free will donation will be accepted, and all proceeds from the event will be divided equally between L.I.F.T (Lansing Iowa Food Trust) and The Way Station in New Albin.

Saturday, September 10, the 5th Annual Pat Sandry Memorial Fishing Derby was held, benefiting Friends of Pool 9. There were 11 boats that participated in the tournament with two fishermen allowed per boat.

The results of the tournament are as follows:

Danny Sickles/Greg Gage: Largest catch of three catfish - 19.68 pounds;
Jim Sickles/Dallas Sickles: Largest Walleye - 2.42 pounds;
Mark Dehli/Jeff Cota: Largest Crappie - 1.80 pounds and Largest Blue Gill - 0.59 pounds;
Dan Halverson/Zac Halverson: Largest Northern - 1.56 pounds and Largest Bass - 5.65 pounds;
Andi Evanson and Dan Bakewell: Largest Catfish - 7.34 pounds;
Jason Halverson and Brian Hilsabeck: Largest Roughfish - 3.55 pounds and Largest Walleye - 2.03 pounds;
Travis Herman/Colin Steiber: Largest Bass - 3.05 pounds and Largest Blue Gill - 0.94 pounds.
 

A break-away Protestant group that originated in France will be the topic of a talk sponsored by the Decorah Genealogy Society at 7 p.m. Monday, October 24 at the Decorah Senior Center, 806 River Street. Decorah Genealogy Society Vice President Mike Coffey will speak about his Huguenot ancestors, who came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1600s from the Channel Islands, off the coast of Normandy.

His presentation will go into more depth about the Huguenots and he will also engage the audience about any of their ancestors who may have been Huguenots. The program is free and open to the public.
 

The State Preserve Advisory Board will tour Yellow River State Forest and Turkey River Mounds State Preserve to prepare for review of issues that will be discussed at an upcoming business meeting (to be determined and announced later).

The board will tour Yellow River State Forest in Harpers Ferry (Allamakee County) September 29, beginning at 1 p.m., at the headquarters office (729 State Forest Road). The tour will feature options to manage oak woodlands.

The board will then tour Turkey River Mounds State Preserve, near Millville (Clayton County) September 30, beginning at 8:30 a.m., at the parking lot of the former Bootleggers Tavern, in Millville (36835 Noble Road). The tour will examine options for forest management in the archaeological mounds area and recent hill prairie restoration work.