January 2, 2025

Thursday, January 2, 2025

Vol. 160, Issue 1

Decorah, Iowa 52101

www.decorahleader.com

email: editor@decorahleader.com

One Section phone: 563-382-4221

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#2 Time for school STORY OF 2024

Decorah Schools finalizing plans for new elementary after successful bond measure COMPILED BY SETH BOYES NEWS EDITOR

#1

STORY OF 2024

Jade Colvin

2017 cold case saw 2024 arrest Former Decorah man accused of murdering runaway teen

COMPILED BY SETH BOYES NEWS EDITOR

Voters within the Decorah Community School District gave school officials the green light in 2024 for the construction of a new elementary building.

The public approved a $38 million bond measure for the project during 2024’s general election. The ballot measure saw more than 7,500 votes returned — more than 5,000 were in favor of the bond, providing approximately 7 percent more

#3

support than the 60 percent required for the measure to pass.

School officials plan to construct the new elementary just west of the current John Cline Elementary building, which will be demolished once the new elementary is ready to welcome students. A community survey was conducted in April of 2024 to gauge public sentiment regarding the future of John Cline Elementary and West Side Elementary, which currently houses the district’s pre-K classes.

The survey found more than 76 percent of respondents favored replacing the buildings with

STORY OF 2024

Seeking a second opinion

News of a local murder investigation reached the public’s ears once prosecutors made headway filing additional charges following an arrest in 2024. A former Decorah man was extradited from Georgia, after federal investigators informed the local sheriff’s office the man may have been involved in the 2017 murder of a teenage girl.

James David Bachmurski is accused of killing 15-yearold Jade Colvin, who was reported missing to the Des Moines Police Department on June 10, 2016. Investigators believe Colvin was at Bachmurski’s rural home

Court to review contentious rezoning approval for proposed biodigester project

biodigester facility on a small plot of land northeast of Ridgeway. A biodigester contains microorganisms, which break down manure in an oxygen-free environment, producing renewable natural gas, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Novilla RNG, a Michigan-based renewable natural gas company, submitted the rezoning application and hoped to construct the new facility on land owned by Craig Bohr and Deb Storlie, near the intersection of 275th Street and Iowa Highway 9. The developers asked that the property be

Retired Decorah teacher Judy Moen led tours of John Cline Elementary. She pointed out several challenges staff in the aging building face, including water leaks, limited space and some outdated classroom tools. (File photo) new structures.

A facilities assessment of the John Cline building had been conducted in 2013 and identified a number of issues with the aging building. John Cline first opened its classrooms in 1964, shortly after the state of Iowa eliminated its rural schoolhous-

es. School officials previously said it was possible John Cline was constructed in greater haste than some of the older school structures in Decorah. The

No. 2 Story of 2024

continued on page 8

Steve Hayes was one of 15 members of the public who expressed their concerns about the potential negative impacts of allowing a biodigester to be built in Winneshiek County. (File photo)

Visit us online - www.decorahnewspapers.com

BY ZACH JENSEN STAFF WRITER

James David Bachmurski

south of Decorah in March of 2017 — her last known contact with her family occurred on March 23, 2017, according to information from the U.S. Justice Department’s Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

No. 1 Story of 2024

continued on page 8

A regional environmentalist group filed two lawsuits in 2024, which have at least postponed efforts by two dairies to erect an anaerobic digester — or biodigester — in western Winneshiek County.

The issue initially entered the public sphere when the Winneshiek County Planning and Zoning Commission held a July 9 public hearing to hear the public’s concerns about rezoning a piece of property for the purpose of constructing a

rezoned from agricultural to industrial to accommodate the proposed project.

Discussion of the topic lasted nearly three hours during the commission’s July 9 meeting, and commission mem-

bers decided to table their decision until a special July 16 meeting. The project’s zoning

No. 3 Story of 2024

continued on page 8

Decorah approves MEU info ahead of March 4 vote State ethics board finds no issues with proposed materials

BY SETH BOYES NEWS EDITOR Officials with the city of Decorah are moving forward with plans to distribute educational materials to residents ahead of a March ballot measure to po-

tentially establish a municipal electric utility.

Alliant Energy, which currently supplies electricity to most of the city, took issue with the city’s drafted materials, claiming the information was biased and that disseminating

What are YOUR priorities for Decorah?

Vote JANUARY 7

such materials might violate state law. However, officials with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board said on Dec. 19 they foresaw no issues with the city’s plans to share the proposed information. The Decorah City Council held a

special meeting Monday, Dec. 23 and approved a master list of information for the materials on a 5-1 vote, with Ward 5 Councilman Randy Schissel casting the lone dissenting vote.

Decorah voters will be asked to decide on March 4 wheth-

er the city should establish an MEU. City staff indicated the recently-approved master list of information — which is

MEU

continued on page 6

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2 | DECORAH LEADER | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2025 | WWW.DECORAHLEADER.COM | EDITOR@DECORAHLEADER.COM | 563-382-4221

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Caeden Nyanjenga looked over paperwork with his defense attorney ahead of a Dec. 17 sentencing hearing. Nyanjenga reached a plea agreement with prosecutors regarding his role in defacing several local buildings in September of 2023 — initial criminal complaints in the case indicated some of the offenses were considered hate crimes. The teen will have his case dismissed and the file expunged if he successfully completes a one-year probationary period. (Photo by Seth Boyes)

Nyanjenga granted deferred judgement in 2023 vandalism case

File to be expunged if teen fulfills terms of probation

BY SETH BOYES NEWS EDITOR A Decorah teen will avoid serving additional jail time for his alleged role in defacing several downtown buildings in the fall of 2023.

A district court agreed to a deferred judgement for 19-yearold Caeden Philip Andrew Nyanjenga last month as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. Nyanjenga is one of several individuals believed to have vandalized multiple sites in and around downtown Decorah in September of 2023 — early filings in the case indicated some of the offenses were considered hate crimes.

The matter was scheduled to go to trial last month, but a ruling from Iowa First Judicial District Court Judge Laura Parrish said, if Nyanjenga fulfills the terms of a one-year probation period, the case against the teen is to be dismissed and expunged without a judgment being entered. Nyanjenga is expected to repay the combined costs of removing the graffiti last year. Nyanjenga’s plea agreement also stipulates he is to write letters of apology to each of the parties whose property was gratified.

“If you can demonstrate that

you learned something from this and understand the impact that your actions had, and ensure that there won’t be any repeat of this behavior, all these folks that you affected will come away from this feeling like there’s been some good and the system worked in the way that it should,” Parrish told Nyanjenga during his sentencing hearing.

The teen is expected to pay for the damages jointly with 19-year-old Jose Macias Torres of Decorah, who was also arrested in the case. Both teens were charged with trespassing and multiple counts of criminal mischief. Torres previously reached a plea deal with prosecutors and was expected to testify against Nyanjenga and an unnamed juvenile — case filings indicate that juvenile was the subject of a case within the juvenile court system.

Torres served four days in jail during August of 2024 for trespassing, and he was granted a deferred judgement for both the charges of criminal mischief filed against him. Those charges are to be dismissed and the case file expunged after Torres completes a three-year probation period, according to court records.

Downtown Decorah defaced The Decorah Police Department was initially informed on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023, that Decorah Lutheran Church had been vandalized at some point overnight. The responding officer learned additional vandalism had also taken place uphill at the neighboring Decorah United Church of Christ — court documents described the vandalism there as more extensive.

The congregational church had installed a display on its north side, comprised of six doors painted with the main colors of the rainbow spectrum and bearing the words “God’s doors are open to all.”

The officer’s account said the display was an indicator “of the church’s inclusivity of all sexual orientations,” and noted the words “God hates gays” had been spray painted on the display. Authorities also discovered graffiti on a nearby sign, the church’s exterior, its chimney and the building’s “newly replaced slate stone roof.”

Additional vandalism was discovered on nearby walls, signage and businesses in multiple locations within less than 1,000 feet. The phrase “Catch us if you can” was painted on a retaining wall near the county attorney’s office, and subsequent court documents indicated a swastika had been painted on a retaining wall south of Decorah High School.

Investigators were able to obtain video surveillance footage from locations near almost all of the affected sites, and staff at the local high school were able to verify for police that the footage appeared to show Nyanjenga and Torres — the third individual’s identify was unknown at that time. Law enforcement recovered a “blue backpack with spray paint” from Torres house in the days following the incident, and clothing matching items worn by the suspects

Decorah Farmers Market hosts final indoor event of 2024

Local produce, homemade breads and pies, cookies, wine, honey, maple syrup, knit-wear and other handcrafted items created by local artisans were recently featured at the Decorah Farmers Market at the Winneshiek County Fairgrounds. The Dec. 21 gathering marked the final indoor market of 2024. The market holds the special indoor events a few times during the latter months of the year. Vendors typically sell their goods during outdoor markets held twice a week between May and October near the intersection of Heivly Street and River Street in Decorah. (Photos

by Roz Weis)

TOP PHOTO- Paul Cutting and Nathan Thompson are pictured with crafted wood items at the farmers market.

INSET- Winneshiek County Fair Princess Addison Wicklund of Decorah served holiday treats at the indoor market. ABOVE Monica Maurer of Decorah browses the many farmers market items during the final indoor market of 2024 at the Winneshiek County Fairgrounds.

Farmer’s Market visitors were treated to bluegrass tunes from Pat Carey, Brennan Allsworth and Rob Hervey during the final indoor market of the season on Dec. 21 at the county fairgrounds in Decorah.

Nyanjenga

continued on page 5

LEARN MORE! Thank you, Happy New Year, and have a great day!

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DECORAH LEADER | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2025 | WWW.DECORAHLEADER.COM | EDITOR@DECORAHLEADER.COM | 563-382-4221

3

Klimesh, Bergan look forward to 2025 legislative session

BY ZACH JENSEN STAFF WRITER Iowa District 32 State Sen. Mike Klimesh (R-Spillville) and District 63 State Rep. Michael Bergan (R-Dorchester) are ready to get busy in the new year.

Serving the Iowa House since 2017, Bergan said he’s looking forward to getting to know and working with the state’s newly-elected freshman representatives.

“Over half of the House members have two years’ experience or less, but each member brings valuable insight, skillsets and varied perspectives that will enhance our collective work,” he said. “A typical bill may take three to five years to be adopted by both chambers to become law, if at all. Our work must be thoughtful and deliberate, with a large measure of patience during the process.”

Klimesh, who previously served as a state representative and Spillville’s mayor, said he’s working on a variety of issues for the people of his district.

“All of them have the common thread of making rural Iowa the best place to live, work and raise a family,” Klimesh said. “From health care issues to energy policy, I am excited to work on all of them.”

Looking back on 2024, Klimesh said he was hoping to “move the needle” a bit more on the issue of energy policy.

State Sen. Mike Klimesh

State Rep. Michael Bergan

“I was, and will continue to be, a strong advocate for the state requiring an Integrated Resource Planning process for our investor-owned utilities that operate in our state,” the senator said. “This process would allow some oversight to ensure that decisions are being made to provide reliable, affordable and sustainable energy for their customers.”

Klimesh said he was “extremely happy to finally bring some regulations to the traffic camera issue that had been debated for over 10 years.” He said he was able to find a solution which factored for local control, while providing some regulatory oversight to ensure public safety remains the primary concern — rather than using traffic citations as another form of taxation.

Bergan said he and his legislative peers also invested in education by adding a 4 percent in-

crease in state-funded support, setting beginning teacher salaries at $47,000 per year for the 2024-25 academic year and increasing that amount to $50,000 per year beginning in the fall of 2025.

“We continued on the process of reorganizing our state executive branch agencies, making adjustments to boards and commissions,” said Bergan. “I expect this reorganizing process will continue, to some degree, over the next two years, working to refine departments’ roles.”

One 2025 priority for Iowa’s House and Senate will be further work on the impacts of House File 718, which was signed into law by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds with bipartisan support in May of 2023. The bill relates to several aspects of government funding, but a number of elected officials in the region are concerned about limits the

Delivery to be delayed as nation mourns President Carter A National Day of Mourning will be observed Thursday, Jan. 9, to recognize the passing of former President Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. Federal offices are expected to be closed during the observance, and no mail delivery will take place that day. Subscribers to the Decorah Leader can expect to receive the Jan. 9 edition of the newspaper on Friday, Jan. 10. Legal notices which require multiple consecutive publication dates are not expected to be affected by next week’s delay in delivery, as the newspaper itself will still bear a Jan. 9, 2025, dateline.

Vote JANUARY 7

more than one priority: WHAT ARE YOUR I have Economic Development PRIORITIES FOR Business Retention Affordable Housing DECORAH? Responsible spending

KENT

KLOCKE

DECORAH CITY COUNCIL AT LARGE

bill places on a county’s ability to generate property taxes.

“HF718 placed some limitations on the growth of spending by local governments,” Bergan said. “There is broad concern that property taxes are growing at a high rate, (and) that concern continues. While many would prefer to see a reduction in property taxes, that will only occur with a decrease in services provided by our cities and counties.

I recognize the expectations constituents have for services, so limiting growth is a moderate approach that was endorsed by both parties in adopting HF718.

Both the House and the Senate will be looking at our property tax system in the coming session.”

Klimesh added that legislators are just starting to get statewide data on HF718, and he looks forward to reviewing that information.

“As for the conversation to come, at this point I have no idea as to what a work product between the House and the Senate would look like,” he said.

On the agricultural front, Bergan said he maintains communication with Iowa’s congressional delegates and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig on farmers’ needs — one area of concern being last year’s outbreak of avian influenza in the western part of the state and another potential outbreak of African Swine Fever.

“We have supported the development and expansion of our veterinary laboratories and rely on the federal government for emergency funding and support in a crisis,” he said.

Bergan serves on several committees in the Iowa House, including the Appropriations, Health and Human Services, Labor and Workforce and State Government Committees. He said he’ll be focusing on mental health and substance abuse issues during the coming legislative session — as well as improving support for families’ needs.

“I will continue to be involved in early childhood initiatives including preschool, childcare and improving support for families in need,” Bergan said.

“Appropriations will focus on developing a budget that allows for an appropriate rate of growth in our state budget.”

Klimesh has served on a number of Iowa Senate committees, such as the Commerce Government Oversight, Local Government, Transportation and Ways

and Means Committees, and some of his committee assignments will be changing as lawmakers reconvene.

“One of the biggest changes is that I will now be serving as the chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee,” he said. “I have one of the largest workloads in the Senate. I chair both HHS and the Administrative Rules Review Committee. I am the vice chair of local government and serve as the vice chair for the HHS budget sub-committee. I have seats on Commerce, Ways and Means, Transportation, and the Rules committee. I was also elected to the majority whip position by my colleagues.”

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Regarding the upcoming inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump, Bergan said the change in administration will likely have little effect on state-level legislation. But, Klimesh said the turnover of presidential leadership always has a significant impact on state legislation, and he’s looking forward the new regime’s changes.

“We are always adjusting policy to meet new federal program requirements that always have some form of funding stream attached to them,” the state senator said. “I am looking forward to the new administration having a much more logical approach than the previous one.”

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OPINION

4 | DECORAH LEADER | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2025 | WWW.DECORAHLEADER.COM | EDITOR@DECORAHLEADER.COM | 563-382-4221

I’m glad A letter in three parts — Fairness.

Trust. And Economic common-sense. there’s Part 1 discussion, but I gotta’ add one point of clarity I have to admit I’ve never seen a letter to the editor submitted as part one of three before — never even heard of such a thing. So, by extension, I have to admit I’ve never considered addressing it as part of our opinion page policies.

It’s good to know I can still be surprised. Anyway, I’ll be giving it some thought

BY SETH but, for the time BOYES being, I’ll let the page-four debate News Editor over the city’s proposed municipal electric utility play out as it will, rather than try to shoehorn a new policy into place mid-discussion — and it seems folks have plenty to say.

That kind of public participation on a local issue is greatly appreciated by us here at the newspaper. The opinion page fills a community role the rest of the pages in this newspaper simply can’t. The opinion page has room for subjectivity. It has room for hunches and conjectures. It has room for conclusions based on feelings. The opinion page has sometimes been called the heart of the newspaper, and in many ways the heart of this newspaper is driven by you, dear reader.

But, because I want there to be no mistake about that concept, I do have one quick point of clarity I feel I must add to this week’s discussion — and then I’ll get out of the way again and let the debate resume.

The word “editorial” can have a few meanings. It can be an adjective referring to an employee’s position within a newspaper, and it can also be a noun referring to a type of written opinion piece. But here’s where I differ from good ol’ Webster’s — in my experience, written editorials don’t get bylines, because they express an opinion that’s shared by the newspaper’s staff as a whole or, in some cases, they convey the publication’s official position on a topic — that is to say, editorials are fairly rare in local newspapers.

In fact, I went back through our archives, and the last time I could find something marked as an editorial in one of Decorah’s newspapers was in the mid-90s (which, as I often have to remind myself, is a lot farther in the rearview mirror than it seems for those of us who still use the year 2000 as the starting point for our mental math).

Aside from editorials, there are opinion columns — like this one, of course. And columns have a byline so you know who to take aim at when you have a sharpened rebuttal — maybe I’m joking, maybe I’m not. Opinion columns like this one obviously come from within the newspaper, but they aren’t the opinion of the newspaper as a whole — just one fallible person among many. And then there are letters to the editor, which are obviously opinions from outside the newspaper, written by folks like you, dear reader.

Now, some people use the term “editorial” and the phrase “opinion column” interchangeably, and honestly, while that’s not quite right in my book, it’s no great sin. As far as I’m concerned, it’s an issue on par with my family’s eternal debate over the proper use of “supper” and “dinner,” or what distinguishes a bucket from a pale.

What I mean is, despite our linguistic differences, we understand what the other person is getting at. But occasionally, folks will also refer to letters to the editor as “editorials.” That seems to happen more often when the letter in question was particularly lengthy, in my opinion. It’s a common enough mistake in any newspaper market, but it’s one I try to correct more readily because I’d hate for our sharing of outside opinions to be seen as a holistic endorsement one way or the other.

Like I said, it’s no major transgression, and people generally understand which thoughts are coming from where week to week — but I want to be clear now when it’s a relatively small thing so that folks don’t get their wires crossed when it’s truly important.

Fairness. Let’s be honest, folks, Alliant simply isn’t playing fair. Alliant’s electric rates put us all at an economic disadvantage. As residents, we pay 62 percent higher rates than Mid-American customers, our commercial businesses pay almost 50 percent higher, and our industries pay over 25 percent more. This is 2023 data from the Iowa Utilities Commissions before this latest rate hike. This summer, the numbers will be even higher, especially for our small commercial businesses, from the latest round of increases. As residential customers of Alliant, we also pay higher rates than every rural cooperative in the state and higher rates than all but two municipal electric utilities. Alliant has had two major rate increases in just under five years, all after they promised Decorah residents during the last referendum that they would not be raising rates.

In addition to their unfair rates, Alliant uses fear and intimidation to manipulate us. Without evidence, they claim that an MEU would cost more. Without evidence, they claim that an MEU wouldn’t be as reliable. But across the state, on average, Iowa’s MEUs have better reliability than investor-owned utilities, and as per above, their rates are lower. As for the rates and reliability of Decorah’s MEU, that is precisely what we are voting to find out.

You can be sure Alliant is worried, because all the available public data shows that a MEU is promising for Decorah. On average, Iowa MEUs and rural electric cooperatives have outperformed Alliant in both rates and reliability. Since the last referendum in 2018, partners like MiEnegy have come to the table to assist Decorah if we choose. MiEnergy already serves a portion of the Decorah community, including the business park. Alliant doesn’t like the idea of coalitions and partners. They will work hard against them and are sparing no effort or money to do so here in Decorah, once again aiming to divide us. They blame the city for doing our due diligence to educate voters and uncover the facts of our own electrical infrastructure. Alliant’s fear is once again trying to mislead Decorah voters; their recent letter to the city council is proof of this; it is a gas-lighting attempt to stoke fear about rates and reliability into the hearts of Decorah voters but has no basis in actual objective numbers or Iowa Code.

As I write this, the council has received word from the Iowa Ethics Commission and our attorney that the city’s educational materials are accurate and without political purpose. If Alliant Energy is confident that they are the best utility for Decorah, they should be more than comfortable letting us find this out for ourselves.

One final note on fairness: I would like to address Mr. Baldwin’s recent editorial, which seemed to argue that it’s a “win” for the system if investors get wealthy off the backs of ratepayers.

So, to this point, I offer up the reason for my passion behind this vote: making a profit, as a monopoly, off an essential human need like electricity is about as un-American of an ideal as they come.

People have no choice in their electrical provider, and there is no fair market competition to keep prices in check with a consumer vote. Even with the vote in March, we don’t get to choose who runs the power to the poles. Only the Iowa Utilities Commission can do that if they are given a municipal alternative that can address inequity. Our only voice is at the ballot box, where we can offer up that alternative. Ultimately, if our alternative can provide better rates, equal or greater reliability and is in the best interest of Decorah ratepayers, then Decorah wins, and we can make our investments right here in our own community.

Emily Neal Councilperson At Large Decorah

A response to Daniel Baldwin’s letter I’m writing to respond to a recent letter to the editor submitted by my good friend and former Luther College colleague Daniel Baldwin. I am responding as a private citizen and not in any official capacity as the chair of the Decorah Sustainability Commission. I have some additional information to share that I have learned in my role as a policy analyst for the Clean Energy Districts of Iowa.

