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www.driftlessjournal.com | news@driftlessjournal.com | 563-382-4221 | Tuesday, April 16, 2024 | Vol. 6 Issue 16
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Earth Day Festival April 20
Garden Edition
Join Winneshiek County Conservation and community partners for a morning of earth-friendly activities, vendors, snacks and more during the 2024 Earth Day Festival. The event will be held Saturday, April 20, from 9 a.m. to noon, in the Community Building and Danan Lansing Building at the Winneshiek County Fairgrounds in Decorah. During the event, explore the
Close to family: Uhlenhakes keep their priorities straight in Ossian home construction
The Uhlenhake family is pictured, l-r- Josh, Brayden (seated) Nolan, Morgan, Samantha and Jordyn Uhlenhake with Dexter, the family’s petite golden doodle, in front of the fireplace in their newly constructed home on Bravo Drive, Ossian. (Driftless Multimedia photos by Zach Jensen) By Zach Jensen
Samantha stands inside the home’s pantry, just off the kitchen, while Morgan peaks from the corner. The pantry contains all items normally found on countertops of most homes, but because they’re in a separate room, its contents can be kept out of sight when family and friends visit. The light in the pantry is also motion-activated, so if someone enters with their arms full, they don’t need to worry about trying to turn the light on.
For most people, part of the stress of building a new house comes from trying to communicate with complete strangers about issues that could affect a family’s happiness and safety for years to come. That stress didn’t exist for Josh and Samantha Uhlenhake when building their new house in Ossian because they knew many of the names and faces doing the work. “When we started thinking about building in Ossian, our first call was to friend and former classmate, Dave Moellers, owner of Ossian Lumber,” Samantha said. Both Josh and Samantha are South Winneshiek graduates — as were many of the contractors that helped construct their
celebrate our planet
EARTH DAY Free All-Ages Open House
festival
APRIL 20 | 9AM-12PM
NATIVE TREE SEEDLINGS & OTHER GIVEAWAYS PRESENTATIONS FROM LOCAL EXPERTS
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With spring upon us, residents in the Driftless are starting to feel that energy – that feeling of renewal. Driftless Multimedia LLC is coordinating a free community event at D u n n i n g ’s Spring in Decorah in honor of this long-awaited greening and growing creeping across the region, and in celebration of Earth Day. Barefoot in the Park will be held Saturday, April 20, from 1 to 3:30 p.m., and all are welcome to join in with other free spirits in bringing positivity and energetic healing to Mother Earth and all its participants. The event will begin with a group collective healing of Reiki energy work to heal the Earth
provided by all in attendance led by Catherine Meinecke of Emerging Whole Wellness. Impromptu music and drums will follow, sharing kind vibrations deep into nature and the soul led by Nick Zielinski of Improvisor’s Orchestra and Indicative of Drumming. Lastly, reveal natural beauty with an art sculpture made with found objects from nature, led by Nina Smock of Resonant Heart Yoga and Sound Healing, to honor the energy brought forth and bring beauty to the healing process. All practitioners, inquisitive
Earth event
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Bus Driver salute …
PLANETARIUM PRESENTATIONS FREE SNACKS & COFFEE EV SHOWINGS Activities & exhibits provided by local conservation and sustainability organizations
Learn more at www.winneshiekwild.com
Check out our NEW stock of Canvas Art Prints!
Heavenly Made Gifts & the Gnome Store HOURS: Tue-Fri 9:30-5; Sat 9:30-3
Uhlenhake home
Barefoot in the Park event celebrates the Earth April 20
LIVE RAPTOR & INSECT ZOO
Danan Lansing Building & Community Building Winneshiek County Fairgrounds, Decorah
126 East Water St., Decorah • 563-380-1362
home, including their cabinetmaker, electricians, their painter and their builder Justin Bohr, son of Randy Bohr of Bohr Builders of Ossian. Josh and Samantha said their new home, on Bravo Drive in Ossian, was Randy’s final construction before he passed away in 2023 after multiple bouts with cancer. Randy’s son Justin has since taken over the business. “Bohr Builders was absolutely amazing,” said Samantha. “They were very patient and helpful. They also built my parents’ house, and they built my sister’s house. So, it was nice having them do ours as well.”
latest in recycling, composting, solar power, electric vehicles, native planting, wildlife habitat, conservation practices and more. The free, all-ages open-house event will feature hands-on activities, interactive displays and educational exhibits provided by local conservation and sustainability organizations. For more information, visit winneshiekwild.com.
SCAN to see all special events!
Over nearly four decades, Bob Bily of Spillville has logged in hundreds of thousands of miles transporting South Winneshiek School District students to and from school and extracurricular activities across the Midwest. The seasoned veteran is pictured with some of his young passengers at St. Theresa of Calcutta in Spillville. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Roz Weis) Read more about this dedicated driver in the upcoming Salute to Bus Drivers edition in the April 18 Decorah Public Opinion Newspaper.
SPECTACULAR featuring
Garden Art
Thurs & Fri 9:30-5 | Sat 9:30-3 a flower 10-25% OFF Pick envelope to see what your GARDEN ART discount is!