River Valley

Sunday, July 28 a quiet family outing on the Mississippi River in their new boat suddenly became a rescue operation for the Coast Guard Auxiliary when the vessel suffered an engine failure leaving her at the mercy of the strong current just south of Harpers Ferry on the Wisconsin side of the river. The vessel, a 24-foot pontoon with eight adults and five young children aboard was being pushed by the swift current into the trees of island number166, which is located just a bit south of Nobles Landing near Harpers Ferry and was submerged by high water.

A close and approaching barge added to the severity of the situation. The wake of the barge would have likely pushed the vessel against the trees, which could have proven even more troublesome.

The Lansing Fish Days Committee is hosting a photography contest in conjunction with the annual community celebration being held August 9-11. Photographers of all ages are encouraged to participate.

Each photographer can submit up to three photos, and it is asked that all photos be in a 5”x7” format and printed on photo paper. The photos will be displayed in plastic sleeves.

The contest will involve two categories, “Lansing’s Black Hawk Bridge” and “Out and About in Lansing”. There is no fee to enter the contest, but all submitted photographs become property of the Lansing Lions Club to be used. The images, however, remain the property of the entrant.

Prizes will be awarded in each category, including First prize of $25; Second prize of $10; and People’s Choice prize of $10. A Grand prize of $50 and a Lansing Fish Days t-shirt will be awarded overall, with both categories being judged to determine an overall winner.

Lansing Iowa Food Trust (LIFT) has announced that it has received a $1,500 grant from ITC Midwest to be used to support food insecurity in eastern Allamakee County. Specifically, the grant will be used to help not only the truly poor, but the working poor, the elderly poor and anyone who has a need. Through the ITC Charitable Giving Program, ITC Midwest makes contributions to local nonprofits as part of the company’s commitment to the many communities it serves. ITC supports qualified nonprofit organizations whose programs and projects emphasize the company’s focus on education, environmental stewardship, social services, and health and wellness.

“ITC Midwest is pleased to present this check to Lansing Iowa Food Trust, an organization that provides essential support to those in need in the Lansing community,” said ITC Midwest Area Local Government and Community Affairs Director Lori Broghammer. “We appreciate the important work this organization does.”

Lansing and Harpers Ferry are “Calling all runners, walkers, bikers and paddlers!”

The Relay of Voices relay team will be coming into Lansing August 7 from La Crosse, WI and leaving August 8, and entering Harpers Ferry August 8 and leaving August 9 to move on to Guttenberg, and the public is invited to greet and meet the Relay of Voices relay team as they enter and leave each community. Lansing and Harpers Ferry will each host the relay team and its crew with a community potluck, local entertainment and an opportunity to gather along the Mississippi River and share local stories.

Iowa Public Television was scheduled to replace the broadcast antennas serving the Decorah and Lansing viewing areas beginning July 23. The replacement process will cause a temporary service outage for several hours both Tuesday and Wednesday, July 23-24, while the existing antennas are removed and new equipment is installed. The outage was expected to begin around 9 a.m. each day with service being restored by 7 p.m. IPTV’s crew will work to limit the necessary outage as much as possible.

During the outages, PBS KIDS programming, usually found on IPTV’s primary channel and IPTV KIDS.2, is available to live stream, with many shows on-demand, at Iptv.org/iptv-kids and through the PBS KIDS Video App on mobile devices and streaming services, including iOS, Android, Amazon, Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast and the PBS KIDS Plug & Play.

Ferryville, WI will be hosting its annual River Bluff Daze Saturday, July 27. A variety of free activities are taking place throughout the day, with more details available in the advertisement to be printed in a future edition of The Standard or online at www.visitferryville.com.

The day will begin at 8:30 a.m. with an expert-guided nature hike at Sugar Creek Bluff, meeting at the Ferryville Boat Landing to carpool up to Sugar Creek Bluff. The Farmers Market in Sugar Creek Park begins at 9 a.m. offering a wide variety of products plus free coffee to sip while it lasts.

The 12th Annual Antique Tractor Pull hosted and organized by the Ferryville Antique Tractor Association begins at the Ferryville Community Center at 12 noon, with weigh-in taking place from 10 a.m.-noon. Three classes for the pull include the Antique Class, Ageless Farm Class and Non-Turbo Farm Class.

Public invited to participate in community welcoming, send-off and other events

Lansing and Harpers Ferry are “Calling all runners, walkers, bikers and paddlers!”

The Relay of Voices relay team will be coming into Lansing August 7 from La Crosse, WI and leaving August 8, and entering Harpers Ferry August 8 and leaving August 9 to move on to Guttenberg, and the public is invited to greet and meet the Relay of Voices relay team as they enter and leave each community. Lansing and Harpers Ferry will each host the relay team and its crew with a community potluck, local entertainment and an opportunity to gather along the Mississippi River and share local stories.

by Macie Hill

The Lansing City Council regular meeting was held Monday, July 15. Discussion centered around the adoption of the consent agenda, a public hearing to vacate a portion of an alley, a Black Hawk Bridge update and a splash pad update.

A public hearing was open from 7:04 to 7:09 p.m. regarding the proposal to vacate and convey a portion of Blackhawk Alley to property owner Les Askelson. A motion was made and seconded to approve Ordinance #200 to vacate that portion of Blackhawk Alley. A motion was also made and seconded to approve the second and third readings of Ordinance #200. The council approved the building permit for Les Askleson assuming the ordinance is properly recorded.

The council discussed the July 9 public meeting regarding the Black Hawk Bridge. To give input on the replacement of the Black Hawk Bridge’s design, pier style or route go to the following link: http://bit.ly/iowadot2723.

The Lansing Park and Recreation Board has been working toward the addition of a splash pad to the playground area on South Front Street in Lansing and hopes to have the equipment installed within the next three weeks, depending upon weather conditions. The splash pad, designed similar to the one pictured above, will be located adjacent to the children’s play area between the asphalt path and the playground. A fund-raising effort has been ongoing since last December, and due to the generosity of all those who have already contributed, the project is nearing its goal. A matching grant was received by the board not to exceed $5,000 for all donations received after June 27.

Public can vote until July 21

Reader’s Digest has revealed the 50 “Nicest Places in America,” the result of a national crowd-sourced effort to uncover places where people are kind and treat each other with respect. With one nomination from each state being selected as a finalist, the Lansing Iowa Food Trust (LIFT) in Lansing was selected as the contest finalist for the state of Iowa and the public can now vote to determine which finalist gets a cover story in the November issue of Reader’s Digest.

In an era of unprecedented cultural and political divides, “Nicest Places in America” is Reader’s Digest’s response. For the third annual search, Reader’s Digest editors sifted through over 1,000 stories of kindness submitted over 31 days from across America to name 50 finalists, one from each state.