Dan surmises that “the primary argument for a municipally-owned electric utility is a financial argument.”

Every year, every electric utility in Iowa files an annual report with the Iowa Utilities Commission. IUC staff review these annual reports and then post a large spreadsheet with the consolidated information on the IUC’s website.

The Clean Energy Districts of Iowa analyzes this consolidated information each year and produces an annual report that compares the two investor-owned electric utilities — Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy — as well as Iowa’s 136 municipal electric utilities and the state’s 42 rural electric cooperatives. Here are the key findings from CEDI’s analysis of the most recent (2023) annual electric utility reports: • In comparison to MidAmerican Energy, Alliant’s revenues per kilowatt hour in 2023 were 62.4 percent higher for residential customers, 49.3 percent higher for commercial customers, and 26.5 percent higher for industrial customers.

• Alliant Energy’s bundled, all-in revenues for residential customers in 2023 were higher than every rural electric cooperative in Iowa and higher than all but two of Iowa’s 136 municipal electric cooperatives.

• Alliant Energy fares a little better with commercial customers, but the company’s bundled, all-in revenues still place it in the bottom third of Iowa’s 181 electric utilities.

• Alliant’s bundled, all-in revenues for industrial customers place it in the top third, but there are still 34 Iowa electric utilities with lower costs.

It is important to note that none of these comparisons reflect Alliant’s most recent electric rate increase, which was approved by the Iowa Utilities Commission in the fall of 2024.

If the primary reason to establish a municipal electric utility in Decorah is financial, then I can understand why the Decorah City Council has scheduled a second referendum. Alliant’s 413,000 residential households — including around 3,000 Decorah households — are paying more for their electricity than almost every other household in the state of Iowa.

Dan notes correctly that rural elec-

tric utilities and municipal electric utilities are not subject to the same level of regulation as investor-owned utilities. He points out that Alliant’s rates are subject to approval by the three members of the Iowa Utilities Commission who are appointed to staggered terms by the governor of Iowa. Dan would prefer his rates be determined by the commission rather than by the city of Decorah, which he fears “will raise our rates, as the city sees fit, when the city sees fit, as much and as often as the city sees fit.”

I want to make two comments about this matter. The first is to point out that Alliant has raised its rates seven times over the last 22 years, which averages out to about once every three years. The other thing I’d like to point out is that all but two of Iowa’s 136 municipal electric utilities provide electricity to their residential customers for less — and often much less — than Alliant does. I don’t know how often these MEUs raise their rates, but I do know their rates are lower than Alliant’s.

Finally, Dan addresses concerns that Alliant’s rates are high because it is an investor-owned utility with a “fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the investors who own the company.” Dan points out that Alliant’s largest shareholders are “institutional investors . . .like the Vanguard Group, BlackRock and TIAA,” and he notes that many of us are probably invested in Alliant through our mutual funds and retirement accounts. I think he is right about that.

Alliant’s stock price reached a 52week high on the day the Iowa Utilities Commission issued its final decision and order approving Alliant’s recent rate increase. Wall Street has loved Alliant because it has consistently provided ever higher dividends and good earnings per share. This is due in large part to Alliant’s high rates of capital spending and the high return on equity the Iowa Utilities Commission has awarded the company over the last two decades. The Iowa Environmental Council reports that Alliant’s approved ROEs for capital projects are among the highest in the Midwest.

Dan is right that Alliant’s shareholders have benefitted from their investments in the company, but it is important to remember that those dividends are derived from ratepayer revenue.

Alliant estimates that approximately 25 percent of their residential customers are low-income households. My guess is that few of them are Alliant shareholders.

Jim Martin-Schramm Decorah

Reader cites city property taxes in predicting high rates under proposed MEU To the editor: On the question of a municipal electric utility, “Decorah Power,” I bring numbers, a couple observations and a question. Numbers first.

For ease of comparison, I’ll refer in each case to the 12-month period beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30, a span of 12 months that corresponds to the city of Decorah fiscal year. $4,487,083. This was the city of Decorah property tax levy for the period July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018 (Fiscal 2018). $6,369,016. This was the city of Decorah property tax levy for the period July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024 (Fiscal 2024).

41.94 percent. This is how much the city of Decorah property tax levy rose from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2024, an increase of $1,881,933.

25.44 percent. This is the cumulative rate of inflation in the United States for the seven-year period beginning July 1, 2017, ending June 30, 2024 — source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

I note that between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2024, the city of Decorah property tax levy rose at a significantly higher rate than did the overall cost of living in the U.S., nearly 65 percent higher.

As for the suggestion that our electricity is more expensive than it should be because Alliant is “beholden” to investors; that Alliant is fleecing its customers for the benefit of its shareholders; that shareholder demand

for return-on-investment has been and remains the primary source of upward pressure on electricity rates: Alliant Energy is most certainly profitable. While proponents of Decorah Power will often cite revenue growth as an indicator of extraordinary profitability, as evidence that Alliant is soaking its customers for the benefit of its investors, net income is considered by many to be a more important, more reliable indicator of a company’s profitability. For a business such as Alliant, net income is the amount of money left over after all expenses have been accounted for. Another important metric is earnings per share, which is a measure of how much money a company earns per share of stock. EPS is calculated by dividing a company’s net income by the number of outstanding shares of common stock.

For the 12-month period beginning July 1, 2017, ending June 30, 2018, Alliant reported earnings per share of $2.09.

For the 12-month period beginning July 1, 2023, ending June 30, 2024, Alliant reported earnings per share of $2.45.

So how profitable is Alliant Energy? Between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2024 — from the third quarter of 2017 to the second quarter of 2024 — Alliant earnings-per-share grew by 17.23 percent, an increase of 36 cents per share. This is the same seven-year span — July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2024 — during which the city of Decorah property tax levy rose by 41.94 percent, an

increase of $1,881,933.

Nobody invests in utility stocks in the hope of getting rich. Generally speaking, utility stocks — e.g. Alliant, Duke Energy, Dominion, Southern Company, NextEra Energy — are considered to be safe, low-volatility, relatively low-risk, relatively low-reward investments. Professional money managers sometimes refer to utilities as “defensive stocks,” favored by many retirees and other investors who — for whatever reason — are relatively risk averse. Historical data indicates that Alliant Energy earnings growth has been — and remains — modest when compared to other publicly traded companies.

From some MEU proponents — some but not all — I have heard arguments and rhetoric that suggest a pronounced animus toward large corporations and big business in general. In fact big companies create lots of jobs, good paying jobs with benefits. Alliant Energy provides employment for thousands of workers here in the Upper Midwest. Since January 2021, Alliant has collected a so-called “franchise fee” from its Decorah customers. Based on energy usage, the franchise fee — now 4 percent — is added to every electric bill, is collected by Alliant, then funneled directly to the city of Decorah’s coffers. Proceeds from the franchise fee will benefit the city of Decorah by almost $400,000 for 2024. Alliant Energy also pays property taxes to the city; for 2024, Alliant’s city property tax bill will land

somewhere north of $170,000.

If the thought of a large, investor-owned utility making a reasonable profit while keeping our homes warm in winter and cool in summer; while providing stable employment income and health coverage for thousands of workers and their families, and the promise of modest but reliable income for retirement — if that thought keeps you up at night, I suggest your political and ideological commitments may be getting in your way.

My family and I have been blessed to live in this beautiful place for more than 27 years. My wife and I have raised two children here, and we’ve made a good life here. My opposition to the MEU initiative is not based in ideology or partisanship. My opposition stems not from any paucity of community spirit, or civic disloyalty, or contempt or distrust of our elected officials. I trust that our city mothers and city fathers would, if given the opportunity, do with our electricity rates what they have done with our property taxes, which is to say hike them relentlessly.

Finally, a question: why are the leading proponents of an MEU, including members of the Decorah Sustainability Commission, not talking about clean energy and sustainability? Why has the issue of renewable energy been virtually absent from the current discussion?

Agree with Seth? Think he’s got it completely backwards or he’s missed the point entirely?

Let your voice be heard. Letters to the editor may be emailed to editor@decorahleader.com or dropped off at 110 Washington St. Suite 4 in Decorah.

Daniel Baldwin Decorah

OBITUARIES/NEWS

DECORAH LEADER | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2025 | WWW.DECORAHLEADER.COM | EDITOR@DECORAHLEADER.COM | 563-382-4221

Eulalia “Lalie” Madriguera

March 23, 1937 - Dec. 21, 2024

Eulalia “Lalie” Madriguera died Dec. 1, 2024, with loving family at her side.

Lalie was born on June 15, 1941 in Port Clinton, Ohio. She resided in Connecticut and New York and spent the Eulalia last six years Madriguera in Decorah.

A beloved mother, mother-inlaw, grandmother, great-grandmother and a dear friend to many, Lalie was compassionate, caring and filled with light.

Lalie was a producer, director and writer for Connecticut Public Television, and was awarded a New England Regional Emmy for her documentary “Phobias…Overcoming the Fear”.

She was an accomplished singer/songwriter and creator of live music programs, celebrating the music of the “Great American Songbook”. Her album “LalieByes” has soothed

Helen Thune, 87, of Bettendorf, Iowa died Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024 at Genesis East Medical Center.

Helen Lien Thune was born March 23, 1937 to Elmer and Grace (Borness) Lien on the family farm in Helen Thune Springfield Township in Winneshiek County. She graduated from Calmar High School in 1956. Helen married Dean Alden Thune on Oct. 25, 1958 in Decorah. Helen worked for the Davenport Community Schools for many years before retiring in 1999. Helen enjoyed gardening, golfing, traveling with her family and playing bridge.

Helen was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Bettendorf.

Helen is survived by three sons: David (Sylvia) Thune of Las Cruces, New Mexico, Randall (Robin) Thune of Betten-

the souls of young and old alike. An enthusiastic environmentalist, Lalie wrote and sang “Mother Earth’s Song” with hopes of healing for the planet.

Lalie traveled to England to complete her certification as a Bach Flower Practitioner and journeyed to Peru to further her studies in healing.

She took great joy in entertaining elders at care facilities, and people of all ages at the local farmers market. Most recently, she was a member of the Decorah UU community, served as a board member at the Decorah Community Food Pantry, and volunteered at Northeast Iowa RSVP Senior Corps.

Lalie loved music, art and theater and was a lifelong learner. She was a gracious spirit, generous with her time and care for family, friends and acquaintances. She left this world a better place than she found it.

Lalie is survived by her children: Nick (Cheryl), Crestview, Florida, Michael (Michelle), Decorah, Debbie (Joe), North

Haledon, New Jersey, Linda (Stephen), Westport, Connecticut, and Maryanne (Jose), San Diego, California; grandchildren: Nicholas, Anthony, Bianca, Sam, Lindsey, Joseph, Gavin, Ryan, Owen, Christian and Amber; great-grandchildren: Gianna, Vincent, Titus, Achilles, Iris, Chloe, Levi, Sienna and Ethan; and nieces, Christina and Julie.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Enrique Madriguera and Patricia Gilmore; sister, Maria Madriguera; brother, Enric Madriguera; and granddaughter, Samantha.

Family and friends will gather to celebrate and honor Lalie at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 5, 2025 at the Decorah UCC. Memorials may be made in Lalie Madriguera’s name to the Decorah Community Food Pantry or the Decorah Public Library.

Lalie sings with the angels now. We are sure she is a most welcome addition to the choir.

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dorf, and Daniel (Timi) Thune of Princeton, Iowa; grandchildren: Michael (Samantha) Thune, Ryan Thune, Dustin (Shelby) Thune, Sarah Tyler, Kaitlin Thune, Jacob Thune, Ian Thune, Aaron Thune and Zachary Thune; great-grandchildren, Leam and Lola; and siblings, Ray (Aurora) Lien and Harold (Janice) Lien.

Helen was preceded in death by her husband, Dean Thune; parents, Elmer and Grace Lien; son, Eric Thune; and siblings: Viola Linderbaum, Celia Stoen and Robert Lien.

Services were held at 10 a.m.

Friday, Jan. 3, 2025 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bettendorf. A graveside service followed at 3:30 p.m. at the Big Canoe Lutheran Cemetery in Highlandville.

Memorials can be made to Trinity Lutheran Church or to the American Cancer Society in Helen’s name.

Online condolences may be made to the Thune family at www.weertsfh.com.

Jendean Olson

Oct. 7, 1945 - Dec. 23, 2024

Lester Praska

Sept. 24, 1934 - Dec. 28, 2024 Lester Praska, 90, of Protivin, passed away peacefully to be with the Lord on Dec. 28, 2024 at Aase Haugen Senior Services in Decorah surrounded by his family.

Lester was born on the family farm in Howard Lester Praska County on Sept. 24, 1934, the son of Frank J. and Bessie Praska. In 1943, Lester and his family moved to another farm located two miles east of Protivin in Winneshiek County. It was on this farm that he resided until taking residency at Aase Haugen. He attended Paris #5 School in Howard County for kindergarten, 1st-3rd grade at Holy Trinity Catholic School in Protivin and 4th-8th grade at Winneshiek County Sumner Township #3 County School located next to their family farm. Lester would say he was the “teacher’s favorite” as she would pay him 10 cents to get the fire started in the wood stove to warm up the one-room schoolhouse before everyone got there. He thought that was great! After 8th grade, Lester continued to work on the family farm outside of Protivin.

Lester met Ruthann Klimesh in 1963 at her sister’s wedding. Ruth was a bridesmaid and Lester helped decorate the wedding cars. They got talking and enjoyed each other’s company. That evening, they were sitting in one of the wedding cars under the yard pole light at the event and although neither one of them smoked, Lester was messing around with the cigarette lighter in the car. He accidentally “branded” Ruth. Although it never actually touched her skin, it did leave a circle and he joked with her how she was going to be his forever. Lester was united in marriage to Ruthann Klimesh on Sept. 12, 1964.

To this union, five children were born: John, Jim, Janice, Jane and Judy. Judy was born on their 15th wedding anniversary day. Lester and Ruth continued to farm together. They planted many acres of beans and corn and raised chickens, ducks and turkeys. They also raised hogs, beef cattle and dairy cattle (ironically Lester disliked milk and rarely drank it).

Lester was a member of the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Protivin. He served on their Parish Council and was also a lector at Sunday masses. For many years, Lester and Ruth managed the Cake Walk event at Protivin’s annual Czech Days. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus both 3rd and 4th degree serving many

Nyanjenga

Helen Thune

June 15, 1941 - Dec. 1, 2024

offices. He also served as the Winneshiek County Sumner Township Trustee for 12 years.

Lester was also employed at Graphics Printing in Calmar for 19 years.

Farming was Lester’s true passion. Anyone that ever had the pleasure of meeting him, would always walk away scratching their head, thinking “man, those are the biggest hands I have ever seen”. Lester was known for his large hands and everyone knew it. But those hands represented the resilience he had and the hard work he put into being a farmer. Farming was everything to Lester: the long hours in all temperatures, the scars and callouses, broken bones (many of them he had), stitches and bruises. He had a true love for being a dairy farmer which involved very early mornings and very late nights with calves being born at all hours of the night. Lester appreciated the joy of a good harvest, the beauty of the sun, and the peace in the barn. There is no other place Lester wanted to be than on his family farm providing for his family.

Lester was very talented and crafty with his hands and quite the handyman. He remodeled the entire family farmhouse that resides today on the family farm. He crafted many pieces of wooden furniture including two large wooden toy barns for his sons John and Jim when they were younger and a baby dresser that was dear to Ruth’s heart and used for all five children.

Lester loved to dance and enjoyed taking his girlfriend (a.k.a. wife, Ruth) to many dances at Matter’s Ballroom in Decorah and the Innwood in Spillville (the location of their wedding dance). Lester and Ruth enjoyed taking trips to many polka dances and trips to Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North and South Dakota, Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas and Mexico. He would never pass up an opportunity to watch Mollie B on RFD TV and “Everybody Loves Raymond” on TV Land would always put a smile on his face. His popcorn from the “real popcorn machine” and his caramel puffcorn was always a favorite with his grandkids at the holidays. He always enjoyed his chocolates and generously shared them with all his visitors at Aase.

Ketchup was a staple at every meal no matter what he was eating. Lester would never pass up a glass of “warm” RC Cola and more recently he enjoyed his Pepsi until his final days.

Lester is survived by his loving wife, Ruth, of 60 years; children: John Praska of Laredo, Texas, Jim (Lynn) Praska of St. Paul, Minnesota, Janice

(Kurt) Hanson of Decorah, Jane (Mike) Proffit of Jackson, Wisconsin, and Judy (John) Pentecost of Waverly; 11 grandchildren: Julia, Erika and Brandon Praska, Bethany and Tristan Hanson, Cole, Ian and Finn Proffit and Isabella, Emmett and Gevin Pentecost; and many nieces and nephews. He was very proud of his family and he loved them dearly.

Lester was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Bessie Praska; siblings: Leonard (Caroline) Praska, Georgine (Joe) Berka and Irene (Ambrose) O’Brien; and several nieces and nephews.

Mass of Christian burial was held Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Protivin with Fr. Nick Radloff presiding.

Lester was a true survivor.

He endured many health obstacles over the years but with his strength, faith and perseverance, he was able to overcome them.

Genesis 2:8 “Now the Lord God planted a garden in the east in Eden and there he put the man he had formed”.

Once a farmer…always a farmer. Rest in peace, dad.

Jendean Norma (Hegg) Olson, 79, of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin died Dec. 23, 2024, at Door County Medical Center.

Jendean was born to John O. and Norma (Sersland) Hegg in Decorah, Iowa.

Her Jendean Olson family farm was established in 1853, the same year as Ephraim Moravian Church. From any vantage point on that farm the tall spire of her home church, Washington Prairie Lutheran Church, was clearly visible. The church was at the very center of her life. It was there that she was baptized and confirmed.

Jendean attended a one-room school for her first eight grades and then continued in Decorah graduating in 1963. She then entered Luther College completing a degree in music education. While at Luther, Jendean was a member of the Luther College Nordic Choir. Immediately upon graduation, Jendean traveled with the choir for seven weeks during which time the choir presented a concert in East Berlin and traveled by boat along the whole coast of Norway. Also, while at Luther College she served as a music Librarian and reader of children’s

stories at KWLC radio.

It was at Luther College that Jendean met her future husband, Dan, to whom she was married in August of 1967. In the fall of 1967, Jendean and Dan moved to St. Paul, Minnesota where she began her teaching career in Elementary Music Education in the Columbia Heights Public Schools. In time, she taught music in New Richmond, Merrill, Sturgeon Bay and Algoma Public Schools. While Dan served in three congregations, Jendean was heavily involved with the music programs both as organist and choir director, retiring from active service from Ephraim Moravian Church. In addition, she gave dozens of private piano lessons.

Together Jendean and Dan have three children: Andrew, Angela (Chad) Olson-Luberger and Aaron (Sarah). They have six grandchildren: Anika, Audrey, Aria, Anders, Elsa and Stanley. Jendean is also survived by a sister, Ilene (Ray) Pavelko, West Salem, Wisconsin and brother John (Mary) Hegg, Decorah; and nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

A memorial service was held Saturday, Dec. 28, at the Ephraim Moravian Church.

Burial was at Bayside Cemetery.

retired in 1991 and later served as county supervisor for four years between 1993-1996.

Otis was a member of First Lutheran Church, Silvercrest Country Club, Elks Lodge and was a previous member of the Lions Club. He was instrumental in helping start and to officiate stock car racing at the Decorah and Waukon racetracks for 10 years.

He enjoyed playing golf (he had four holes-in-one!), softball, cards, as well as traveling, watching old westerns and watching Packer and Hawkeye games whenever they were on.

Otis is survived by his children: Debra (Michael) Gallagher of Cedar Rapids, and Steven Tollefson of Decorah; sister, Gail (Fred) Libby; grandchildren: Michelle (Ryan) Bildstein, Matthew (Kate) Gallagher and Emily Jaastad (Jacob Bedford); great-grandchildren: Avery, Harper, Anthony, Brandi, Micah, Jack, Grace, Violet and Olive; and many nieces and nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Jane; daughter, Diane (Tollefson) Jaastad; parents, Otto and Katherine Marjorie Tollefson; brother, Noel Tollefson; sister, Patri-

cia Hall; sister-in-law, Dolores Tollefson; and brother-in-law, Dr. Robert Hall.

Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, at First Lutheran Church, 604 W. Broadway St., Decorah with Pastor Michael Wilker presiding. Burial will be in the Lutheran Cemetery at a later date.

Visitation was from 10 a.m. until the time of the service at the church on Friday.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Decorah Community Food Pantry, P.O. Box 26, Decorah, IA 52101 or to WinnMed Hospice, 901 Montgomery St., Decorah, IA 52101.

Otis Tollefson

Jan. 14, 1932 - Dec. 25, 2024 Otis Tollefson, 92, of Decorah, died Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, at Wellington Place in Decorah.

Otis Jerome Tollefson was born to Otto S. Tollefson and Katherine Marjorie Ramsay on Jan. 14, 1932, in Decorah. Otis Tollefson He was baptized on Feb. 7, 1932, at Springfield Lutheran Church and confirmed on May 19, 1946, at Washington Prairie Lutheran Church in Decorah.

