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The public is invited to celebrate the opening of the Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center this Saturday, August 12, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Center is located at 1944 Columbus Road just south of Lansing.

Attendees can tour the property and view the interpretive and dimensional displays housed at the Center, covering topics such as geology, limnology (rivers/streams), archeology, wildlife studies, river town industries and economies, American Indian cultures and more.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, August 7 at the Dolores Tillinghast Memorial Library in Harpers Ferry as part of the board's efforts to meet in various communities throughout the county over the course of the year. The board addressed a full agenda of items, including a Second Reading of an Ordinance to establish a Pioneer Cemetery Commission, Consideration of Bids for the North Fork Hollow Road Bridge and a Des Moines Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI®) update for Harpers Ferry.

Chairperson Larry Schellhammer called the meeting to order. County Auditor Denise Beyer advised that the plat approval for Steven L. and Patricia M. Scholtes would need to be removed from the meeting agenda.

Reports of as many as 30,000 bicyclists, support crew members and additional visitors traversed the roadways of Allamakee County at one time or another Friday and Saturday, July 28-29 for RAGBRAI XLV, those bicyclists beginning their Allamakee County trek in Postville before staying overnight in Waukon Friday night and then navigating the hills and valleys through Waterville, Yellow River State Forest and Harpers Ferry before ending up at the final tire-dip destination of Lansing Saturday to complete their seven-day, 411-mile RAGBRAI journey. Comments such as “breathtaking scenery,” “friendly, welcoming people,” and “challenging but well worth it” were heard from riders as they made their way through Iowa's most northeastern county to wrap up this year's event. Photos above courtesy of (clockwise from top left) Joe Moses, Julie Berg-Raymond, Caitlin Troendle and Ann Marie Gallacher-Williams.

Weeklong canoe/kayak trip traveling Root and Mississippi Rivers from Rushford, MN to Prairie du Chien, WI

Participants in the 2017 Great River Rumble, an annual canoe and kayak trip, will paddle from Rushford, MN on the Root River to Prairie du Chien, WI on the Mississippi River between July 29 and August 5 this year. The weeklong river adventure is expected to attract nearly 200 people from across the nation, and will include a pair of local overnight stops in Lansing and Harpers Ferry this year.

The group has already met in Prairie du Chien, WI Saturday, July 29 to load boats and gear, then travel to Rushford, MN by chartered bus. Overnight stops are planned for Houston, Hokah and Brownsville in Minnesota, Blackhawk Campground in Wisconsin, and Lansing and Harpers Ferry in Iowa, before a final landing in Prairie du Chien.

The family of Faye and the late Gary Nolting of Waukon was honored with the Bernie Heffern Memorial 4-H Family Award by the Bob and late Bernie Heffern family before the 4-H/FFA Livestock Auction held Sunday, July 23 at the close of the 2017 Allamakee County Fair. The award was created by the Heffern family in memory of Bernie Heffern, who passed away in 2008. Bernie was very passionate about all areas of 4-H and its importance in the lives of youth and their families. She and her husband, Bob, were inducted into the Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame in 2007 for their lifelong dedication to 4-H. Each year during fair week, the Allamakee County Fair Board observes families and selects a family who emulates the Heffern family attitude of helping others, working well with each other, and going above and beyond for the fair. The Hefferns hope that creating this award and honoring a family each year will help to develop the kind of passion and dedication Bernie showed for the 4-H program.

The Allamakee County Conservation Board (ACCB) and Allamakee County Conservation Foundation will celebrate the completion of the new 10,000-square-foot Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center on the south edge of Lansing Saturday, August 12. The Grand Opening event will take place during the annual Fish Days celebration in Lansing and will involve an open house viewing of the new facility for the public scheduled to take place from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the new facility location of 1944 Columbus Road, Lansing.

Attendees can tour the property and learn about the interpretive and dimensional displays housed at the center, covering topics such as geology, limnology (rivers/streams), archeology, wildlife studies, river town industries and economies, American Indian cultures and more. The Center will provide meeting and office space for public use, classrooms and group learning areas, multiple observation decks and more.

Availability of book coincides with Mt. Hosmer Challenge for RAGBRAI Saturday in Lansing

by Julie Berg-Raymond

Other books have been written about Harriet Hosmer (October 9, 1830-February 21, 1908) - a neoclassical sculptor considered the most distinguished female sculptor in America during the 19th century, and the woman for whom Mt. Hosmer in Lansing is named.

Most of those books tend to focus solely on Hosmer’s unconventional life and career in the context of a society that observed strict gender norms. If Lansing and the hill named for a woman who spent one afternoon there, early in her life, are mentioned at all, it is most likely as a reference to one interesting event in a long and fascinating life.

General public invited to "fireside chat" with Dr. Jay Alberts this Friday on Parkinson's Disease

by Julie Berg-Raymond

According to RAGBRAI®’s official website (ragbrai.com), more than 326,650 people have participated in at least some part of the 44 rides since the event began, in 1973.

Since 2003, about 50 of those people have participated each year as part of a group led by Sanborn native Dr. Jay Alberts, a researcher at the Cleveland Clinic - ranked as one of the top hospitals in America by U.S. News & World Report (2015), located in Cleveland, OH.
According to Dr. Alberts, “One unique aspect of our group is that we typically have seven to 12 Parkinson’s disease patients riding their own bike or on tandem throughout the week (of RAGBRAI).”

Wednesday evening, July 19, a storm producing high winds and heavy rain blew through the tri-state area, leaving a path of damage in its wake. According to the National Weather Service, the storm ultimately produced a confirmed F-1 tornado that caused severe damage in the Clayton County town of McGregor and ultimately produced wind gusts well in excess of 70 mph throughout the region, including in Allamakee County, that resulted in damage such as that pictured below.

Allamakee County Emergency Management Coordinator Corey Snitker reports that sirens were blown in Waukon due to the high wind gusts, and he says the southern half of the county experienced the worst wind damage, noting that the Rossville area appeared to be the hardest hit. The storm ultimately resulted in Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds making a disaster declaration for the four northeast Iowa counties of Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette and Winneshiek.

With the ever present potential for bad weather or some other emergency happening; and given that as I am writing this we are just recovering from a very bad windstorm and currently waiting for some more potential bad weather, it seemed fitting to end my three-part series on RAGBRAI safety with some information on the emergency shelter plan that has been developed. This plan is especially important given that we are expecting, at a minimum, some 10,000 riders, plus thousands of support staff and unknown numbers of spectators and party-goers; and they basically have nowhere to go in the event of an emergency.