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Crowns of Service:

Area royalty bring holiday cheer By Roz Weis

(L-R) Autumn Schmitt, Anna Egan, Katrina Hageman, Holly Schmitt and Brynn Storhoff sing “The First Noel” while caroling Dec. 26 at a home on Decorah’s Main Street. (Driftless Multimedia photos by Zach Jensen) means much more than simply presiding over fair events and passing out ribbons in the show rings. The 2023 Caroling with Crowns event was held Tuesday, Dec. 26, in the residential and business areas of Decorah. Holly Schmitt of St. Lucas had the idea for the caroling

project three years ago. She found that acts of service for the community continue to play an important role in the royalty program. A 2022 graduate of South Winneshiek High School in Calmar, Holly served as the 2021 Winneshiek County Fair Queen. She is currently a soph-

Winneshiek County Royalty put on their sashes and crowns over the holidays to spread some cheer this season. The recent “Caroling With Crowns” event illustrated that the service projects sponsored by the local queens and princesses don’t come to a sudden halt after the county fair in the summer months. The members of the area royalty agree that representing the county as a queen or princess

omore at Iowa State University double majoring in agricultural education and event management. “Having the name Holly has always made Christmas special for me,” she said, “especially with all the Christmas songs… Plus, I have always loved planning events that bring family

(L-R) Holly Schmitt, Hannah Franzen, Kalissa Schmelzer, Autumn Schmitt, Hanna Meyer, Brynn Storhoff and Brinley Lechtenberg sing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” in front of a home while caroling the night of Dec. 26, in Decorah.

and friends together, so Caroling with Crowns is a very exciting event for me.” Her commitment to agriculture is a constant. “In my future, I want to teach agriculture in a high school setting or plan agriculture-related conferences and meetings,” she said.

Program roots After the Decorah Lights Parade in December 2021, Holly said she thought it would be fun to bring the holiday spirit to individual families and businesses in the community. “I worked with 2021 Fair Princess Kalissa Schmelzer to plan the ﬁrst Caroling with

Crowns. We wanted past and current royalty from Winneshiek County and the surrounding area to gather with other communities to spread joy during

Crowns continued on page 6

Torkelson Motors changes with the times, keeps pace with evolution of electric vehicles By Zach Jensen Some area residents may recall that an antique gasoline pump originally stood in front of Torkelson Motors’ Elgin store. And, while that isn’t the case anymore, in the notso-distant future, another pump may appear in front of the store. But, the new one will be pumping electricity instead of gasoline. “In general, we’re pretty old-fashioned here,” said Jerrod Torkelson. “We usually move pretty slow on new stuff, but it is exciting.”

Torkelson Motors has been heeding the call of tri-state-area Chrysler and Dodge customers since 1926, when Clarence Torkelson opened the company’s ﬁrst store in Elgin. Over time, the family-owned company opened another location in Waukon and also picked up the Jeep line of products – after Chrysler purchased the manufacturer in the 1980s. And, although all vehicle manufacturers are answering the call to produce their own electric vehicles (EV), Jerrod suspects the move to only all-electric vehicles will take longer

than ofﬁcials initially anticipated. “From what I understand, the timeline is deﬁnitely getting moved back as we go,” said Jerrod, whose father, Dirk, and uncle, Bruce, own the Elgin and Waukon stores respectively. “I don’t think things are coming along as fast as they’d originally hoped. But, Chrysler’s not going to make us switch cold turkey. They’re going to make the switch more

Electric vehicles

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Driftless region’s beauty masks ﬁsh kills, ‘public health issue’

Spurred by information presented at the Lanesboro, Minn., water forum, this is the third in a multi-article series exploring the issue, with further detail from the presenters, and an introduction to the principles of what impacts the watersheds of the region. Further articles in the series will run in the Driftless Journal over the next few weeks. By Denise Lana Throughout southeast Minnesota and surrounding area, Monta Hayner’s name is synonymous with fly fishing. Her brother, Melvin, taught Hayner how to fly fish when they were growing up in Michigan, and he now owns Driftless Fly Fishing Company in Preston, Minn. As an adult, Hayner found herself in Minnesota after mar-

rying a native. She became engrossed with Minnesota nature — the cycles of the streams, watched birds feed on insects and fish and learned when certain flowers bloomed. Hayner soon began to understand how nature depends on clean water. As her experiences expanded, Hayner became a mentor for women fly fishers and began educating others on the importance of clean water. “The more people who understand and enjoy clean streams, the more power we have to keep them clean,” Hayner expressed at the recent water quality forum in Fillmore County. As a member of Trout Unlimited, Hayner became focused on the effects of nitrates in stream water. Because nitrates are usually paired with pesticides when applied to crops, they are usu-

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ally found together in streams, Hayner explained.

Outdoor recreation economy According to Hayner, outdoor recreation makes up 2.4 percent of the state’s gross product, and in the Driftless region, a survey performed in 2016 showed that recreational fishermen generated more than 6,500 jobs and $1.6 billion for the region. Essentially, water quality’s not only imperative to residents and drinking water but also is essential to a healthy outdoor recreation economy. Hayner observed her brother’s fly fishing business, explaining step by step how it contributes to the financial health of Preston. Driftless Fly Fishing Company opened 10 years ago after Hayner’s brother saw how

Rush Creek near Lewiston, Minn., where 2,500 fish were killed in July, 2022, by runoff during a heavy rain of manure and farm chemicals. (submitted) much the hobby was expanding throughout the area. Beginner fly fishing classes are offered, and in 2022, there were more than 200 participants in the class. Another 200 participants came to participate in the guided fly fishing tours.

Her brother estimated each participant spent $100-$150 dollars in the community beyond purchases at his ﬂy ﬁshing shop – restaurants, gas, lodging, shopping, etc. “That’s $40,000 to $60,000 spent in the local economy,”

Hayner emphasized. Along with Driftless Fly Fishing Company, there are many other ﬂy ﬁshing shops

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