On Feb. 23, 1957, Otis was united in marriage to Elsie Jane Reyerson. To this union, three children were born: Debra, Diane and Steven. They made their home in Decorah.

At an early age, Otis worked at Wimmers Department Store where he was in charge of men’s and boy’s clothing. In 1948, he moved to Cedar Rapids and operated a drill press and later worked for a wholesale grocery company. He moved back to Decorah in 1951 and was employed at Minowa Skelgas. Minowa Skelgas was later sold to Skelly Oil Co., and he was the manager there for 25 years. He

5

captured on the collected surveillance footage was seized during searches of the teens’ homes. Nyanjenga’s defense at one point sought to have some of that evidence suppressed, arguing it had been improperly collected during the search.

However, Nyanjenga signed a guilty plea in early November of 2024, and a court never weighed in on whether the clothing — specifically a hooded sweatshirt found at Nyanjenga’s residence — would be admitted as evidence.

Initial estimates placed the total damage from the 2023 vandalism at around $10,000, but the combined total sought by the affected public and private entities was less than $2,100 — neither of the Lutheran churches chose to seek reimbursement for removing the graffiti in September, and Decorah United Church of Christ submitted a statement to the court in November, specifically declining to do so and citing a congregational vote taken in mid-July of 2024.

“You can’t place a price on forgiveness,” Adam Campbell, worship leader at Decorah United Church of Christ, said in October. “That just cheapens the whole process.”

Churches opt for forgiveness and understanding Representatives from both churches said earlier this fall that numerous community members and congregants joined together to remove the spray painted messages the same day the graffiti was discovered.

“It was a beautiful moment when a cross-section of the town joined peacefully to repair the damage inflicted by a few,” Pastor Tim Kowitz of Decorah Lutheran Church said in October. “We proclaim the message of love and forgiveness. God’s love is for everyone.”

The churches also advocated for the court to consider alternatives to traditional sentences for all three suspects, such as community service. Campbell said the local UCC church also proposed working with the teens and their families through a trained mediator to understand one another’s perspectives and reach a mutually agreeable solution — a process he referred to as restorative justice.

“We don’t feel like you can punish the wrongdoing out of someone and in some way make it better,” Campbell said.

Judge Parrish emphasized a similar point to the teen during last month’s sentencing.

“I hope you take advantage of this opportunity you’ve been given, Mr. Nyanjenga, to compensate the victims in this matter for the damage you’ve caused, but more importantly, to reflect on their comments in their victim impact statements and understand that what they’re truly interested in getting out of you is an understanding that your actions caused harm much more significant and deeper than something that can be removed by taking paint off a wall or a building,” Parrish said.

Parrish indicated Nyanjenga is to pay approximately $200 per month in reparations for the removal of the graffiti last year — which would see the teen potentially pay off the required amount in less than a year’s time.

Service Notice ANTHONY JOSEPH KRUSE, 88, died Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, at Barthell Eastern Star Home. Mass of Christian Burial was held Friday, Dec. 27 at Our Lady of Seven Dolors Catholic Parish in Festina with Rev. Daniel Knipper officiating. Burial was in the church cemetery.

LILLIAN CHIPERA, 92, of Fort Atkinson, died Monday, Dec. 30, 2024, at New Hampton Nursing and Rehab Facil-

ity in New Hampton. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025 at St. John Catholic Church in Fort Atkinson with Rev. Donald Hertges presiding. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Visitation will be held from 4-6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 3 at Helms Funeral Home Chekal Chapel, 201 Main St., Fort Atkinson, and after 9:30 a.m. at the church on Saturday morning. has context menu

NEWS

6 | DECORAH LEADER | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2025 | WWW.DECORAHLEADER.COM | EDITOR@DECORAHLEADER.COM | 563-382-4221

Law Enforcement Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office A Ridgeway man was charged with public intoxication after the vehicle he was driving left the road Monday, Dec. 16. A report from the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office said Quentin Tyme Hafner was driving a 2003 Honda Accord east in the 2800 block of 290th Street and drifted into the oncoming lane of traffic, abruptly attempted to correct and lost control, entering the south ditch, where the vehicle came to rest after damaging a barbed wire fence. The sheriff’s report said both occupants of the vehicle claimed the other was driving, but footage from a nearby convenience store showed the 28-year-old Hafner had been behind the wheel approximately 20 minutes prior to the crash. He was charged with public intoxication and was cited for failure to maintain control, failure to maintain or use safety belts, failure to provide proof of financial liability and driving while license denied, suspended, cancelled or revoked. The passenger, whom the sheriff’s report did not name, was cited for permitting an unauthorized person to drive as well as failure to maintain or use safety belts. No injuries were reported. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $1,500 and damage to the fence was estimated at $400.

The Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office said a Decorah man reported only minor injuries after his vehicle was totaled Thursday, Dec. 19. James Andree Savoy was driving north along Bluffton Road in a 2020 Ford Ranger when the 28-year-old lost control on a snowy roadway.

The Ranger entered a ditch and struck a tree. Savoy came away with a cut on his right hand, and he declined medical treatment. A report from the sheriff’s office listed no citation.

Dalton Tyler Guess, age 24, of Decorah was charged with domestic abuse/assault at approximately 12:17 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 21 in the 2400 block of Dogwood Road in Freeport. A criminal complaint said witnesses reported Guess had pushed and punched the victim during an argument. Guess was booked into the Winneshiek County Jail at 1:10 a.m. the same day.

Jacob Gossage, age 27, of Lakeland, Florida, was booked into the Winneshiek County Jail at 9 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22 on the charge of possession of marijuana — first offense.

Juan Mejia-Lorenzo, age 28, was booked into the Winneshiek County Jail at 12:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23 on an arrest warrant for violation of probation.

Andre Richards, age 35, was booked into the Winneshiek County Jail at 11:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23 to serve seven consecutive days.

Decorah Police Department Lauren Ashley Poye, age 41, of Decorah was charged with multiple offenses following a call to the 300 block of Main Street in Decorah. The Decorah Police Department received a call around 5:56 p.m. Friday, Dec. 22 from an individual who said he had been assaulted by his girlfriend. The caller waited for police outside the building, and law enforcement said Poye “was repeatedly calling 911 without

stating there was an emergency.” Criminal complaints said Poye called the emergency line at least five times “harassing the dispatch center with abusive comments and insults.” A separate criminal complaint said Poye “requested to speak to a supervisor and wanted to speak to the chief of police.” Police attempted to speak with Poye after arriving at the residence but found she “had barricaded herself within the apartment and would not answer the door.” Police entered the apartment with the male’s permission, according to court filings.

Poye resisted two officers, causing minor injuries. Court filings specified she struck one of the officers in the face, which permanently disabled the officer’s radio earpiece, according to a criminal complaint. Poye also kicked an officer in the chest while refusing to get into a squad car. Poye was charged with domestic abuse, first-degree harassment, third-degree harassment, fifth-degree criminal mischief, removal of a radio communication device from an officer, misuse of 911 communications and two counts of assault on a peace officer. She was booked into the Winneshiek County Jail at 7:25 p.m. the same day, where she continued to direct “further abusive epithets toward officers,” according to court documents. A separate criminal complaint said Poye also called a family member of an employee of the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office at some point that night, “yelling, swearing and belittling” the individual. The interaction resulted in an additional charge of third-degree harassment, and at least two no contact orders have been filed against Poye. Court documents indicate the 41-year-old was released after signing an agreement to appear for future court proceedings and pay $10,000 if she failed to do so. Poye signed that agreement Monday, Dec. 30, and it was filed with the court at around 10 a.m. the same day — Poye was booked into the county jail again approximately 10 hours later for violation of a no contact order.

Matthew Paul Henning, age 49, of Decorah was charged with operating while intoxicated — second offense — at approximately 11:53 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 26 near the intersection of Ridgewood Drive and Commerce Drive in Decorah. A Decorah Police officer also discovered a passenger in the vehicle had a valid protective order against Henning, and the individual was taken home. Henning was booked into the Winneshiek County Jail at 3:05 a.m. Friday, Dec. 27.

All people listed may face charges and should be presumed innocent until their case is reviewed through the legal process.

Cocaine, heroin fastest growing illicit drug markets in Winneshiek County

BY ZACH JENSEN STAFF WRITER Marijuana and methamphetamine are still northeast Iowa’s current drugs of choice, according to Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx and Detective Deputy Chris Wuebker, but they said cocaine and heroin use in the Driftless Region is rising quickly.

“The fastest-growing drugs we’re seeing in Iowa are cocaine and heroin,” Marx said.

“They’re not the most-prevalent narcotics, but their numbers are growing faster than prescription drugs, marijuana and methamphetamine.”

Wuebker said the top three drugs northeast Iowa law enforcement has dealt with in the last three months are — in order — opioids, marijuana and methamphetamine.

“For some reason, Iowa likes its meth,” Wuebker said. “And, lately, we’ve had more prescription pill cases, but our meth cases are still up there.”

The detective said another drug Winneshiek County is seeing more often is fentanyl — a potent synthetic opioid, which the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency notes was developed in 1959 and is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as an analgesic and anesthetic. Marx and Wuebker said nearly every illicit drug on the market, including marijuana, is being laced with fentanyl, and the outcome can often be fatal — a lethal dose of fentanyl, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, is just 2 milligrams, which is equal to about 10-15 grains of table salt.

“A lot of the drugs are coming through Mexico,” Wuebker said. “Because of that, it goes from the manufacturers to the big dealers, and from there, the drugs go to the local dealers.” Do the local dealers really know what they’re selling?”

Wuebker questioned whether local dealers truly know what they’re ultimately selling. Marx said the dealers are typically attempting to offer their buyers the “best product,” and he said many lace their supply with fentanyl, not knowing how much fentanyl is already in each dose.

“People need to understand this is underground crime, so their product isn’t being regulated,” the sheriff said. “These drugs are manufactured and distributed by thugs, so in trying to make the best high, they just overdo it, and that’s what makes many drugs even more unsafe than they already were

Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx

Deputy Detective Chris Wuebker

A lethal dose of fentanyl is just 2 milligrams, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. That amount of the synthetic opioid is equal to about 10-15 grains of table salt. The drug was first developed in 1959, according to the DEA, and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an analgesic and anesthetic. Officials with the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office said many local cases of opioid addiction began with legitimate prescriptions for chronic pain, but some patients seek out illegal suppliers if their medical provider is no longer willing to issue a prescription. (Image courtesy of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency) without the fentanyl.”

Marx and Wuebker also agreed that the battle against fentanyl and other opioids is still raging in the heartland. The Centers for Disease Control reported more than 500,000 people died because of prescription opioid use between 1999 and 2019. And, although medical providers have reduced the numbers of opioid prescriptions written in the last five years, the pills are making their way into Winneshiek County faster than ever before, Wuebker said.

“When they first started cracking down on opioid use, the biggest hit was felt in the urban areas,” he said. “Now, we’re seeing opioids trickling more and more into our rural communities. We’re seeing more and more criminal organizations moving into rural areas to try to establish themselves here.”

Marx added that many of the opioid cases his office has seen began as legitimate treatment.

“A good portion of addicts

and users started using legally-prescribed opioids because of chronic back pain, and that just snowballs,” Marx said.

“That’s not everybody, but a good share of users and addicts started using because of a real pain issue.”

He said many patients who don’t continue to receive opioid pain medications from their healthcare providers subsequently buy counterfeit versions of the medication, which are also often laced with fentanyl.

In response to the opioid epidemic, multiple states settled a multi-billion dollar class action lawsuit against the top three manufacturers of opioid medications. Winneshiek County, like other states and counties, has established its own opioid taskforce, which meets twice each year and makes recommendations as to how the county should allocate its portion of the settlement funds.

Marx and Wuebker agreed another challenge in curtailing

Decorah Public Library receives grant for digital literacy programming Decorah Public Library was one of 100 public libraries nationwide to be awarded funding by the Public Library Association to increase digital literacy.

The grant supports public libraries in their work of improving basic digital skills among families and communities.

Decorah Public Library’s $5,000 grant-funded initiative will focus on targeted outreach and training for seniors and users with limited experience to improve basic digital skills and safety. The resources provided are meant to help participants maintain independence, access

information easily and stay connected with family and friends.

The library will host a variety of workshops both on site and at select outreach locations — workshop details will be shared at a later date.

“The DPL is proud to be at the forefront of boosting digital

literacy skills and bridging the digital divide in our community,” Decorah Public Library Director Kristin Torresdal said.

“Thanks to this successful grant application submitted by library staff, more learners in our county will get connected to vital digital literacy skills and tech-

MEU available on the city’s website — will allow those tasked with creating flyers and mailers ahead of the March vote to draw from a bank of neutral statements. Staff indicated materials which use information from the master list could potentially be approved by Decorah City Manager Travis Goedken, rather than being individually approved by the city council or other body.

Local residents previously voted down a 2018 proposal to create an MEU — that ballot item fell three votes shy of approval. City officials took up the topic again in 2024, following rate increases from Alliant Energy. The company raised its rates in October of 2024 and

the use of drugs in the area is that many of the stereotypes of drug use and drug users are no longer applicable.

“We see all classes and types across the board struggling with addiction to all of these substances,” Wuebker said. “Anyone can be susceptible to drug use these days, and we’ve gone to plenty of houses to talk with people about the dangers of drug use and share what we see on a daily basis to try to help families out. There will always be stereotypes in the world, but the idea that drug users have no teeth and those kinds of things doesn’t represent what we see today.”

Wuebker said the sheriff’s office also focused on what they call poly-drug use — cases in which a person is using multiple illegal substances, such as methamphetamines and marijuana.

Marx said his office dedicates a significant amount of its resources to enforcement efforts when it comes to the use of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and opioids — the sheriff feels each of those drugs destroy lives faster than other illicit substances.

“Another major factor we look at is the presence of children in the home,” the sheriff said. “If there are children in the home, we’ll go after that case a lot more aggressively. When there are children in the home, that’s a major factor in deciding how many resources we’ll invest in that case.”

Marx went on to explain that, in homes where substance abuse is occurring, it is more likely children or elderly residents are also being abused as well.

“Mental health and suicides are also major components in the user’s home, so when those users and those substances are removed from the home, we can prevent a lot of that collateral damage across the county and for all demographics,” Marx said.

He and Wuebker indicated any given drug bust can also potentially reduce the frequency of other crimes in the community.

“There’s always a battle with narcotics, but what we see is localized,” Wuebker said. “When we do impact cases, we see a change locally. We don’t just see drug use in drug arrests. We see it in burglaries, break-ins and thefts. So, when we have an impact on a case, those other crimes slow down or stop also.”

may do so again in 2025. City officials previously indicated they would like to develop an alternative plan for providing electricity to Decorah residents, if Alliant’s rates become cost prohibitive for locals — but they said the city would need to take several steps in preparing for a full-fledged switch to a municipal utility. City officials have also said the upcoming vote is necessary before the city can acquire utility data from Alliant in preparation for potentially moving forward with an MEU. Approval of the educational information’s master list was placed on the city council’s Dec. 16 agenda, but the city received a letter from Alliant’s le-

gal counsel approximately two hours before that night’s meeting, claiming initial drafts of the materials were potentially biased, contained inaccurate information and omitted important information. The company outlined six concerns regarding the proposed educational materials and claimed — among other things — the drafted materials misrepresented the reason the March vote is necessary as well as the potential outcome of the proposition’s passage.

The letter also claimed the city could move forward with what Alliant called significant expenses without additional public approval following said vote.

Alliant went on to question

whether the city’s proposed materials might violate a section of Iowa Code, which prohibits cities from spending public funds to advocate for political purposes, such as “expressly advocating” for or against a ballot issue. Alliant asked the city to delay approval of the educational materials “until a thorough review and necessary revisions are completed.”

Councilmember At Large Emily Neal made a motion during the Dec. 16 meeting to approve the master list of information, contingent upon approval from the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.

With the council’s second atlarge seat unfilled until the conclusion of a special election

on Jan. 7, Neal’s motion failed on a tie vote 3-3. However, the council reached a general consensus, instructing city staff to contact the state board and request a review of the proposed materials.

Zach Goodrich, executive director and legal counsel for the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, responded three days later, saying he didn’t find any potential violations of laws the state board enforces.

“After having an opportunity to review the language you sent, I didn’t find anything that would come close to a ‘political purpose’ in that language,” Goodrich told Goedken in a Dec. 19 email. “With that, the language/materials can be put

nology resources.”

For more information about upcoming technology workshop opportunities, contact Decorah Public Library Technology and Facilities Manager Jon Pankow at 563-277-5183.

continued from front

out by the city without violating Iowa Code.”

Goodrich went on to recommend the materials be reviewed

by Decorah’s city attorney for any other legal issues which might merit consideration, and the city council approved the master list the following Monday.

City officials have yet to finalize a timeline for distributing the informational materials to residents, but the city council approved a resolution last month, allowing the city’s sustainability commission to spend up to $15,000 on flyers, mailers and similar materials regarding the upcoming proposition.

COMMUNITY

DECORAH LEADER | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2025 | WWW.DECORAHLEADER.COM | EDITOR@DECORAHLEADER.COM | 563-382-4221

Community briefs

Pictured are (from left to right) Charlotte Yu, Isaiah Bonnet and Camille Rueckert. (Photo submitted)

Local Scouts ready for annual Christmas tree pickup

DAR American History Essay Contest winners announced A trio of Decorah Middle School students were named the top entrants in their grade during this year’s American History Essay Contest. Isaiah Bonnet, son of Andy and Kim Bonnet, was named the eighth grade winner. Camille Rueckert, daughter of Matt and Kelli Rueckert, was declared the sixth grade winner. Charlotte Yu, daughter of Andrew Hageman and Min Yu was selected as the fifth grade winner. The American History Essay Contest is sponsored by the Hannah Lee Chapter of National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Each grade level winner was presented with a

certificate and an Excellence in History bronze medal. All other entrants received a certificate of participation. All three winning essays were sent on to the Iowa DAR for judging at the state level.

Each year the Daughters of the American Revolution sponsors the American History Essay Contest for all area students in grades five through eight.

This year’s topic was “Enjoying a New Kind of Tea Party.”

Students were asked to imagine themselves as a woman participating in a “tea party” protest against British tax laws during the 1770s in North Carolina — specifically the Edenton Tea

Party of the Wilmington Tea Party. Students were asked to describe the events, why they chose to join in the protest and explain whether they believe their actions were a good decision.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote historic preservation, education and patriotism. Its members are descended from patriots who won American independence during the Revolutionary War. With more than 177,000 members and approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide, DAR is one of the world’s largest service organizations.

Camp Ewalu to host Winter Family Fun Day Ewalu Camp and Retreat Center is inviting families, youth groups and friends to attend the second annual Winter Family Fun Day from 1-4 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 18, at the camp’s main site 3 miles west of Strawberry Point. The free event will have outdoor and indoor winter activities, and all are welcome.

Outdoor activities will include sledding and snowshoeing if weather permits. Staff has planned suitable activities planned with or without snow.

Outdoor activities include a scavenger hunt, guided hikes, snowshoeing and sledding weather permitting.

Indoor activities include a hot chocolate bar, interactive environmental education stations, arts and crafts, puzzles and games.

Attendees are asked to bring their own sleds and snowshoes

Decorah’s Boy Scout Troop 66 is preparing to offer pick up of live Christmas trees in the community following the last week’s holiday. The public is encouraged to place their trees on the curb by 8 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 4. Scouts ask that all lights, tinsel and decorations be removed before the tree is placed outside for pickup.

Stroke support group to meet

Veterans Memorial Hospital Speech-Language Pathologist Steven Mazzafield offers a stroke support group for individuals who have experienced a stroke, as well as caregivers and family members affected by stroke. Monthly meetings are held at 2 p.m. the first Thursday of every month at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon.

The next stroke support group meeting will be held on Thursday, Jan. 2. The support group provides opportunities to share tips, tricks or trials among participants, offer support for caregivers and provide an opportunity for socialization. Those who are currently experiencing hardship due to a new or ongoing stroke and who feel speech therapy may be beneficial may contact Mazzafield at 563-5683411.

Public invited to Reader’s Night Out

Camp Ewalu’s Winter Family Fun Day will be held Saturday, Jan. 18. The event will include indoor and outdoor activities for families of all shapes and sizes. The camp is located 3 miles west of Strawberry Point. (Photo submitted) if possible, and the camp will have a few extra items. Attendees are also asked to bring their winter gear and dress for the weather as they explore and experience the wonder of winter at Camp Ewalu. Attendees

should check in at the Creation Center near the parking lot upon arrival.

Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP with the camp office at 563-933-4700 or office@ewalu.org.

Holiday contest winners drawn Holiday photo contest winners Enterprise Media is pleased to announce the randomly- drawn winners of the holiday photo contest. The Lechtenberg family was drawn first for a prize of $100. Beth Sims submitted an early spring photo of Brinley, Eloise, the late Lewis, and William Lechtenberg of Calmar.

Second place and $50 goes to Levi and Rhett Blodgett of Decorah. Third place and $25 goes to Tate and Kade Albers of Decorah. Prizes can

be picked up at the Decorah Leader office, 110 Washington St., Suite 4 in Decorah.

Festive Foods Recipe drawing winner Janice Dougherty of Waukon was the winner of the drawing for the GE Stand Mixer from Enterprise Media and Jim’s Appliance/JW Kitchens of Decorah and Waukon.

Thank you to everyone who submitted photos and recipes.

The Oneota Valley Literary Foundation and Dragonfly Books invite the public to kick off the New Year with Reader’s Night Out, a special preview of the organizations’ 2025 author events. This free event will take place at 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 6 at T-Bock’s Underground in downtown Decorah. Attendees will get an exclusive first look at the first portion of the Oneota Valley Literary Foundation’s 2025 season, featuring a lineup of events scheduled between January and June. Guests will have the chance to enjoy complimentary appetizers, with additional food and drinks available for purchase from the T-Bock’s kitchen and bar.

Landing to host Pieceful Puzzling and subsequent showdown

Area jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts are invited to begin the year with a relaxing, fun-filled afternoon of puzzling. The Pieceful Puzzling event will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4 at The Landing Market in Decorah.

Participants may choose from two puzzles of different difficulty levels. A $20 registration

Local Boy Scouts host annual pancake supper

Decorah Boy Scouts Troop 66 held their annual pancake supper on Sunday, Nov. 17 at Sabin Family Table. Organizers thanked the community for its support during the event. The troop also thanked Corey and Amanda Sabin for hosting the event and donating all the food. The day’s menu included pancakes, eggs, sausages, milk and hot chocolate. The Boy Scouts helped cook all the food, served the meal buffet style, cleaned all the tables and washed the dishes. Pictured are (front row, left to right) Quade Bruening, Keegan Joyce, Colby Leiran, Jonathan Crose, Jeremiah Leiran, Jonathan Bean, Simon Potvin, (second row, left to right) Christian Volz, Gabe Creek, Kenyon Bartels, Noah Potvin, Nathaniel Crose, Daniel Bean and Dak Sabin. (Photo submitted)

fee includes a puzzle, which participants may take home after the event. Teams may register online at dragonflybooks. com/events/44221. Only one team member needs to register.

Space is limited to 12 teams.

Prodigious puzzlers will have another reason to stop by The Landing the next week. A Puzzle Showdown will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10. Teams of four will compete by racing to complete identical copies of a 750-piece puzzle. The first three teams to finish will win prizes, and additional prizes will be awarded throughout the evening. Each team’s $25 registration fee includes a puzzle to take home and drink coupons for The Buzz — located inside The Landing. Teams may register online at dragonflybooks. com/events/44223. Only one team member needs to register.

Space is limited to 12 teams.

NEI3A to host caregiver support group

Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging — or NEI3A. — hosts monthly in-person support group meetings from 10-11 a.m. on the first and third Mondays of each month. The meetings will be held at NEI3A’s new office, located at 915 Short St., Suite 169, in Decorah. The next meeting will take place on Jan. 6. This is free to attend, and all caregivers of people with chronic illnesses or disabilities, including new caregivers, are welcome and encouraged to attend. No reservations are needed. For more information, contact family caregiver speciliast Kelly Kuennen at 563-2776024.

Local students invited to Winter Walking Field Trips

The Decorah Public Library is collaborating with Upper Explorerland and Winneshiek County Conservation to offer a series of what organizers are calling Winter Walking Field Trips. Students in grades three through eight are invited to participate in the hands-on program, which offers a blend of winter fun and physical activity. Organizers said the series will feature activities such as snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and sledding as weather allows. The sessions will take place from 3:14-4:15 p.m. Jan. 8, 15, 22, and 29. Space is limited to 20 students, and registration is required. Registration forms can be found online at www.decorahlibrary.org/calendar-of-events. For inquiries regarding accessibility, accommodation or logistics, contact Sophie Nall at snall@decorahlibrary.org.

Open Hub Singing Club to begin 10week experience

The public is invited to join the Open Hub Singing Club, which will meet from 3:30-5 p.m. on 10 consecutive Sundays this winter. Sessions will begin Jan. 12, 2025, and the location has yet to be determined.

Organizers said community singing offers a “no practice, no performance” experience for those new to singing as well as experienced singers. Organizers with the Open hub Singing Club said the group celebrates uplifting songs with meaningful messages taught in the simple and ancient aural tradition, allowing everyone to begin singing together in a short time. No singing experience or training is required – just a desire to sing with others in community — and all voices are welcome.

Participants are asked to pay what is both generous and affordable to them — a sliding scale of $50 to $100 is suggested — and organizers stressed no one will be turned away for lack

7

of funds. For more information, visit www.centerforbelonging. earth/store.

VMH prepares gift package for first baby of 2025

Veterans Memorial Hospital physicians and staff will be awaiting the arrival of the first baby born at the hospital in the New Year 2025. This fortunate child and his or her family will receive a number of gifts, compliments of area merchants.

There are no stipulations or guidelines other than that the baby must be born at Veterans Memorial Hospital after 12 a.m.

Jan. 1, 2025. The first baby and family will be awarded the gift package prior to leaving the hospital following the delivery.

All other babies born at Veterans Memorial Hospital in the year 2025 will also receive a Baby Coupon Book coordinated by the hospital through coupon donations from more than 50 area businesses in Harpers Ferry, Lansing, New Albin, McGregor, Monona, Postville and Waukon. The hospital coordinates this effort to assure all babies born at the hospital are treated extra specially. For more information, call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-5683411.

NE IA Quilters’ Guild to meet

The Northeast Iowa Quilters’ Guild will host its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7 via Zoom. Iowa Quilt Museum Director Melody Reels will provide a virtual tour of the museum’s current exhibit “Iowa Quilts.” The exhibit, which will open that same day, is curated by Tony Jacobson and Joyce Franklin from Pieced Works Quilt Shop in Winterset. Quilt shops across the state were asked to send quilts which best represented their shop. The meeting’s Zoom link will be sent to members closer to the meeting date. For more information, please visit the NEIQG home page at www.neiqg.com.

New members are always welcome.

Putnam to present on Alzheimer’s, dementia

The Senior Citizens Hospitality Center in Decorah will hod its next monthly program at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10 at 806 River St. in Decorah. This month’s featured guest will be Brecka Putnam, a longtime volunteer for the Alzheimer’s Association.

Putnam’s father Dale lived with Lewy Body Dementia for seven years, and Putnam has served as a support group facilitator with the Alzheimer’s Association, as well as a community educator, fundraiser and board member.

In her professional role as social worker at Howard County Community Hospice, home health and public health, she provides dementia education to families and groups. She also partners with the area’s longterm care facilities to provide required dementia training for employees.

Organizers said one-in-three senior citizens die with some form of dementia, and it is estimated that dementia cost the nation $360 billion dollars in 2024 alone. Putnam’s upcoming Alzheimer’s and Dementia 101 presentation will address what dementia is and the different types of dementia, how to tell if someone may be experiencing dementia and what to do when someone shows signs of dementia. The presentation will also give practical tips for communicating with someone who is experiencing Alzheimer’s or another dementia and provide helpful resources. The senior center’s programs are always open to the public and are followed by refreshments and fellowship.

NEWS

8 | DECORAH LEADER | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2025 | WWW.DECORAHLEADER.COM | EDITOR@DECORAHLEADER.COM | 563-382-4221

No. 1 Story of 2024 Bachmurski was charged with second-degree murder in August of 2024, and had at one point been scheduled to go to trial on Dec. 4, 2024. However, the 65-year-old’s defense attorney filed a motion in November, seeking a subpoena for a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and other materials related to an alleged sighting of Colvin in August of 2021 — more than four years after the alleged murder — in the city of Harvey, Illinois. Colvin would have been 19-years-old at that time.

Bachmurski’s trial was since been rescheduled for midMarch of 2025.

The U.S. Marshal Service began investigating Colvin’s disappearance in May of 2022.

It was one of more than two dozen cases taken up as part of an effort called Operation Homecoming. The joint operation was initially launched in October of 2020 with the goal of recovering what the marshal service called vulnerable and critically missing children across the state of Iowa — the operation had located 21 juveniles and directly recovered seven in its first five months.

By May of 2022, U.S. Marshals had identified a number of individuals to interview regarding Colvin’s disappearance.

The investigation was turned over to the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office following the interviews, and the sheriff’s office then launched a local investigation with the aid of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Winneshiek County Attorney’s Office.

The sheriff’s office said Colvin’s mother brought the teen to Iowa from Arizona to live with Bachmurski at his rural Decorah residence in the early spring of 2017. A criminal complaint filed against Bachmurski claimed he had “encouraged and participated in a one-onone relationship with Jade Colvin via electronic messaging” without the mother’s knowledge for approximately a month before Colvin arrived in Decorah, and Bachmurski allegedly “used some of his own money to facilitate Jade Colvin being brought to his residence in March of 2017.”

The teen had made plans to contact friends upon arriving in Decorah, according to investigators, and Bachmurski claimed he allowed Colvin to use his phone when her’s had reception issues. A text Colvin sent from Bachmurski’s phone early on March 30 was the last known message from the teen prior to her disappearance, according to court documents.

Bachmurski’s family members told investigators Colvin’s suitcase and other property remained at the farmhouse months after she was last seen, and court documents said Bachmurski allegedly “lied and told others that Jade Colvin had gone somewhere after her last text, while the investigation showed she was no longer alive.”

continued from front The now 65-year-old had considered contacting law enforcement while Colvin was at his home, according to a criminal complaint, but he felt “if he had alerted law enforcement that he had a runaway girl at his house, it would not have turned out good for him.”

Bachmurski was believed to have left the state in early 2019, a little more than a year after a sheriff’s deputy had discovered a loaded .223 caliber Stevens rifle in Bachmurski’s home during a welfare/probation check. Bachmurski had previously been charged with harassment, willful injury and assault against his own family in April of 2013. Court documents in that case claimed the then 54-year-old used ratchet straps to tie his son to a metal folding chair “and shocked him multiple times on the arm with an electric fence charger.” The filings went on to say Bachmurski also “repeatedly threatened to shoot his sons,” saying they were “not worth the price of the bullet it would take to kill them,” and that “he could shoot them and bury them in the backyard and no one would know.”

Bachmurski eventually pleaded guilty in that case and was granted a suspended sentence — but possessing a firearm was a violation of his probation.

Bachmurski’s defense attorney in that case said in a motion filed Feb. 14, 2019, that his client seemed to have sold his Decorah home and had stopped responding to calls and text messages.

“It is possible that the defendant has moved out of state, and his intentions to return are unknown,” the defense wrote at that time.

Bachmurski was listed as residing in Swainsboro, Georgia,

by February of 2021. Authorities there charged him with sexual battery that month, but that case was dismissed by a district attorney after the victim failed to appear for a grand jury — the alleged sighting of Colvin in Illinois occurred approximately five months later.

Authorities investigating Colvin’s disappearance were able to interview Bachmurski at some point in 2023, according to Iowa court records, and they asked Bachmurski if he recognized a picture of Colvin.

“I do,” Bachmurski was quoted as saying. “I’m not gonna lie. I do. As a matter of fact, I’ll guarantee you I’m getting myself in a lot of trouble. I want to tell the truth.”

Authorities served Bachmurski a warrant on June 20, 2024, for his possession of the Stevens rifle. The 65-year-old was transported from the Emanuel County Jail in Georgia to the Winneshiek County Jail and was later served a warrant in the murder case on Aug. 12 — more than seven years after Jade Colvin disappeared.

He remains in custody at the Winneshiek County Jail.

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No. 2 Story of 2024

1990s saw additional construction at John Cline, as newer spaces began to surround the already decades-old structure.

Decorah Superintendent Tim Cronin said during public tours of John Cline in August of 2024 that the building does not meet many current standards, and other school representatives said inadequate classroom space is a common issue for educators at John Cline — the building has a certified enrollment of approximately 300 students, according to information from the school district.

Teachers at John Cline often find themselves at odds with Mother Nature. The building lacks central air conditioning — Decorah Bank and Trust helped the school cover the cost of purchasing window air conditioning units for each classroom, but school officials noted the units are only capable of reducing a room’s temperature by about 10 degrees, which they noted isn’t much relief for young students on a 90-degree day. Staff at John Cline also said water has been known to enter their classrooms through the building’s roof during heavy rainfall or to seep in when water begins to build up behind an exterior wall.

Cronin, who was hired by Decorah Schools in 2022, indicated previous school officials may have deferred on certain maintenance issues — such as the school’s roof — for years, believing a new building was likely to be constructed in the near future. He at one point said

continued from front replacing the 62-year-old elementary’s roof was estimated to cost $500,000, which he said would be a reasonable price for the work but not necessarily a responsible use of taxpayer funds in the long run.

The Decorah School District purchased a nearby softball field and tennis courts west of John Cline from the city of Decorah in October of 2023 for $1.97 million, and the new elementary is expected to be built on a portion of that property.

General plans for a two-story structure were presented to the public in September of 2024, and school staff initially estimated a more specific design phase for the new building could last approximately 10 months.

Cronin told the Decorah School Board in December that Nick Hildebrandt with Emergent Architecture had met with administrators to discuss what he called big picture items as the schematic design phase continued. Hildebrandt said the design development phase will likely span from January to April and include meetings with specific small groups within the district.

Preliminary plans for the new elementary call for a two-story structure capable of bringing the district’s pre-K classes under the same roof as Decorah’s kindergarten, first grade and second grade classes. School officials have also factored for the potential growth of the student body, pencilling in what was described as flex spaces — instruction areas which can serve

Decorah Superintendent Tim Cronin answered questions from the public during an Aug. 21 tour of John Cline Elementary. The school district is proposing a bond of up to $38 million to construct a new building for students in pre-K through second grade. The proposed building would replace John Cline, which opened in 1964, and West Side Elementary, which was built in 1939. (File photo) as additional classrooms if and when an incoming grade level is particularly large.

Security would also be improved at the new elementary, according to officials. Preliminary plans show a secure entry vestibule on the building’s northeast corner. The proposed elementary would also feature a separate 600-800 seat gym and a 55,000 square-foot commons area. Currently, John Cline’s gymnasium also serves as the building’s lunch room, which Cronin said limits scheduling of certain classes and can present additional challenges if Mother Nature demands students stay inside during the recess period.

The school district expects to potentially call for contractor bids for the new elementary in September of 2025. Construction would then be slated to start in March of 2026, and the

No. 3 Story of 2024 application was submitted on June 19, and county zoning ordinances required a decision within 30 days — the application would have been considered approved if the commission had not reached a decision in that time frame. The planning and zoning commission cast a split decision when it met the following week, ultimately recommending against the rezoning request’s approval.

Commission members cited environmental concerns, and some said they didn’t feel they were given enough time to research the proposal.

Novilla co-CEO Mark Hill expressed frustration with the planning and zoning commission’s lack of support, saying the commission’s concerns targeted the digester, dairy farms and manure lines — all of which are not covered under the rezoning.

The zoning application then went to the Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors for further approval. The board took up the matter on Aug. 5 and, contrary to the planning and zoning commission’s recommendation, voted 3-2 in favor of rezoning the property in question from agricultural to M-2 industrial, which potentially allowed the facility to be constructed at the proposed location.

The board’s hearing attracted more than 50 members of the public, including attorney James Larew, who represents the Driftless Water Defenders, a recently-formed environmentalist group.

“You have a problem in this county, the most beautiful place on Earth, with water deteriorating,” Larew said during the public hearing. “You have a rolling movement of people here that believe it’s a civil right to have access to clean water. The materials that this organization, which is a profit-making group of investors — let’s recognize it for what it is — has a proclamation of all of these things that it will achieve. Nowhere does it say it will improve the quality of your water. That would be a misstatement of truth. We can show that where digesters have been used, the quality of the water deteriorates … because the digester increases the quantity of livestock nearby. Things have been improving generally — maybe — as some people here have attested, but not the quality of your water. It’s getting worse.”

building could potentially be complete by the fall of 2027.

The district has yet to make a formal decision as to the future use of West Side Elementary after Decorah’s pre-K students move into the new elementary, but Cronin previously indicated maintaining ownership of the building isn’t likely to be a cost effective option for Decorah Schools.

School officials indicated the average home in Decorah will see an increase of about $7.96 in their monthly property taxes — or $95.47 each year — until the bond for the new elementary is paid off. Cronin said the $38 million bond is expected to be paid over a 20-year period at 5 percent interest, which the superintendent said may come down, and he noted Decorah Schools has been able to pay off previous bonds ahead of schedule.

continued from front After a lengthy and impassioned discussion during the public hearing, county supervisors Dan Langreck, Mark Vick and Steve Kelsay voted in favor of supporting the property’s rezoning, while supervisors Shirley Vermace and Mark Faldet voted against it.

But the debate over the proposed biodigester wasn’t over, and the project was met with scrutiny yet again during a Sept.

3 public hearing held by Winneshiek County’s Board of Adjustment. The Winneshiek County Courthouse annex’s gallery was packed that night by both the project’s environmentalist opponents and its allies.

“There’s strong opposition from the public,” Hill said during the adjustment board’s public hearing. “That bothers me, because Jared (Williams) and I started this as an environmental company, and when people come to us and say we’re going to have black liquid come down the streets of Decorah or that we’re going to kill fish or that we’re here to pollute peoples’ wells, that bothers me.

That’s not who I am. That’s not who our company is. We’re doing the opposite here, and any of you with those concerns and with those grievances, please come talk to us. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good. This is a good project.”

Community members echoed concerns similar to those expressed during the board of supervisors’ Aug. 5 hearing as well as the earlier public hearing held by the county’s planning and zoning commission.

However, friends and neighbors of the Full Bohr Dairy, the family farm where the biodigester would be located, spoke in support of the project.

“I live in the neighborhood where this digester is,” said Sharon Gerleman. “We’ve farmed in this area for 37 years. I grew up with the Bohrs and the Moellers, and I can’t say enough about their farming practices. They’re excellent farmers.

We have loved living next to them. They’re good people, and they’re not big corporations.

They’re generational farmers that are providing us food.”

The board of adjustment unanimously approved the project’s request for a conditional use permit for the facility. But, while friends and family of the Nick Bohr family celebrated their victory in the parking lot

after the vote, Larew and others with the Driftless Water Defenders were already working on plans to prevent the biodigester project from moving forward.

The next morning, county officials — along with the Decorah Leader and the Cedar Rapids Gazette — were notified that the environmental group had filed a petition against the Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors, asking a district court judge to review the board’s conduct during the Aug. 5 hearing.

Larew claims the meeting was not conducted in accordance with the required published notice, and he alleges the board illegally “denied the public a full and fair opportunity to be heard at the rezoning hearing.”

In the petition, Larew further stated members of Driftless Water Defenders who were affected by the county supervisors’ approval of the rezoning request will be affected as a result of rezoning the biodigester’s land from agricultural to industrial. The petition also argues the board of supervisors engaged in illegal spot zoning. The Legal Information Institute described spot zoning as “a piece of property or groups of property have special zoning laws applied to them that differ from the zoning laws surrounding them.” Information from the institute also said that, while some spot zoning may be illegal, other spot zoning may be essential.

The court petition filed against the county by Driftless Water Defenders claims the board of supervisors “did not make the rezoning decision consistent with Winneshiek County’s comprehensive zoning plan,” and their attorney went on to call the split vote “an abuse of discretion.”

Larew requested that the court set aside the supervisors’ decision and require the supervisors and the county auditor to submit all email and text correspondence regarding the biodigester and its zoning request.

Hill said, following news of the case filed by Driftless Water Defenders, that he and others at Novilla were still happy with the county’s decision.

“The more people learn about the project, the more support we are getting, and it was shown in the unanimous vote,” Hill said. “It’s unfortunate that they filed the lawsuit, and we are a bit perplexed by it. Prior to the meeting, we had reached out to

the Driftless Water Defenders to speak with their group and did so again after the meeting — even offering to come talk to their group in person. This is our 14th project to get permitted, and we’ve had broad support from environmental groups and citizens across the political spectrum.”

Larew filed a second court petition on Oct. 3 — this one against the Winneshiek County Board of Adjustment.

That lawsuit claims “no federal or Iowa regulatory regime for manure digesters” exists and argues “it was up to the board of adjustment to protect the people of Winneshiek County from the hazardous wastes and pollutants produced by manure digesters.”

Larew also argues representatives of Novilla were “provided a generous amount of time ... to summarize and openly advocate for the project” during the board of adjustment’s Sept. 3 public hearing, while comments from members of the public were limited to two minutes. He also claimed county officials failed to read certain pieces of written correspondence during that day’s hearing. Similar to the case against the county board of supervisors, Larew argued doing so “denied the public a full and fair opportunity to be heard” was an “abuse of discretion” and was a “violation of due process.”

The Driftless Water Defenders claim the board violated Winneshiek County’s zoning ordinances when it “failed to make any written findings of fact or reasons for its approval of the conditional use permit application.”

Both lawsuits filed by Larew requested a court review each board’s decision. Iowa First Judicial District Court Judge Laura Parrish granted the review requests in a Dec. 6 ruling. The judge gave the county 30 days to provide “a transcript of the entirety of its records and proceedings it relied upon in voting on the conditional use permit” as well as “all facts, documents and written memos or opinions” county officials may have considered in relation to the proposal.

The lawsuits are ongoing, and Novilla began construction of the digester portion of the project earlier this month. Hill said work has since paused for the winter season and is expected to resume in 2025.

NEWS

DECORAH LEADER | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2025 | WWW.DECORAHLEADER.COM | EDITOR@DECORAHLEADER.COM | 563-382-4221

#4

9

STORY OF 2024

Saddles and cycles Decorah Parks and Rec ends Van Peenen Park debate with split vote COMPILED BY SETH BOYES NEWS EDITOR A decision from the Decorah Parks and Recreation Board in late November of 2024 marked the conclusion of an ongoing discussion over the shared use of Van Peenen Park.

Members of the Winneshiek County Saddle Club and the Decorah Human Powered Trails group locked horns in August of 2024, as they debated the use of the park’s trails by horseback riders, cyclists, skiers and hikers. City officials helped facilitate discussion between the two groups at several points during 2024 — the topic has been one of contention for nearly two decades, according to city officials.

In 1976, area residents Barbara Van Peenen and her husband Hubert J. Van Peenen gifted 120 acres of land located north of Ice Cave and Dunning Springs trails to the city, with the intention that it be turned into a park.

The Van Peenens’ intent was for the land to be added to the adjacent park areas to encourage nature study. According to a letter from Hubert Van Peenen to the chairman of the Decorah Park Commission at that time, the land gift was contingent upon the land being “left in a state of nature as a wildlife preserve with facilities only for walking, horseback riding, backpacking, including simple camping, not requiring a developed site.”

Members of the Winneshiek County Saddle Club claim to have blazed some of the trails in Van Peenen Park — a claim which was questioned by some on the city parks and rec board during this year’s discussions.

Members of Decorah Human Powered Trails said they began creating trails in Van Peenen Park with the city’s permission in 2006, and the group claims around 3 miles of trails in the park would not be accessible by foot or other human means if not for their efforts.

Mountain biking was said to have been growing in popularity during the 1980s and 1990s.

Records show Decorah’s park and rec director at that time sought Hubert Van Peenen’s opinion on potentially allowing mountain bikes to ride in Van Peenen Park.

Van Peenen said in his reply that he felt mountain biking was likely to negatively impact the natural state of the park, but he also noted the property was no longer his and acknowledged the decision was ultimately the city’s to make. Van Peenen went on to say he had no objection to the bikes “if they can be kept from damaging a small and fragile environment,” adding that he didn’t think Decorah’s park commission could control overuse.

Mountain bikes were eventually allowed to ride the trails in Van Peenen Park at some point during the early 2000s but, as

both cyclists and horseback riders continued using the trails, questions of safety emerged.

Members of the Decorah Human Powered Trails group said hikers and bikers did not feel safe yielding to horses along the trails.

“It would be so simple if three things on the trails were acknowledged by everyone who uses them — courtesy, communication and care,” saddle club member Danielle Dotzenrod said in mid-October.

Van Peenen Park features 8 miles of trail, and the heads of both groups previously agreed about 5 of those miles are horse-friendly. The remaining 3 miles of trails are off camber, and members of Decorah Human Powered Trails feel those segments should be off limits to horseback riders due to their narrow width, arguing those segments could be easily damaged or destroyed by the weight of a full-grown horse and rider.

“Those trails are built into the hillside and some shoring is required to keep them in place,” Decorah Human Powered Trails Vice President Jesse Reyerson said in October. “It’s not an issue of ‘These are our trails and the horse folks can’t have them.’ There are safety reasons — a horse will cause damage and wreck the trails for runners and hikers who use the trails, not just mountain bikers.”

Representatives of both groups indicated neither camp was attempting to lay exclusive claim to the park, and the Decorah Parks and Recreation Board invited community members on both side of the issue to participate in a round table discussion earlier this fall — an estimated 150 people attended the board’s special meeting in October.

Discussions reached a deadlock during a subsequent Nov. 21 meeting, and another work session was scheduled for the following Tuesday.

“I really would like to have a committee that honestly wants to work on a compromise and work on a solution,” Decorah Parks and Recreation Board member Kathy Bakken said at the time, later adding she would like to see the animosity between the two groups decrease.

“Let’s see if we can come to some kind of agreement where everyone gets some part of what they want.”

No action was expected during the late-November work session, but the board saw fit to schedule a second meeting following the work session, and the board ultimately voted 3-2 to allow horseback riders on 5 of the 8 miles of trails in Van Peenen Park. The equestrian users were also to be given access to the North 40 trail loop off Van Peenen and Old Randy’s, The Luge, and Upper Ice Cave Trails above Dunnings Spring as part of the board’s decision.

#5

STORY OF 2024

Crews continue to make progress on the new VA clinic in Decorah. The clinic is expected to be complete this spring. (File The new Sunflower facility in Decorah was built to provide photo) care for around 215 children. The child care center was originally founded in 1975 and operated out of a building off Highway 9. (Photo submitted)

Going up

Decorah saw consistent construction in 2024 COMPILED BY SETH BOYES NEWS EDITOR Heavy equipment and construction crews were somewhat common sights in the city of Decorah during 2024. A number of major building projects have seen significant work take place during the past calendar year.

New Sunflower facility blooms The new Sunflower Child Development and Discovery Center opened the doors to its child care facility on June 10, 2024. Sunflower was originally founded by a group of parents in 1975 as the Sunflower Child Care Center and, about 30 years later, Sunflower was caring for approximately 150 children at its building just off Highway 9 in Decorah.

Organizers launched an effort in 2019 to construct the current Sunflower facility near the corner of Montgomery Street and Commerce Drive, and officials broke ground on the $8.5 million project in October of 2022.

Organizers said the new facility is capable of providing care to around 215 children.

Grant funds also allowed Sunflower to construct what officials said is the first solar array of its kind in the state of Iowa. The so-called Smartflower array features multiple solar panels attached to a single stem, allowing the array to open each morning and track the sun’s movement before closing again at night.

“The Smart Flower will be a daily interest of children and their families seeing the process of opening, following the sun’s movement and closing at the end of the day,” said Sunflower Executive Director Holly Benda. “This may even inspire questions and curiosity, which are vital parts of learning.”

The Smartflower and the main building’s rooftop solar panels are expected to help offset the majority of Sunflower’s electrical energy consumption.

The new Sunflower facility also features an area dubbed the Discovery Center, which opened earlier this fall.

The Discovery Center includes a large wall-mounted Light Bright, a giant Etch-ASketch, a netted climbing structure and rock climbing wall, as well as a dynamic water table where young ones can explore the principles of buoyancy, hy-

drology and air dynamics in a safe yet engaging environment.

The building’s Discovery Center and other non-classroom spaces are available to other child care entities, home school students and the public for a fee during designated hours.

Transforming Tomorrow at WinnMed WinnMed, which abuts the Sunflower property, donated approximately four acres for the Sunflower project, but WinnMed itself saw plenty of construction as well during 2024.

The hospital has been making gradual progress on several expansion and improvement efforts as part of its $50 million Transforming Tomorrow campaign.

Part of the project includes the construction of a two-story addition, estimated to add 30,000 square-feet to WinnMed’s facility on Montgomery Street. Plans call for specialty services on the addition’s lower level and family practice spaces on its second floor. In addition, operating rooms will be reworked as part of the campaign, an endoscopy room will be added and the hospital’s labor and delivery suites have been remodeled to allow delivery and postpartum to take place in the same room — the hospital welcomed the public to its new OB unit during a Dec. 19 open house, and staff there expected to begin welcoming families by Dec. 30.

The overall Transforming Tomorrow project was expected to take place over about 2.5 years. The remodeling of the hospital’s surgical facilities will be the project’s final phase, according to WinnMed officials, and is tentatively scheduled for completion in January of 2026.

Aase Haugen heading north Frames and wall panels have also been going up in northern Decorah on the site of what is to be Aase Haugen Senior Services’ new location. The organization provides nursing and assisted living, and officials broke ground on the $20 million project in April of 2024 on a 15.6 acres lot south of Highland Drive between Glen Barth Circle and Massman Drive.

Aase Haugen was created in honor of a Norwegian immigrant of the same name, who cared for her entire family through their final days and had no family of which to speak

Members of the public mingled with hospital staff during a Dec. 19 open house inside WinnMed’s new obstetrics unit.

The renovation is part of the hospital’s Transforming Tomorrow campaign, and WinnMed officials expected staff to be moved into the new space by Dec. 30, 2024. (Photo by Seth Boyes)

by the age of 42, according to information from the nursing facility. She became a philanthropist and died in 1910 at the age of 69, bequeathing her large estate to the Norwegian Lutheran Church to “build a home for the aged in her name so that no one would ever die alone.” The first Aase Haugen home was complete in 1915, according to the facility’s website.

Decroah’s current Aase Haugen facility is located on Ohio Street near the Decorah Community Prairie. The new construction will be within the same neighborhood as the organization’s other independent living communities of Vennehjem and Nabotunet north of the city.

The new 72,000-squarefoot Aase Haugen building is expected to provide assisted living apartments, long-term nursing care rooms, and specialized dementia care rooms.

The foundation of the new complex was complete ahead of the New Year, and roof trusses were expected to follow soon afterward. Substantial completion of the project is slated for November of 2025.

Decorah’s new VA to open this spring Construction of Decorah’s new Veterans Affairs Clinic continues near the intersection of Highways 9 and 52 in Decorah. The project is expected to be complete this spring.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Nov. 7, 2023, at the construction site for the 17,000 square foot clinic, which stands adjacent to the Country Inn and Suites. Decorah’s current VA clinic is approximately 9,000

square feet, according to information from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The current Decorah clinic offers a number of services, such as primary care, mental health, optometry and audiology as well as physical therapy, radiology and social work, according to information from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Patients at the local VA clinic also have access to dietitians, a pharmacy and immunizations. Officials said the new clinic space is expected to expand the clinic’s ability to offer physical therapy and provide additional space for optometry services.

Decorah’s new single-level facility will also be able to provide veterans with access to health specialists across the state through telehealth visits.

Officials said telehealth options will likely save local veterans both time and travel expense by potentially reducing the need for in-person appointments with specialists in larger cities.

Decorah’s VA clinic is part of the Veterans Integrated Service Network, which serves more than 440,000 enrolled Veterans in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota as well as portions of Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Medical services are provided through a network of nine hospitals, 63 outpatient or outreach clinics, eight community living centers and residential treatment programs. The network employs more than 15,000 full-time employees and has an annual operating budget in excess of $5 billion.

#6-10 STORIES OF 2024

#6

DHS to go independent of athletic conference next school year Decorah Community Schools wasn’t able to convince state officials to allow the local school district to join a new high school athletic conference, likely leaving Decorah Schools as an independent competitor for the 2025-2026 school year.

The Northeast Iowa Conference, of which Decorah is currently a member, will dissolve after the 2024-25 school year.

The NEIC is the oldest conference in the state, dating back to

1920. Members of the Decorah School Board said earlier this fall that school districts within the NEIC were once of relatively similar size, but they claimed shifting socio-economic factors over the decades have changed that.

Decorah’s options for a new conference affiliation were limited, due to the district’s own size and location in the northeast corner of the state. When looking at a possible membership with another conference, such as the WaMaC, travel distance for games would have been an average of 112 miles

one-way — school officials later said such a schedule would be exhaustive for students and expensive for the district. The closest WaMaC school from Decorah is 68 miles away in Independence – the farthest is Grinnell, which is 145 miles away.

School officials participated in a mediation process with representatives of the state’s high school athletic organizations in July of 2024. Decorah sought to join the Upper Iowa Conference, but mediators recommended Decorah’s request to join the UIC be denied. Con-

ference officials felt Decorah would have an advantage due to its student body being larger than the other schools which are currently in the conference — Decorah’s high school enrollment for the 2023-24 school year was estimated at 435, and the average enrollment for the conference member-schools is 171. Officials with Decorah Schools then appealled to Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow, and the matter was set for a hearing in August of 2024. However, Snow affirmed the mediator’s recommendation in an Oct. 31

decision.

Members of the Decorah School Board, as well as Superintendent Tim Cronin, said the district will continue to explore options for joining a new athletic conference and seek guidance on the matter from what Cronin called key decision-makers.

Decorah’s football program isn’t expected to be impacted by the change.

#7

City, chamber reached milestone anniversaries 2024 was a banner year for the city of Decorah and the Dec-

orah Area Chamber of Commerce. Both organizations celebrated significant milestones, with the city marking the 175th anniversary of its founding and the chamber reaching its centennial anniversary.

Officials with the city of Decorah commemorated the city’s founding during a ceremony in June of 2024. Mayor Lorraine Borowski issued a proclamation for the occasion, and Prosper Waukon — the great-greatgreat grandson of the city’s

No. 6-10 Stories of 2024 continued on page 11

PUBLIC NOTICES/CLASSIFIEDS

10 | DECORAH LEADER | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2025 | WWW.DECORAHLEADER.COM | CLASSIFIEDS@DECORAHNEWSPAPERS.COM | 563-382-4221

REGIONAL ADVERTISING Help Wanted-Government POLICE OFFICER: Indianola Police Department will begin taking applications for the positions of Police/Patrol Officer starting 1/6/2025.

Obtain applications by visiting https://indianolaiowa.applicantpro. com/jobs , choose Police Officer.

Deadline 2/7/2025 EOE

• For general rules and information on electronic filing, refer to the Iowa Court Rules Chapter 16 Pertaining to the Use of the Electronic Document Management System, available on the Iowa Judicial Branch website.

• For court rules on the Protection of Personal Privacy in court filings, refer to Division VI of the Iowa Court Rules Chapter 16.

• If you are unable to proceed electronically, you must receive permission from the court to file in paper. Contact the clerk of court in the county where the petition was filed for more information on being excused from electronic filing.

Iowa Judicial Branch Case No. JVJV002012 County Winneshiek Case Title WILLIAM MAY If you need assistance to participate in court due to a disability, call the disability coordinator at (319) 833-3332. Persons who are hearing or speech impaired may call Relay Iowa TTY at 1-800-735-2942. For more information see www.iowacourts.gov/for-thepublic/ada/. Disability access coordinators cannot provide legal advice.

Date issued 12/04/2024 11:17:44 AM District Clerk of Court or/by Clerk’s Designee of Winneshiek County /s/ Sarah Trimble Decorah (Iowa) Leader December 19 & 24, 2024 January 2, 2025 NOTICE OF PROOF OF WILL WITHOUT ADMINISTRATION, NOTICE OF TRUST, AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS, HEIRS, SPOUSE AND BENEFICIARIES IN THE MATTER OF THE ROBERT M. REILLY REVOCABLE TRUST, DATED MAY 19, 1997 To all persons regarding Robert M. Reilly, deceased, who died on or about November 1, 2024: You are hereby notified that on December 19, 2024, the Last Will and Testament of Robert M. Reilly, deceased, bearing the date of June 8, 2022, was admitted to probate in the District Court of Winneshiek County, Iowa (ESPR 016354), and there will be no present administration of the estate. Any action to set aside the Will must be brought in the District Court of the above county within the later to occur of four months from the date of the second publication of this Notice or one month from the date of mailing of this Notice to the surviving spouse and all heirs of the decedent and devisees under the Will whose identities are reasonably ascertainable, or thereafter be forever barred.

You are further notified that Catherine M. Reilly is the trustee of the Robert M. Reilly Revocable Trust, dated May 19, 1997. Any action to contest the validity of the trust must be brought in the District Court of Winneshiek County, Iowa, within the later to occur of four months from the date of second publication of this notice or thirty (30) days from the date of mailing this notice to all heirs of the decedent, spouse of the decedent and beneficiaries under the trust whose identifies are reasonably ascertainable, or thereafter be forever barred.

You are further notified that such Will designates the Robert M. Reilly Revocable Trust, dated May 19, 1997 as the residual beneficiary of the estate, that all persons indebted to the Decedent, the estate of the Decedent, or the Trust are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned trustee, and that any person or entity possessing a claim against the Decedent, the estate of the Decedent, or the Trust must mail proof of the claim to the trustee at the address listed below by certified mail, return receipt requested, by the later to occur of four months from the date of the second publication of this notice or thirty days from the date of mailing this notice if required, or the claim shall be forever barred, unless paid or otherwise satisfied.

Dated: December 23, 2024.

Contact the Decorah Leader at

563-382-4221

Robert M. Reilly Revocable Trust, dated May 19, 1997 Catherine M. Reilly, Petitioner and Trustee 203 N. Mary Street Ossian, IA 52161 Donald L. Johnson Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, P.L.C. 235 Sixth Street S.E., P.O. Box 2107 Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52406-2107 ATTORNEYS FOR THE TRUSTEE Date of second publication January 9, 2025 Decorah (Iowa) Leader January 2 & 9, 2025 2024 Wage Report for the City of Decorah ALBERT, ARIANA ....................... $2,195.29 ALBERT, JEFF ............................ $97,978.11 ALBERTS, JULIA ........................ $8,009.75 ALEXANDER, HADLEY ............... $774.00 ARENDT, LUCAS............................ $684.76 ARMOUR, KRISTI ....................... $2,226.00 ARNOLD, ANNALEISSA ............ $1,642.50 AVERHOFF, CADE ..................... $3,932.46 AVERHOFF, RYLEE..................... $2,096.26 BARNESS, CALEB ..................... $4,354.00 BAUMANN, QUINNTEN ........... $2,792.81 BELLISLE, BRENDA ..................... $574.88 BENSON, JERSIE ......................... $2,250.03 BOHR, RICKY ........................... $32,285.06 BOLLINGER, OLIVER ................ $2,684.81 BOLSON, JANAE ............................ $189.00 BOROWSKI, LORRAINE ........... $5,100.00 BOYD, JILL...................................... $159.00 BRANDEL, CHARLIE ................. $4,540.89 BRIL, JEREMY .......................... $28,764.88 BROOKS, VERSHON ..................... $337.50 BRUCK, MAGGIE ........................... $339.25 BRUMMEL, OLIVER................... $2,150.38 BRYNSAAS, OLIVIA...................... $939.26 BUCKSA, ELIZABETH ................. $909.20 BURRETT, DAVID .................... $79,055.48 CAROLAN, JEREMY................. $81,420.56 CHILL, NICHOLAS ................... $39,723.20 CHRISTOPHER, CHEYENNE ....... $315.01 CLEMENT, JEFF........................... $4,389.65 COTE, LUKE ............................ $21,912.65 COTE, MASON............................. $6,181.50 COTE, WESTON.............................. $390.00 CRARY, TRICIA ........................ $44,497.60 DUHNKE, PATIENCE ..................... $360.13 ELDRIDGE, NANCY ................. $5,279.88 ELLEDGE, SAMSON ................. $75,622.81 FEESE, CARLY............................. $2,100.00 FOLKEDAHL, JORJA ...................... $63.38 FRANZEN, LUKE ....................... $3,302.00 FRANZEN, MATTHEW .............. $4,120.51 GEIGER, JONATHAN ............... $58,789.88 GOEDKEN, TRAVIS ................ $147,195.16 GOODNER, NATALIE .................... $926.50 GOWDY, JANETTE...................... $3,513.25 GRIMSTAD, MAX........................ $2,486.00 GROTH, MANDY....................... $84,326.99 GROUWS, DAVID .......................... $312.38 GROUX, JAMES ........................ $10,820.00 GUYER, KATHLEEN ................. $12,470.68 HADLEY, ROSS ........................... $1,350.00 HAGEMAN, DEANA ................ $44,591.04 HAGENSICK, DEB .................... $49,166.85 HAHN, LOGAN .......................... $53,962.67 HAHN, WILLIAM ........................ $2,012.00 HAMMEL, THOMAS ................... $2,708.44 HERRMANN, SCOTT .............. $93,520.44 HILL, RENEE ............................. $55,545.63 HILYER, HARRISON ..................... $210.00 HJELLE, CLARA .......................... $1,834.63 HJELLE, JOHN ........................... $81,251.98 HOGENSON, SAM ..................... $62,922.54 HOLKESVIK, DAWSON ............. $7,225.00 HOLM, JOHN ............................ $64,820.78 HOLTEY, MARC......................... $39,230.77 HOUGEN, DEBORAH .................... $600.00 HOVEY, JASON ........................ $65,962.77 HRDLICKA, DONNIE..................... $306.00 HUNTER, AIDAN ........................... $341.00 IHDE, PHILIP ............................. $26,529.97 IHDE, SCOTT ............................... $2,570.00 IHDE, TODD ............................... $92,389.38 IMOEHL, CODY ........................ $77,148.11 IVERSON, LILY ........................... $4,257.15

JOHNSON, KIRK ............................ $300.00 JONES, ADAM ............................. $1,282.51 JONES, BRIAN ............................ $2,916.58 JONES, JENNIFER ........................... $38.25 KAISER, CHAD .......................... $12,360.60 KELLY, KLARA............................ $3,198.88 KERNDT, ZACH ......................... $65,194.07 KJOME, JOANN ........................... $2,421.88 KLEGSATH, NORA......................... $192.00 KNOKE, JOSEPH ........................ $4,960.00 KOLLASCH, LUCY ..................... $4,233.76 KRUSE, ANDREW ..................... $81,753.87 KUEHNER, REID ......................... $5,569.75 KUENNEN, JESSE ..................... $93,818.15 KUENNEN, LOIS ......................... $1,816.50 KUENNEN, NOLAN ................. $53,803.00 KUENNEN, TREVOR .................. $2,008.25 KURTH, WILLIAM ...................... $1,132.00 LABELLE, JAMESON .................... $665.64 LAFRENTZ, CAEL.......................... $430.00 LARSON, ERIN ......................... $19,861.62 LIEN, LISA....................................... $160.31 LIETZ, EVON .................................. $411.75 LILLEGRAVEN, MCKINLEY................................$1,332.19 LINDMARK, PEYTON .................. $189.75 LOVESTUEN, LYLA ....................... $892.39 LOVSTUEN, ANYA ..................... $5,757.40 LUCAS, DONALD ....................... $5,040.00 LUDEKING, JOSHUA................ $69,648.92 LUSE, STEPHEN ............................ $300.00 LUTHERAN, KYLIE .................... $2,443.76 LUZUM, EASTON ....................... $7,956.00 LUZUM, LAUREN ....................... $1,467.38 MAHR, BARBARA ........................... $66.25 MARX, WILLIAM R .................. $52,795.27 MATHIS, TERA .......................... $74,338.37 MCARTOR, MALLORY............. $57,073.54 MCLAIN-KRUSE, MICHELLE ................................$1,773.00 MCLELLAN, CHRIS .................. $43,305.22 MEYER, COREY ....................... $53,388.07 MEYER, EVAN .......................... $53,887.35 MICULINICH, CHRISTOPHER ......................... $1,300.00 MILLIGAN, COLE .................... $26,042.93 MOEN, BLAKE .......................... $60,494.74 NALEAN-CARLSON, AIDAN ....... $742.39 NALL, SOPHIA........................... $41,640.00 NEAL, EMILY .............................. $1,550.00 NELSON, KEVIN ..................... $67,274.50 NESS, CHRISTOPHER............... $50,377.18 NESS, HOWARD M......................... $874.25 NIMROD, ANDREW .................. $41,650.75 NIMROD, CLARENCE .................. $850.00 NIMROD, JACOB ........................... $503.75 NJUS, MICHAEL ............................. $289.01 NUMEDAHL, PETER .............. $65,621.79 O’CONNELL, KORTNI ............... $3,410.00 ODE, JEFF ................................... $64,503.42 O’HARA, MICHAEL ................ $102,616.68 OLSON, ANDREW ....................... $2,441.25 OLSON, KIRSTEN ...................... $1,600.00 OLSON, LILLIAN ........................... $875.00 ONSAGER, MICHAEL ................ $9,793.63 PANKOW, JONATHAN .............. $67,555.08 PANKOW, MARA ......................... $2,202.39 PARKER, BRENNA ........................ $742.51 PARKER, BRENT ....................... $1,150.00 PATTISON, KYLE ........................ $4,821.20 PATTON, MIRIAM ....................... $1,562.58 POTVIN, NOAH .............................. $484.00 RAABE, JESSICA......................... $7,094.76 RILEY, CARTER ........................... $1,476.65 RILEY, MCKENZIE...................... $2,170.88 RISSMAN, OLIVIA ........................ $858.00 ROLLINS, GUNNAR.................. $51,466.89 ROW-HEYVELD, ZACHARY ............................... $66,604.43 RUBIE, JORDAN ............................... $76.50 SALTOU, ASHTON ...................... $2,842.50 SAND, KERI ............................... $82,627.28 SANDER, DARRON ................. $68,730.46 SCHISSEL, RANDAL .................. $1,600.00 SCHISSEL, THEA ........................... $423.00 SCHULTE, RITA ............................. $732.00 SHAFFER, BLAIR ..................... $15,803.19 SHUGART, PATRICK .................. $4,228.89 SLOTNESS, HAYLEE ................. $4,975.02 SMITH, HOGAN........................... $6,012.21 SMITH, LILLLIAN ....................... $4,005.14 SOVERN, KERITH .................... $54,104.37 SPARRGROVE, TRAVIS ............. $3,255.00 SPILDE, CRAIG.......................... $11,688.60

FOR RENT

HELP WANTED

Apartment for Rent: 1-bedroom, upstairs apartment. NS/NP. 326 Washington St. Decorah. 563-4192621. 46-tf-LD-x-9

Part-time Fair Business Manager. For more info check out job description at winneshiekcountyfair.org. 51-3-LD-x-12

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NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING BEFORE THE WINNESHIEK COUNTY PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION To change the use of the land at the following described property: A portion of Lot 1-B in the Southwest Quarter of the Southeast Quarter, in Section 25, of Township 97 North, Range 9 West of the 5th P.M. Winneshiek County, Iowa.

The Parcel is located to the South of 1716 232nd Ave, Calmar. Parcel will encompass approx 5 acres.

The application is made by: Jim, Kandy, Jeremy & April Stenseth The following change in the zoning ordinance is to permit the construction of a single-family residence.

From the present zoning classification of: A-1 Agricultural District To the proposed zoning classification of: AR, Agricultural Residential District.

A public hearing will be held by the Winneshiek County Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday, Jan 14th, 2025 at 7:00pm. in the Board of Supervisors Office, Courthouse Annex Building, 201 West Main St. Decorah, Iowa, at which time you may appear, if you so desire, either in person or by agent or attorney in opposition to or support of the proposed request. If you would prefer not to attend in person please contact the Zoning office at 563-387-4080 for remote log in information and link.

Decorah (Iowa) Leader January 2, 2025

PUBLIC NOTICE OF STORM WATER DISCHARGE WALNUT CREEK RNG, LLC plans to submit a Notice of Intent to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to be covered under an NPDES General Permit.

GENERAL PERMIT NO. 2: “Storm Water Discharge Associated with Industrial Activity for Construction Activities.”

The storm water discharge will be from a Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) production facility with a manure digester, process gas equipment, utility interconnect, flare station, concrete pavement, gravel surface, storage tanks, various small out buildings for storage, manure pipelines, dewatering facility, minor grading and storm water BMPs. Temporary and permanent erosion control measures will be included as part of the project.

Located in SW, 04, 98, 98N 10W, WINNESHIEK COUNTY. (3205 275th Street,

Optometric Technician Our clinic provides family eye care services in addition to helping patients address a wide variety of medical ocular needs. Responsibilities with this role include taking a medical history, preliminary exam procedures, and additional medical testing as indicated. The ability to multi-task and work in a fast-paced environment is important. Prior eye care experience is not necessary. We will assist you with the tools to learn and train with our team. If this opportunity sounds like the right fit for you, please send a cover letter and your resume to aklocke@ decoraheye.com.

1-4-LD-12

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STATON, ISABELLE ....................... $357.50 SWANSON, GREGORY ............ $74,377.73 SWEET, GARETH ....................... $3,127.50 SWINBURN, EMILY ....................... $272.51 SYVERSON, CORY .................. $62,344.46 TEBBENHOFF, CLAIRE ................ $649.26 TERRONES, ANDREW ............. $50,347.71 THEIN, PATRICIA .................... $114,472.42 THEISMANN, BRITTANY ......... $7,673.77 THOMAS, TREVOR .................. $75,596.80 THOMPSON, DYLIN ...................... $588.26 THOMPSON, SYDNEY ............... $1,890.50 TORRESDAL, KRISTIN .......... $82,666.37 TWETEN, JASERA.......................... $689.08 VAN GUNDY, DUSTIN ............. $83,330.28 VANDE KROL, SCOTT ............ $62,652.11 VANDENBRINK, STEVEN ......... $5,236.49 WALTER, ADAM .......................... $1,983.38 WEMARK, KAYLIE ....................... $716.13 WHITE, LESLIE ......................... $44,516.83 WILSON, RENAE......................... $1,156.75 YANEFF, ERICA ............................. $309.94 YANEFF, NICHOLAS ................ $78,553.80 YOUNG, JON ............................. $76,053.64 YTZEN, ADAM .......................... $78,999.70 ZITTERGRUEN, STEVEN ........................................$1,500.00 Decorah (Iowa) Leader January 2, 2025

305 East Water Street Decorah, IA 563-382-4279

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Ridgeway, IA 52165) Storm water will be discharged from 2 point sources and will be discharged to the following stream: Unnamed Tributaries to Walnut Creek.

Comments may be submitted to the Storm Water Coordinator, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, 6200 Park Avenue Suite 200, Des Moines, IA 50321. The public may review the Notice of Intent from 8:00am to 4:30pm, Monday through Friday, at the above address after it has been received by the department.

Decorah (Iowa) Leader Dec. 19, 26, 2024 and Jan. 2, 2025 December 23, 2024 The special council meeting was called to order at 5:45 PM The meeting was held at the Decorah Council Chambers and electronically.

Member present: Randy Schissel, Kirsten Olson, Christopher Miculinich, Brent Parker, Steve Zittergruen, Emily Neal (Zoom), Mayor Borowski, City Manager Travis Goedken and City Clerk Keri Sand (Zoom).

Zittergruen made a motion to approve the master list of educational material for the MEU vote. Miculinich seconded the motion.

Roll call vote. Ayes: Zittergruen, Miculinich, Neal, Olson, Parker. Nays: Schissel.

Motion carried.

Meeting adjourned at 5:53 PM Keri Sand-City Clerk-Finance Officer Decorah (Iowa) Leader January 2, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENT Decorah Boy Scouts Troop 66

Annual

Christmas Tree Pick-up

Have trees to the curb by

8:00AM on

SATURDAY

JAN. 4

Please remove lights, tinsel & decorations

Thank You

for allowing Decorah Boy Scouts Troop 66 to serve our community

AUCTION CALENDAR THURSDAY, JANUARY 9 10 a.m. land and building site auction, 160 Acres m/l Winneshiek County. Auction held at Featherlite Center, Cresco.

Burke Real Estate, 563-3802868, www.burkecresco.com/ auction.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 10 - 10 a.m. Farm Machinery Auction. Pagel Sunlight Inc, 14073 T Ave, Sumner, IA Sweeney Auction Service 563-568-2464 www.sweeneyauctionservice. com

HELP WANTED: BULK MILK HAULERS *FULL & PART-TIME POSITIONS *VALID CLASS A OR B CDL WITH TANKER ENDORSEMENT MUST BE ABLE TO PASS DOT PHYSICAL & DRUG TEST

641-330-0586

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563-382-4221

110 Washington Street, Suite 4, Decorah, IA 52101

Seth Boyes Editor...........................................................................................editor@decorahleader.com Denise Lana Staff Writer ..............................................................denise.lana@decorahleader.com Roz Weis Staff Writer ............................................................................... roz.weis@decorahleader.com Zach Jensen Staff Writer ............................................................... zach.jensen@decorahleader.com Becky Walz Sports Editor ..............................................................becky.walz@decorahleader.com Megan Warner Advertising Representative ............megan.warner@decorahleader.com Lynn Ninos Subscriptions & Classified Advertising..............lynn.ninos@decorahleader.com Olivia Martinez Accounting ...............................................olivia.martinez@decorahleader.com Samantha Ludeking Production Manager .. samantha.ludeking@decorahleader.com Kayla Thompson Production..........................................kayla.thompson@decorahleader.com Crystal Busch Production ............................................................crystal.busch@decorahleader.com

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IN THE IOWA DISTRICT COURT, IN AND FOR WINNESHIEK COUNTY (JUVENILE DIVISION) IN THE INTEREST OF JUVENILE NO. JVJV002012 W.M. A Child.

NOTICE OF ADJUDICATORY HEARING [CHILD IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE] TO: Unidentified Putative Biological Father YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that a Petition alleging that the child named above is a child in need of assistance has been filed in the office of the clerk of juvenile court for the above-captioned county. A true copy of the Petition is attached hereto and made a part hereof.

YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED that the Court has entered an Order setting an ADJUDICATORY HEARING (CINA) on the merits of the Petition on January 8, 2025, at 9:00 am, in the designated Juvenile Courtroom of the Winneshiek County Courthouse in Decorah, Iowa.

YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED that the child must be represented by an attorney and guardian ad litem, which may be the same person. The Court has appointed an attorney and guardian ad litem to represent the child. If the parent has or will retain an attorney to represent the child as attorney and guardian ad litem, that attorney should be notified immediately. If the child is then represented by counsel retained by the parents and the Court determines there is a conflict of interest between the child and his parent, guardian or custodian and that retained counsel could not properly represent the child as a result of the conflict, the Court shall appoint other counsel to represent the child and set a hearing to determine payment for attorney fees to be assessed to the parent.

YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED that a parent, guardian or custodian in a child in need of assistance proceeding has the right to be represented by counsel at all hearings subsequent to the filing of a Petition. If you wish to privately retain counsel, you should immediately notify the attorney of these proceedings.

If you desire representation but you cannot afford to hire and attorney, you should immediately contact the Clerk of the above-named Court and request from and file with the Clerk an Application for Appointment of Counsel and Financial Statement. If you are determined to be indigent, the Court may appoint counsel for you at minimal or no cost to you.

YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED that upon your request, the Clerk shall issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of papers at the adjudicatory hearing.

YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED that the adjudicatory hearing may take place without your presence if you fail to appear after reasonable notification. If you wish to state your views to the Court, you must appear in person or by attorney or the Court may rule against you.

YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED that in the event the Court places a child in foster care, the child’s parent or guardian may be liable for all or a portion of the cost of foster care. Foster care includes all out-of-home placements except the State Training School at Eldora, the State Juvenile Home at Toledo, or the Mental Health Institute at Independence. The Iowa Department E-FILED 2024 DEC 04 11:16 AM WINNESHIEK - CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT of Human Services will notify you of the amount of any recommended parental liability for the cost of foster care and there exists an administrative procedure if you object.

If you need assistance to participate in Court due to a disability, call the disability coordinator at (319)833-3332. Persons who are hearing or speech impaired may call Relay Iowa TTY (1-800-735-2942). Disability Coordinators cannot provide legal advice.

THIS CASE HAS BEEN FILED IN A COUNTY THAT USES ELECTRONIC FILING. You must register to eFile through the Iowa Judicial Branch website at https://www. iowacourts.state.ia.us/Efile and obtain a log in and password for filing and viewing documents in your case and for receiving service and notices from the court.

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NEWS

DECORAH LEADER | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2025 | WWW.DECORAHLEADER.COM | EDITOR@DECORAHLEADER.COM | 563-382-4221

namesake, Ho Chunk Chief Waukon Decorah — visited the city during the 175th celebration. William Painter and William Day are credited as having founded what would become Decorah, as they settled in the area in 1849 and established some of the area’s first businesses. Decorah was officially incorporated in June of 1857, according to information from the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office.

“Decorah has grown substantially in its history and now has achieved significant economic and cultural development,” Borowski previously said. “It is home to people of diverse ancestries and ideologies. The history makes Decorah a beautiful place to live and to share with all the visitors that enjoy what the city has to offer.”

About seven decades after the city was incorporated, locals established the Decorah Chamber of Commerce. Local newspaper archives show J.A. Nelson served as the chamber’s first director, and other notable Decorah residents would later take on the role — locally renowned architect Charles Altfillisch served as the chamber’s director in 1931 and B.B. Anundsen, then an executive at the Decorah Posten, took on the title in 1936.

Today, Jessica Rilling serves as executive director of the Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce. The chamber currently has about 300 members who help guide the organization’s efforts to promote the Decorah area, with more than 80 professionals serving on the chamber’s boards and committees.

“If chambers are smart, they do that, because you need that,” Rilling said. “You need a broader group of people, and it needs to feel representative. You need all of those board members, ambassadors and committee members who know things, who have social capital and who all have their own experiences here. That’s a strength in the model. I like that model, and I think that helps it stay relevant and stay productive.”

#8

Decorah to take second run at possible MEU Officials with the city of Decorah are making preparations to see if public sentiment has changed regarding the possible creation of a municipal electrical utility. Voters are expected to decide a proposed ballot measure on March 4, 2025, which would potentially open the door for the city of Decorah to establish its own MEU. The city had posed the question of creating a local MEU to voters in 2018, but that ballot measure fell three votes shy of approval.

City officials took up the topic again in 2024, following rate increases from Alliant Energy, which provides electrical service for a majority of Decorah.

Alliant raised its rates in October of 2024, and the company may do so again in 2025.

City officials previously indicated they would like to have an alternative plan for providing electricity to Decorah residents, if Alliant’s rates become cost prohibitive for locals — but they said the city would need to take several steps in preparing for a full-fledged switch to a municipal utility. City officials have said the upcoming vote is necessary before the city can acquire utility data from Alliant in preparation for potentially moving forward with an MEU. The Decorah City Council in December approved the city’s sustainability commission to spend up to $15,000 on flyers, mailers and similar materials to be distributed to Decorah residents ahead of the March ballot measure. The council had hoped to approve what they called a master list of the materials during a Dec. 16 meeting.

However, the city received a letter from Alliant approximately two hours before that evening’s meeting. Alliant’s legal counsel claimed in the letter that the city may have misrepresented the need for the March vote and the company questioned whether the educational materials draft-

continued from page 9

The aurora borealis — or northern lights were visible over Decorah a number of evenings in 2024. This photo was taken at 1:23 a.m. Saturday, May 11 looking south on Decorah’s Court St. towards the First United Methodist Church. (File photo) ed by the city may have been biased, which Alliant argued could be a violation of state law. The letter also alleged the city could move forward with what Alliant called significant expenses following the March vote without the need for additional approval.

Some council members suggested at that time any further discussion of the matter be tabled until Decorah’s city attorneys could examine Alliant’s claims more closely. However, the council agreed to make an informal request for city staff to send the proposed materials to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board for review.

Neither the board nor the city’s attorney took issue with the city’s drafted materials, and the city council held a special meeting on Dec. 23 — the materials were approved on a 5-1 vote.

#9

Spectacles in the sky Area residents had the opportunity to take in some uncommon sights in the skies over Decorah during 2024.

Northeast Iowa wasn’t quite in the path of a solar eclipse which passed over North America in April, but it was close enough that viewers were able to catch a partial eclipse the afternoon of April 8. An estimated 50 people attended a Solar Eclipse Watch Party hosted by Winneshiek County Conservation and the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Office that day. Much of the state was unable to see the rare event due to cloudy conditions, but a break in the overcast conditions allowed many in and around Decorah to glimpse the moon blocking out the sun’s rays for a brief period that day.

Information from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said the April eclipse will be the last such eclipse to be visible from the contiguous United States until 2044.

Skywatchers in the region looked upward again the next month in hopes of seeing the shimmering colors of the aurora borealis — or northern lights.

The atmospheric phenomenon was visible over Decorah a number of evenings in early May of 2024. The northern lights occur when energized particles ejected from the sun collide with Earth’s upper atmosphere, according to information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“The collisions produce light much like how electrons flowing through gas in a neon light collide with neon and other gasses to produce different colored light bulbs,” NOAA said on its website.

The northern lights are centered on the planet’s magnetic pole, according to NOAA, but the effect can be seen farther south if the disturbance of the Earth’s magnetic field is significantly strong. A series of

solar flares and a coronal mass ejection were expected to begin May 8, and the aurora was easily visible through camera lenses in northeast Iowa as the weekend approached.

The lofty light show returned in the fall of 2024, as colorful ribbons rippled against the stars in the mid-September sky.

#10

City council, school board vacancies needed filling An open seat on the Decorah Community School Board was filled quickly via an appointment in early December, but the race to fill a vacancy on the Decorah City Council had yet to be decided before residents rang in the New Year.

Decorah School Board member Brian Petersburg, who had held a position on the board for 17 years, resigned as of Nov. 12, 2024. The Decorah School Board opted to fill Petersburg’s seat by appointing Brad Darling as Petersburg’s successor.

Darling had actually sought an at-large position on the board in 2023, earning 1,186 votes. He had also served on the district’s elementary school facilities committee in 2024. Decorah School Board members previously said they saw Darling’s experience in volunteer roles and the fact that he would represent the northern section of Winneshiek County as positives for his appointment.

Darling was sworn in during the board’s Dec. 9, 2024, meeting. He is expected to serve the remainder of Petersburg’s term, which was set to expire in November of 2025.

The Decorah City Council also had a seat to fill in 2024.

Councilman At Large Ross Hadley stepped down from the board in the fall, after announcing earlier that year he and his family would be moving out of the area. The council decided to hold a special election to fill Hadley’s seat, and three candidates filed papers to enter the race — Kent Klocke, Paul Wanless and Cody Whittle.

The three-way race required a candidate to gain more than 50 percent of the vote in order to be declared the winner. None of the three candidates broke that threshold during the initial Dec. 10 special election — less than a quarter of the registered voters in Decorah cast ballots during that contest, yet Whittle was less than 2 percent from an outright win, and Klocke was about 100 votes behind him.

Decorah’s city ordinances provide for run-off elections, and Wanless — who saw less than 9 percent support at the polls — was eliminated from the running. Klocke and Whittle are scheduled to face off at the ballot box again on Jan. 7, 2025.

Whomever wins this month’s special election will serve on the city council for the remainder of Hadley’s term, which is set to expire in Dec. 31, 2025, at which point the position will be placed on the ballot again.

Reicks awarded DAISY Award WinnMed recently awarded home health and hospice nurse Nicole Reicks the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, in recognition of her commitment to providing knowledgeable and compassionate care to her patients and their families. Reicks has served as a registered nurse at WinnMed since 2011.

Nicole was nominated by the family of a patient for what was described as her ability to blend clinical expertise with a deep sense of empathy and understanding, which the nomination said ensured Reicks’ patients received not only medical care, but also the emotional support they needed.

“Nicole’s passion for the health and well-being of the patients she cares for is outstanding,” said Nancy Haberichter, WinnMed’s director of home health and hospice. “She puts their needs first every day. She shows the same passion for mentoring her peers. We feel fortunate to have her on our team and are very proud of the recognition she has received from this award.”

WinnMed Registered Nurse Nicole Reicks recently received the DAISY Award. Pictured are (left to right) WinnMed Director of Home Health and Hospice Nancy Haberichter, Reicks and WinnMed Chief Nursing Officer Kathy Mortiz. (Photo submitted) The DAISY — or Diseases Attacking the Immune System — Award is an international recognition program which honors and celebrates the skillful care nurses provide every day. The DAISY Foundation was established by the family of J. Patrick Barnes after he died from complications of the auto-immune disease ITP in 1999.

Barnes’ family appreciated the care and compassion shown to Barnes and his family during Barnes’ time in the hospital, and the family felt compelled to publicly express their thanks to nurses.

To nominate an WinnMed nurse, for the DAISY Award, visit https://winnmed.org/daisy-award.

Confinement site manure applicator 2025 training scheduled in Winneshiek County Confinement site manure applicators are invited to attend a two-hour workshop offered by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to maintain or renew their confinement site manure applicator certification. The Winneshiek County workshop will be offered at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 22, 2025, at the Winneshiek County Extension Office in Decorah.

Pre-registration is required. No walk-ins will be permitted.

“Iowa law requires confinement site manure applicators to attend two hours of continuing education each year of their threeyear certification period or take and pass the exam once every three years,” said Dan Andersen, associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering and extension agriculture engineering specialist at Iowa State University, and coordinator of the manure applicator certification program. “If applicators fail to attend the two hours of continuing education each year, they will be required to pass a written exam to be eligible to recertify.”

Each year, nearly 300 confinement site applicators fail to attend training and must pass the remedial exam prior to being eligible to renew their certification for the following year.

The workshop serves as initial certification for those applicators not currently certified, recertification for those renewing licenses, and as continuing ed-

ucation for those applicators in the second or third year of their license.

The 2025 confinement site program will include rules for applicators, as well as land-application and setback distance requirements, soil compaction, cereal rye affecting nitrogen cycling, a national manure nutrient database and viable rate systems.

Operators must be certified to handle, transport and apply manure if the confinement livestock operation has more than a 500-animal unit capacity, unless the manure is applied by a commercial manure applicator.

The certification fee is $100 for a three-year certificate. This fee is paid when applicators initially get certified and then every three years thereafter when they recertify to apply manure.

Confinement site applicators are also required to pay an annual education fee of $25. All fees and application forms must be sent to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to complete certification requirements.

ISU Extension and Outreach will charge a $10 fee to applicators choosing to view the certification materials on a non-scheduled reshow day at the county office. For this reason, all applicators are encouraged to attend the workshops or to plan to view training materials on the scheduled reshow date at their local county extension office. This fee will not apply to workshops or scheduled reshow dates. Con-

tact the county extension office to determine which days are scheduled for the manure applicator certification programs.

Applicators have another online certification option. Applicators can take their training at the DNR MAC Workday site at www.IowaDNR.gov/MAC. Applicators will need to sign-in and create a Workday account.

Applicators are encouraged to complete certification requirements annually prior to March 1 to meet certification deadlines and avoid being assessed a $12.50 late fee for re-certification.

For more information about meeting dates and locations, or to schedule an appointment to attend training, contact the ISU Extension and Outreach – Winneshiek County Office at 563382-2949 or visit https://www. extension.iastate.edu/immag/ confinement-site-applicators to see the 2025 workshop schedule.

Operations Support Specialist Key responsibilities include preparing customer quotes, assisting with seed tests, allocating orders, and managing product sales through the company website. This position also may include providing general office support and assisting with technology systems.

Affordable Rents in Decorah!

Oneota Village Apartments in now taking applications for openings starting January 2025. Affordable one bedroom units with rent based on 30% of the household income for those 62+ or disabled of any age. All first floor living with utilities included, a fridge and stove, a/c, laundry on site, off street parking.

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Oneota Village Apartments in now taking applications for openings starting January 2025. Affordable one bedroom units with rent based on 30% of the household income for those 62+ or disabled of any age. All first floor living with utilities included, a fridge and stove, a/c, laundry on site, off street parking.

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SPORTS

12 | DECORAH LEADER | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2025 | WWW.DECORAHLEADER.COM | SPORTS EDITOR BECKY WALZ | BECKY.WALZ@DECORAHLEADER.COM

SW matmen face competitive matches TV boys Starmont ‘Doug Guilford’ tournament team scores 1. Jesup 262; 2. Riceville 143.5; 3. Waukon 136; 4. De Soto 118; 5. East Buchanan 109; 6. Durant 100.5; 7. Starmont 91; 8. BGM 85.5; 9. South Winn 69.5; 10. Monticello 69.5; 11. Pekin 23.5; 12. Central Elkader 22; 13. Oelwein 16

South Winn head coach Mike Gehling draws up a play for the Lady Warriors during a timeout in the season opener in November. (Photo by Becky Walz)

Lady Warriors handcuff WC, 51-8

The South Winn girls’ basketball team (4-4, 3-3 UIC) virtually eliminated offensive opportunities for West Central (2-5, 1-5 UIC) at home Friday, Dec. 21, picking up the UIC win 51-8.

It was the Warrior defense that got the job done, holding the Blue Devils to four points in the first quarter. Meanwhile the Warrior offense put up 13 to lead 13-4 at the break. In the second period, the SW offense was on fire and outscored the visitors 18-2 to hold a 31-6 lead at halftime. The Warrior defense kept West Central from scoring in the third to carry a 45-6 lead into the final period.

“Our defense was outstanding the whole night, we never let West Central get comfortable.

It was nice to see some shots fall and I think going forward if we can keep hitting shots we are going to be a tough team to beat,” said coach Mike Gehling.

“Allison Hageman played an

outstanding all-around game as did Karissa Wenthold. Our two seniors are playing well and are leading our team.”

Hageman led the Warriors with nine points and five steals, while Wenthold finished with six points, six boards, four assists and four steals. Freshman Alexis Johanningmeier put up eight points and pulled down nine boards, while Chloe Wiltgen added seven points and six caroms.

West Central 4 2 0 2 8 South Winn 13 18 14 6 51 Scoring – Allison Hageman 9; Alexis Johanningmeier 8; Chloe Wiltgen 7; Karissa Wenthold 6; Emmy Gehling 6; Vanessa Bullerman 5; Adele Conway 4 Rebounds – Johanningmeier 9; Wenthold 6; Wiltgen 6; Charlotte Moonen 5; Bullerman 3; Gehling 2; Conway 2; Hageman 1; Assists – Wenthold 4; Moonen 2; Wiltgen 2; Conway 2; Johanningmeier 1; Gehling 1; Jayden Timp 1; Bullerman 1; Steals – Hageman 5; Wenthold 4; Bullerman 4; Gehling 3; Johanningmeier 2; Wiltgen 2; Conway 2; Moonen 1; Blocks – Wenthold 3; Johanningmeier 3

SW boys collect UIC win

The South Winn boys’ basketball team (5-2, 2-2 UIC) picked up its fifth win of the season at home Friday, Dec. 20 over West Central (1-7, 0-5 UIC) in a big way, 7927.

From the tip off the Warriors were all over the Blue Devils, giving up just two points in the Surveying the defense as he brings the ball first quarter across the timeline is South Winn junior to lead 26-2.

Carver Wenthold in a recent home contest.

The visitors (Photo courtesy of Cathy Sabelka) doubled their efforts in the second period as South Winn six rebounds. Cale Kleppe also stretched out it advantage to 46- pulled down six rebounds.

6. It was all gravy in the second West Central 2 4 8 13 27 half as the Warriors outscored South Winn 26 20 20 13 79 Scoring – Matson Winings 23; the Blue Devils 33-21.

Braiden Todd 14; Carson Streeter Matson Winings were one 13; Jordan Einck 9; Kaden Bartonof three Warriors in double fig- Franzen 8; Irving Flores 4; Logan 4; Carver Wenthold 2; ures with 23 points to go with Tieskoetter Cale Kleppe 2 four rebounds. Braiden Todd Rebounds – Einck 6; Kleppe 6; put up 14 points and came up Winings 4; Barton-Franzen 4; Nolan Sabelka 3; Wenthold 3; Streeter with three steals and three as- 3; Tieskoetter 3; Todd 2; Flores 2; sists. With 13 points was Car- Assists – Streeter 5; Sabelka 4; 3; Winings 3; Flores 2; Kleppe son Streeter to go with five Todd 2; Barton-Franzen 1; Wenthold 1; assists, three boards and three Tieskoetter 1; Steals – Sabelka steals. Freshman Jordan Einck 5; Todd 3; Streeter 3; Winings 2; Barton-Franzen 1; Flores 1; Kleppe came off the bench to provide 1; Blocks – Todd 1; Winings 1; a spark with nine points and Barton-Franzen 1

SW girls top division at Scramble

Finishing off the first half of the season, the South Winn girls’ wrestling team competed in the MFL MarMac Girls Scramble Friday, Dec. 20.

Taking the top spot in their divisions for the Warriors were Odessa Oyloe, Mackenzi Maxwell and Maddy Jansen.

Oyloe’s first match of the night ended in a fall over Livian Starkey of North Crawford/Seneca (Wisconsin) in 1:45. Her second match was forfeited by Aalyiah Lathrop of Boscobel/Wauzeka/Steuben (Wisconsin).

It was a pair of pins for Maxwell who threw Brooklyn Larson of Boscobel/Wauzeka/Steuben in 1:33 and Ayla Kass of Boscobel/ Wauzeka/Steuben in 1:11.

Jansen also recorded two falls on the night. The junior first put

Lancaster’s Alyvia Bahl on her back in 2:47 and later threw Gracie Kuhn of North Fayette Valley in 31 seconds.

Isabelle Goltz, Sophia Dvorak and Jena Peters were also on the mats for the Warriors and were unable to pick up wins.

Goltz fell to Angie Barrutia-Rucal of Postville in 2:32 and Brielle Starkweather of North Fayette Valley by am 18-1 tech fall.

Dvorak was thrown twice in her efforts. Payten Sander of Boscobel/Wauzeka/Steuben won in 30 seconds while Bernice Garcia of Postville pinned the Lady Warrior in 56 seconds. Peters faced Mallory McCullick of Boscobel/Wauzeka/Steuben, falling in 32 seconds and later fell in 1:50 to Rosmery Sis Pable of Postville.

Taking in one final tournament before the holiday break, the South Winn boys’ wrestling team headed to Starmont Saturday, Dec. 20, finishing with a champion and runner-up.

“This was a good event for us to head into Christmas break with. We had a lot of competitive matches throughout the day. I think some of the guys are starting to find themselves and understand where they can be successful,” noted coach Jacob Elsbernd.

Jesup won the team title with 262 points with Riceville a distant second with 143.5 points.

The Warriors finished the day with 69.5 points in ninth place.

In all, five Warriors were place winners, with juniors Kyle Kuboushek and Landen Schnuelle reaching the finals in their respective weight divisions.

Kuboushek (165), ranked No. 5 in Class 1A, opened his day with a fall over Waukon’s Mason McKee in 1:28. In the quarterfinals versus Henry Adam of Peking, the Warrior junior got the pin in 1:55. In a hard-fought semifinal battle, it took sudden victory for Kuboushek to get the win over Durant’s Kadyn Kraklio. The day culminated with the title as Kuboushek put Holten Palmer on his back for the fall in 5:21 in the finals.

At 157 pounds, Schnuelle earned a 20-4 tech fall over Preston Kulper of Central Elkader in the opening round.

The junior pinned his way by

steamroll CR Eagles

Wrestling at 215 pounds, Henry Willey earned sixth place at the Starmont tournament Dec. 21, 2024. (Photo by Becky Walz) Gabe McCormick of Waukon in 1:41 in the quarterfinal and posted an 11-1 major decision win over Burke Shane of Riceville in the semifinal.

Facing Carter Wilgenbusch of East Buchanan in the finals, Schnuelle battled through the three periods, falling by way of a 13-7 decision to take second.

The East Buchanan wrestler is currently ranked No. 3 at 165 pounds in Class 1A. Others placing for the Warriors included Gavin Thuente (120 lbs., 4th place), Henry Willey (215 lbs., 6th place) and Kolton Brummond (285 lbs., 6th place).

Individual results 120 – Gavin Thuente, 4th place Rd. 1 – WBF in 0:50 over Drake Hankes (Wau); Quarterfinal – won 9-6 sudden victory over Kaesyn Husman (Mont); Semifinal – LBF in 1:15; 3rd place match – lost 12-6 dec. to Isaac Smith (Star) 120 – Clayton Kuboushek, DNP Rd. 1 – won 5-3 dec. over Parker Evans (Rice); Quarterfinal – lost 16-0 tech fall to Kaden Mitchell (Wau); Cons. rd. 2 – won 7-6 dec. over Trent Murphy (Wau); Cons. semifinal – LBF in 1:50 to Hayden McDowell (De Soto)

132 – Paxton Brincks, DNP Rd. 1 – LBF in 1:17 to Hudson Popham (Star); Cons. rd. 1 – bye; Cons. rd. 2 – LBF in 1:49 to Maddox Thorson (Jesup) 138 – Steven Andera, DNP Rd. 1 – LBF in 0:35 to Chance Christensen (Rice); Cons. rd. 1 – bye; Cons. rd. 2 – LBF in 1:17 to Gunner Klahn (Durant) 157 – Landen Schnuelle, 2nd place Rd. 1 – Won 20-4 tech fall over Preston Kulper (Central); Quarterfinal – WBF in 1:41 over Gabe McCormick (Wau); Semifinal – won 11-1 maj. dec. over Burke Shane (Rice); Final – lost 13-7 dec. to Carter Wilgenbusch (EB) 165 – Kyle Kuboushek, 1st place Rd. 1 – WBF in 1:28 over Mason McKee (Wau); Quarterfinal – WBF in 1:55 over Henry Adam (Pekin); Semifinal – won sudden victory over Kadyn Kraklio (Durant); Final – WBF in 5:21 over Holten Palmer (Wau) 215 – Henry Willey, 6th place Rd. 1 – bye; Quarterfinal – LBF in 5:11 to Reed Slater (BGM); Cons. rd. 2 – bye; Cons. semifinal – WBF in 2:53 over Joseph Ohl (Oel); 5th place match – LBF in 3:58 to Andrew Devlin (Jesup) 285 – Kolton Brummond, 6th place Rd. 1 – LBF in 4:50 to Kadin Liles (Mont); Cons. rd. 1 – bye; Cons. rd. 2 – WBF in 2:46 over Spencer Michels (Oel); Cons. semifinal – WBF in 5:21 over Jonah Breon (Pekin); 5th place match – LBF in 0:47 to Kadin Liles (Mont)

Steinlage notches career-high in final game before Christmas break

By Kelly Terpstra sports@nhtrib.com The first hint that the Turkey Valley girls’ basketball team (5-2, 5-1 UIC) might vie for a league title in 2024-2025 was when Steve Hoffert’s Upper Iowa Conference squad knocked off defending champ MFL MarMac (5-3, 5-1 UIC) in the first week of December.

Fast forward three weeks later and the Trojan girls hoops team were in the race for conference supremacy after a 61-20 shellacking of Clayton Ridge (3-5, 2-4 UIC) at home Friday, Dec. 20 in Jackson Junction.

“This was a good way to go into break. We played really well defensively for four quarters and that will need to continue as the season progresses,” said Hoffert.

TV was led by junior Addison Steinlage, who pumped in a career-high 22 points on 8-17 shooting. The left-handed guard produced a stat line which could make her a candidate for firstteam all conference this winter as she came up with seven steals and six assists.

Steinlage is the league’s fourth-best scorer currently through seven games played with a 14.6 average.

Trojan sophomore Bella Stika leads the league in rebounds (13 rpg) and is second in steals (4.4 spg). She continued her torrid pace near the rim with another double-double versus Clayton

Turkey Valley senior Delaney Busta stretches for the rebound as it caroms toward an Eagle player in December. (Photo courtesy of Leah Kruse) Ridge. She ripped down 10 rebounds and netted 12 points on a perfect field-goal percentage from the floor (five-for-five).

TV collected 23 steals and handcuffed CR for three quarters. The Eagles scored all of eight points in three quarters, sans the third period when CR netted 12 points. The Eagles were shutout in the scoring department during the final period.

Hoffert was pleased how his team took care of and distributed the basketball as they dished out 17 assists versus just 10 turnovers.

Annika Bodensteiner drives against a Clayton Ridge defender in the Trojans’ final game before the 2024 holiday break.

(Photo courtesy of Leah Kruse)

“We played unselfish basketball offensively tonight. Seventeen assists on 25 made baskets is tough to defend,” said Hoffert.

TV is on a three-game win streak and hasn’t lost since a road contest at New Hampton on Dec. 7, by a score of 57-48.

TV’s first game back from break will be a home title versus league rival South Winneshiek on Friday, Jan. 3.

Clayton Ridge 2 6 12 0 20 Turkey Valley 10 27 18 6 61 Scoring – Addison Steinlage 22; Bella Stika 12; Ellaney Bodensteiner 8; Emersyn Hoffert 7; Annika Bodensteiner 4; Brynlee Hayek 4; Layni Schuchhardt 2; Delaney Busta 2 Rebounds – Stika 10; Busta 8; Steinlage 2; Hoffert 2; A. Bodensteiner 1; Madalyn Vsetecka 1; Kendall Kuennen 1; Hayek 1; Assists – Steinlage 6; A. Bodensteiner 5; Stika 4; Hazel Nieman 1; Hoffert 1; Steals – Steinlage 7; Nieman 3; Kuennen 3; Schuchhardt 2; Stika 2; Busta 2; Vsetecka 2; A. Bodensteiner 1; Hoffert 1; Blocks – Busta 1

TV sophomore Cale Langreck hits the deck with an Eagle player for a lose ball.

(Photo courtesy of Leah Kruse)

By Kelly Terpstra sports@nhtrib.com The Trojans cleared the boards Dec. 20, versus Clayton Ridge and that led to numerous second-chance points via offensive rebounds as Turkey Valley rolled to a convincing 62-36 win in the last game before the holiday break.

That led to a feel-good mood for John Izer’s TV boys hoops as they were all smiles after what the Trojan head coach called the “win of the year.”

“We went into the break with a great feeling. Everybody was happy. That’s huge. No matter what kind of year you’re having, you need to go into the break happy,” said Izer.

Turkey Valley (2-4, 2-3 UIC) saw four Trojans notch double-figure scoring in juniors Logan Busta (18) and J.D. Kruse (16), as well as sophomores Cale Langreck and Jordan Kriener, who each tallied 10 points apiece.

“We got on them early.

That’s the best game we’ve played,” said Izer.

Busta and Langreck splashed down two treys apiece from deep while Kruse and Kriener dominated the glass. Kruse he came up with 17 rebounds while Kriener ripped down 16 boards.

TV outscored Clayton Ridge (1-6, 1-4 UIC) by a score of 21-10 in the final stanza of play. After a 2719 halftime score, the Trojans more than doubled up the point total of the Eagles by outplaying them on the scoreboard in the final two periods of play 35 to 17.

The stats Izer liked, but it’s the pace with which his team played at that he really loved.

“More important than any of this, is it’s the fastest we have played and that is what we’ve been looking for,” said Izer.

TV – which started out the season 0-3 – will need to run-and-gun this winter in a battle with taller teams in a half-court set.

Busta snared eight rebounds. The steady, allaround forward dished out three assists to go along with two steals. Busta leads the team in scoring with an 11.6 clip. Busta and Kruse each average over five rebounds a contest.

TV’s game with Clarksville Thursday, Dec. 19, was postponed because of inclement weather and moved to the first game slated after the holiday break on Thursday, Jan. 2. The next night will be the rivalry showdown in Jackson Junction versus South Winneshiek.

Clayton Ridge 9 10 7 10 35 Turkey Valley 14 13 14 2 62 Scoring – Logan Busta 18; JD Kruse 16; Cale Langreck 10; Jordan Kriener 10; Jayden Rausch 4; Alex Hanson 3; Treyton Franzen 1 Rebounds – Kruse 17; Kriener 16; Busta 8; Langreck 4; Franzen 4; Hanson 1; Rausch 1; Assists – Busta 4; Kruse 3; Langreck 2; Kriener 2; Tucker Reicks 1; Steals – Busta 2; Kruse 2; Langreck 1; Blocks – Busta 2

SPORTS

DECORAH LEADER | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2025 | WWW.DECORAHLEADER.COM | SPORTS EDITOR BECKY WALZ | BECKY.WALZ@DECORAHLEADER.COM

Coming up in area HS sports Jan. 2 – TV b bb vs.

Clarksville, 7 p.m.

Jan. 3 – Dec b wr at at Clash National Wrestling tnmt. (at La Crosse Center), 10 a.m.; TV g/b bb vs. South Winn, 6:15 p.m.; Dec g/b bb vs. Hudson, 6:45 p.m.

Jan. 4 – Dec b wr at Clash National Wrestling tnmt. (at La Crosse Center), 10 a.m.; Dec g wr at Saint James tnmt., 10 a.m.

Jan. 6 – Dec bowl vs. Mason City, 4 p.m.; Dec g bb at MFL MarMac, 7 p.m.

Jan. 7 – Dec b swim at Vinton-Shellsburg, 4:30 p.m.; SW b wr vs. Waukon, 6 p.m.; SW g/b bb at Central, 6:15 p.m.; TV g/b bb at West Central, 6:15 p.m.

Bowlers split against Comets It has been two seasons since one of the Decorah bowling teams suffered a dual loss. That is until Friday, Dec. 20, when the Viking boys’ squad came up 17 pins short against Charles City.

The Decorah girls moved to 4-0 with their 2,797 to 2,551 win over the Comets. Baker game scores were 217, 211, 279, 175 and 158.

The victory marks the third year in a row the Vikings have survived a tough Charles City squad. Junior Karlie Einck set the stage with a 426 (189, 237).

Jasera Tweten posted a combined 358 (170, 188). Adding to the varsity win were Rylee Averhoff (160, 190), Marri

Feuerhelm (179, 128), Asmere Jensen (167, 149) and Addison Wicklund (180, 127).

“We missed some easy spares but to throw a 2,797 we did a lot right. Asmere (Jensen) did a nice job in the bakers along with Marri (Feuerhelm),” noted coach Keith Bruening.

The Viking boys suffered a tough loss to Charles City 3,088 to 3,105. Decorah was leading by 17 pins entering the baker round; however, the Comets made up the ground to win by 17. Baker game scores were 194, 168, 243, 199 and 162.

In the individual rounds it was Cain Monreal-Rice who led the Vikes with a 456 (216, 240) with Jace Buddenberg fir-

13

ing at 420 (196, 224). Others on the lanes in varsity action were Bryce Elsbernd (180, 208), Beau Newhouse (216, 176), Tyler Novak (204, 236) and Jordan Sims (213, 201).

“This was a tough loss for the Viking men. Charles City just out-bowled us in the baker round and it came down to the last game,” said coach Bruening.

Jordan Sim tallied individual games of 213 and 201 against Charles City in December. (Photo by Becky Walz)

Carolan takes gold as Vikes earn third at invite

ABOVE: Landon Humpal powers his way through the water in the final leg of the 200-yard individual medley in which he finished third at Decorah’s home meet Friday, Dec. 20.

Tommy Sexton works to pin an opponent in a match during December’s South Winn invite.

On Dec. 21, 2024, the Decorah junior finished runner-up at 190 pounds at the Don Miller invite in Fort Dodge. (Photo by Becky Walz)

Don Miller Invite team scores 1. Humboldt 217.5; 2. Algona 204.5; 3. Decorah 170.5; 4. Fort Dodge 165.5; 5. Ankeny Centennial 154; 6. Lewis Central 126.5; 7.

Sioux Center 108; 8. Iowa City West 105.5; 9. Emmetsburg 85; 10. Webster City 69; 11. Forest City 56.5; 12. Des Moines Roosevelt 42; 13. Sioux City East 39; 14. Bishop Heelan 34

The Decorah boys’ wrestling team had an outstanding day Saturday, Dec. 21, as the Vikes trekked to Fort Dodge for the Don Miller invitational, placing third with 170.5 points and crowning an individual champion.

Class 2A No. 8 Humboldt was the overall team champion with 217.5 points, ahead of Class 2A No. 5 Algona who tallied 204.5 points.

Although Gavin Carolan was the lone Viking champ, Decorah had two others in the finals.

Wrestling at 138 pounds, Carolan, ranked No. 8 in Class 2A, received a first-round bye to advance directly to the quarterfinal against Webster City’s Dawson Bertran who was laid on his back in 39 seconds by the Viking. The sophomore then notched a 6-3 decision over Tyce Clarken of Humboldt. Carolan made easy work of Algona’s Elijah Wilhite in the final, winning the 18-2 tech fall.

First round and quarterfinal byes pushed Meison Tollefson directly into the semifinal versus Algona’s Teague Alesch.

The Viking freshman recorded a fall in just 46 seconds to move into the final against Class 3A No. 8 Trace Rial who got the 23-7 tech fall over Tollefson.

Class 2A No. 4 Tommy Sexton also earned silver on the day with a first round bye and a fall in 1:35 over Ben Rotert of Ankeny Centennial in the quarterfinal. The Viking junior then survived a 4-3 decision against Paxton Blanchard of Lewis Central to face Broedy Hendricks of Humboldt in the final.

Hendricks is currently the top ranked grappler at 175 pounds and defeated Sexton by a 14-5 major decision.

Additional place winners for Decorah included Lucas Wymer (106 lbs., 3rd place), Gavin Knutson (126 lbs., 3rd place), William Fullhart (157 lbs., 3rd place), Michael Clement (132 lbs., 4th place), Will Larson (150 lbs., 4th place), Kelton Casterton (113 lbs., 5th place), Ethan Kuennen (215 lbs., 5th place) and Kasen Tyler

(144 lbs., 7th place).

Individual results 106 – Meison Tollefson, 2nd place Rd. 1 – bye; Quarterfinal – bye; Semifinal – WBF in 0:46 over Teague Alesch (Alg); Final – lost by 23-7 tech fall to Trace Rial (FD) 106 – Lucas Wymer, 3rd place Rd. 1 – bye; Quarterfinal – WBF in 3:52 over Donald Crockett (DM Roosevelt); Semifinal – LBF in 0:55 to Trace Rial (FD); Cons. semifinal – WBF in 0:46 over Ayden Tran (SC East); 3rd place match – won 18-1 tech fall over Teague Alesch (Alg) 113 – Kelton Casteron, 5th place Rd. 1 – won 17-5 maj. dec. over Myles Henn (FC); Quarterfinal – LBF in 1:45 to Zander Manz (LC); Cons. rd. 2 – won 22-4 tech fall over Thomas Zabka (Alg); Cons. rd. 3 – WBF in 2:31 over Isaiah Greer (SC East); Cons. semifinal – lost 19-3 tech fall to Sam Knight (Hum); 5th place match – won 20-4 tech fall over Dylan Frideres (Hum) 113 – Andrew Bjork, DNP Rd. 1 – LBF in 1:15 to Damien Yeoman (FD); Cons. rd. 1 – LBF in 2:33 to Ricky Beckwith (AC) 126 – Gavin Knutson, 3rd place Rd. 1- bye; Quarterfinal – WBF in 1:09 over Bo Marsh (FD); Semifinal – lost 19-4 tech fall to Matthew Tran (IC West); Cons. semifinal – WBF in 1:25 over Charles Barnhouse (IC West); 3rd place match – won 3-1 dec. over Owen Mayall (Hum) 132 – Michael Clement, 4th place Rd. 1 – bye; Quarterfinal – LBF in 3:10 to Owen Duffek (LC); Cons. rd. 2 – bye; Cons. rd. 3 – WBF in 0:38 over Brexton Hines (FD); Cons. semifinal – WBF in 1:57 over Jackson Wilcoxon (Emmet); 3rd place match – lost 5-0 dec. to Owen Duffek (LC) 138 – Gavin Carolan, 1st place Rd. 1 – bye; Quarterfinal – WBF in 0:39 over Dawson Bertran (WC); Semifinal – won 6-3 dec. over Tyce Clarken (Hum); Final – won 18-2 tech fall over Elijah Wilhite (Alg) 144 – Kasen Tyler, 7th place Rd. 1 – WBF in 3:05 over Calvin Haag (AC); Quarterfinal – LBF in 4:46 to Brady Beers (Hum); Cons. rd. 2 – won 12-2 maj. dec. over

Justin Fortman (Dec); Cons. rd. 3 – lost 11-7 dec. to Mandius Volentine (LC); 7th place match – WBF in 1:36 over Aiden Frascht (FC) 144 – Justin Fortman, DNP Rd. 1 – LBF in 3:47 to Aiden Frascht (FC); Cons. rd. 1 – won 17-1 tech fall over Jack Lesko (SC East); Cons. rd. 2 – lost 12-2 maj. dec. to Kasen Tyler (Dec)

Weston Cote (above) takes his turn in the water in 200yard medley relay which finished second for Decorah while Thomas Hammel (right) finishes the 200yard freestyle race in fourth.

(Photos by Becky Walz)

150 – Will Larson, 4th place Rd. 1 – bye; Quarterfinal – WBF in 3:47 over Tristan Mason (WC); Semifinal – lost 21-6 tech fall to Isaac Bruhl (AC); Cons. semifinal – WBF in 1:27 over Jaxson Kirchhoff (Hum); 3rd place match – lost 13-2 maj. dec. to Ashton Moreno (Alg)

Decorah bests field at home invitational

157 – William Fullhart, 3rd place Rd. 1 – WBF in 0:23 over Nolan King (Emmet); Quarterfinal – WBF in 0:46 over Landon Rozeboom (SC); Semifinal – lost 12-2 maj. dec. to Tate Slagle (Alg); Cons. semifinal – WBF in 1:21 over Campbell Janis (IC West); 3rd place match – won by inj. default over Rylee Brown (FD)

The lanes were full at the Luther College pool Friday, Dec. 20, as the Decorah boys’ swim team hosted its only home meet

Viking invite team scores 1. Decorah 193; 2. Waterloo 112; 3. Mason City 107; 4. Grinnell 76; 5.

Vinton-Shellsburg 26

165 – Steven Munoz, DNP Rd. 1 – LBF in 5:13 to Cael Adams (FD); Cons. rd. 1 – bye; Cons. rd. 2 – LBF in 3:42 to Kobe Umbaugh (FC) 175 – Bradan Darling, DNP Rd. 1 – LBF in 2:38 to Gavin Palazzo (SC East); Cons. rd. 1 – bye; Cons rd. 2 – LBF in 1:38 to Ryan Smith (AC) 190 – Tommy Sexton, 2nd place Rd. 1 – bye; Quarterfinal – WBF in 1:35 over Ben Rotert (AC); Semifinal – won 4-3 dec. over Paxton Blanchard (LC); Final – lost 14-5 maj. dec. to Broedy Hendricks (Hum) 190 – Adrian Smith, DNP Rd. 1 – LBF in 0:51 to Brendan Lamfers (SC); Cons. rd. 1 – LBF in 0:31 to Jack Law (IC West) 215 – Ethan Kuennen, 5th place Rd. 1 – bye; Quarterfinal – lost 22-5 tech fall to Joseph Monge (LC); Cons. rd. 2 – won 12-0 maj. dec. over Serafim Surguladze (IC West); Cons. rd. 3 – won sudden victory over Will Limbaugh (Alg); Cons. semifinal – lost 13-4 maj. dec. to Cody Elliott (WC); 5th place match – won by medical forfeit over Gavin Goche (Alg)

Kelton Casteron had a solid day of wrestling in December at the Don Miller invite in Fort Dodge finishing fifth. In the above photo, the Decorah grappler is taking on Gavin Thuente during the South Winn invite earlier this season. (Photo by Becky Walz)

Viking senior Landyn Hook took home bronze in the 100-yard backstroke at the Viking invite in December.

(Photo by Becky Walz)

of the year.

Competing against the Vikes were Waterloo, Mason City, Grinnell and Vinton-Shellsburg. In the invite, Decorah topped the field with 193 points.

Two individuals won gold with seven other events taking silver.

Reid Kuehner took the top spot in the 200-yard individual medley with his time of 2:19.39, while Weston Cote was the winner in the 100-yard butterfly in 59.18 seconds.

The meet started with a runner-up finish by the 200-yard medley relay. The quartet of Max Grimstad, Cote, Dane Burns and Ian Giddings posted a time of 1:48.65. Ethan Swizdor then took silver in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:08.93.

Later it was Grimstad touching the wall second in the 500yard freestyle. He had a time of 5:57.24. The 200-yard freestyle relay of Giddings, Kuehner, Cote and Landon Humpal also took silver in 1:36.63. In the 100-yard backstroke, Kuehner won his third medal of the night

Vikes fall in fourth quarter

Looking to finish off the 2024 portion of the season with a win, the Decorah girls’ basketball team (4-3, 3-0 NEIC) came up just short Saturday, Dec. 21 as they squared off with East Buchanan (5-3). The Bucs edged Decorah 49-47 on the court at Luther College.

Decorah took the lead 11-10 in the first period and pulled ahead 28-22 at halftime. The visitors erased the difference in the third with 18 points to tie the game 40-40 with eight minutes remaining. In the final quarter the Bucs got the win, outscoring the Vikes 9-7.

“We did a great job of building a lead in the first half but couldn’t put it away in the second. We got to keep working to find other ways to score when

shots aren’t falling. This is a good learning experience for us, and something that we’ll build on from here,” said coach Blake Moen.

Seven Vikings had at least two points. Claire Storhoff put up 14 points to lead the way. Renae Wilson put up 12 to go with nine rebounds. Brooklyn Fromm had seven points and seven boards while Liz Bucksa added five points and eight caroms.

E. Buchanan 10 12 18 9 49 Decorah 11 17 12 7 47 Scoring – Claire Storhoff 14; Renae Wilson 12; Brooklyn Fromm 7; Liz Bucksa 5; Sydney Thompson 4; Kelby Kerndt 3; Clara Hjelle 2 Rebounds – Wilson 9; Bucksa 8; Hjelle 7; Fromm 7; Thompson 5; Storhoff 5; Kerndt 2; Assists – Thompson 2; Hjelle 1; Bucksa 1; Fromm 1; Wilson 1; Steals – Thompson 2; Bucksa 2; Fromm 2; Blocks – Wilson 1

with his second-place time of 1:07.20. The night finished with a runner-up effort by Humpal, Grimstad, Kuehner and Burns in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

The foursome posted a time of 3:38.27.

Varsity race results 200 medley relay – 2. Max Grimstad, Weston Cote, Dane Burns, Ian Giddings, 1:48.65; 4.

Keaton Vobr, Will Robinson, Kyle Pattison, Davis Coppola, 1:54.88 200 free – 2. Ethan Swizdor 2:08.93; 3. Grimstad 2:09.98; 4.

Thomas Hammel 2:14.00 200 IM – 1. Reid Kuehner 2:19.39; 3. Landon Humpal 2:27.02; 4. Jordan Snitker 2:32.17 50 free – 3. Burns 24.08; 5.

Giddings 24.45; 7. Coppola 25.61 100 fly – 1. Cote 59.18; 3. Burns 1:01.92; 4. Pattison 1:05.21 100 free – 4. Humpal 52.97; 6.

Swizdor 58.07; 7. Giddings 58.46 500 free – 2. Grimstad 5:57.24; 3.

Snitker 5:59.85; 4. Hammel 6:10.34 200 free relay – 2. Giddings, Kuehner, Cote, Humpal, 1:36.63; 4. Robinson, Grant Zilka, Snitker, Swizdor, 1:47.40 100 back – 2. Kuehner 1:07.20; 3. Landyn Hook 1:12.99; 4. Ethan Casper 1:14.81 100 breast – 5. Cote 1:11.42; 7.

Robinson 1:12.89; 8. Andrew Olson 1:14.98 400 free relay – 2. Humpal, Grimstad, Kuehner, Burns, 3:38.27; 5. Hammel, Hook, Coppola, Pattison, 4:03.38

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SPORTS

14 | DECORAH LEADER | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2025 | WWW.DECORAHLEADER.COM | SPORTS EDITOR BECKY WALZ | BECKY.WALZ@DECORAHLEADER.COM

Fans were out in full force during 2024 for the girls’ regional wrestling qualifying meets, and the Mason City Fieldhouse was no exception as individuals continued to flow into the stands all day to watch girls compete in Regions 7 and 8. The Decorah girls’ wrestling team dominated the mats winning the team title with 254 points. A total of nine athletes represented Decorah on the mats in Coralville after finishing in the top four of their respective weight divisions. Of those, two were crowed the regional champions, including top-ranked Naomi Simon at 170 pounds and No. 5 Kamryn Steines at 190 pounds.

The victory bell was ringing in Decorah after the Viking girls’ wrestling team caught its breath from a whirlwind end to the state tournament weekend — and a team state title.

Decorah tallied 141 points, leaps and bounds ahead of East Buchanan and Raccoon River-Northwest who tied for sec-

A sledgehammer and a copy of some blueprints met to form a metaphor outside Luther College’s Gerdin Fieldhouse for Athletics and Wellness in August. The “wall-breaking ceremony” marked the launch of renovations to the building.

College officials expected construction to begin mid-August, with hopes the first three phases of the $24 million project will be complete by fall 2025 — the fourth and final phase will focus on the addition of a wrestling wing.

Luther College’s Vice President of Communications Bill Smith said the gymnasium itself has remained in the same configuration — wooden bleachers and court bounds near its entrances — since it was first constructed. Portions of the fieldhouse — a facility boasting more than 200,000 square feet — dates back to the 1960s, according to information from the college, and Smith said many portions of the building, including the gymnasium and locker rooms, are not air conditioned, which he said limits its use.

Renovation plans call for the court in the gymnasium to be rotated 90 degrees, with new

#6

A signature win in the fall of 2024 secured the Class 4A District 2 title for the second-ranked Decorah football team (8-0, 4-0) as the Vikings’ first half was enough to earn the 10-7 victory at home over Western Dubuque. The Viking football team then took down Newton in the first round of the Class 4A playoff in the final minute, 15-14. Then, where cheers filled the stadium in the final minute the prior week, fans fell silent in the closing seconds the game against North Scott as the Lancers came back from a 10-point deficit in the final 6:30 to expel the Vikings from the postseason, 28-24. The Vikings had nothing to hang their heads about as they posted the first 10-win season since 2013 and went undefeated in the district.

ond with 96 points. In addition the Vikings recorded 24 pins during the two-day tournament with two wrestlers in the finals and five place winners. The Viking team also boasts the first four-time state champion in girls’ wrestling history in Iowa — Naomi Simon.

seating installed around its entirety in what Smith called an arena-style arrangement. The upgraded fieldhouse’s lobby will feature a new concession area for the public as well as improvements to make the college’s hall of fame displays more engaging, Smith said.

Renovation plans also call for the addition of quiet spaces for athletes to study, and workers will also be upgrading the fieldhouse’s locker rooms. The overall renovation project’s final phase will focus on the addition of a wrestling wing — college officials announced the addition to their plans earlier this year.

Previous plans had called for a three-mat training space near the aquatic center and the north gymnasium, according to information from the college, but the new plan will place a four-mat space near Carlson Stadium and the Robert and Ann Naslund Sports and Recreation Center.

More than 60 percent of the funds for the expanded renovation had been raised as of August, according to Luther’s Vice President for Development Mary Duvall, and officials hope to have secured the remaining funds by the end of 2025.

Since the beginning of the North Central Conference tennis meet five years ago, no other team besides seventh-ranked Decorah has taken the title as the Viking boys dominated the courts in Grinnell.

With 48 points, Decorah edged No. 5 Waverly-Shell Rock for the 2024 conference title; to go with the crowning two singles and one doubles team champion.

As the postseason rolled on, the Viking boys claimed a spot at the team state tournament and sent an individual and doubles team to state. At the individual and doubles state tournament, Branum was looking to defend his title but came up short in second place and finished his high school career with a 76-4 record. The tandem of Aidan Nalean-Carlson and Liam Chamberlain came up just short of the medal round in doubles state tournament action. At the team state tournament, the Vikes concluded the season as one of the top eight teams in the state after a 5-1 loss to Xavier.

The Decorah girls’ team was also victorious as the Vikes hosted the tournament at Luther College, crowning five singles champions and a pair of double champs. In the postseason, Leitz and Huinker claimed a spot at the state doubles tournament but were eliminated early in the competition.

#7

The Decorah boys’ soccer team punched its first ticket to state since 2010 with a 3-0 home win over Central DeWitt. There was no lack of effort in 2024 as the Vikes battled Perry in the Class 2A quarterfinal, coming up short in the shootout, 4-3.

The top-ranked Viking boys’ basketball team wasn’t happy with just a share of the Northeast Iowa Conference title in 2024, they were hungry for more as they not only secured a trip to the Class 3A basketball tournament with a 69-40 win over Charles City; Decorah also earned the top seed. It was the fourth trip to the state tournament in school history and the second in three years.

After Decorah defeated Williamsburg in the quarterfinal 66-44, the record setting season came to an end for the Vikes in the Class 3A semifinal in overtime against Davenport Assumption 61-53.

The Vikes wrapped up the season with a 23-3 overall record, the most wins in program history as the first Decorah boys’ team to win a game at state.

#8

For the second straight season, the South Winn baseball team captured the Upper Iowa Conference title outright. The Warriors went on to earn their seventh state berth in 2024, the fifth in the last six years after defeating Kee in the district final and Don Bosco in the substate game. South Winn carried a 24-9 overall record into the Class 1A state tournament.

The Warriors couldn’t break the state quarterfinal curse that haunts the team as the Warriors’ season came to an end in the Class 1A state quarterfinals as Mason City’s Newman Catholic defeated South Winn 3-1 in Carroll.

#9 A year removed from both girls and boys qualifying for state, the Decorah bowling teams did it again in February of 2024. The girls also had three individual qualifiers — Karlie Einck, Anika Grinna and Jasera Tweten, while a boys’ trio of Brock Christensen, Jordan Sims and Cade Averhoff qualified as individuals.

The Decorah girls’ and boys’ bowling teams proved to fans at the state bowling tournament

why they deserved to be competing in Class 2A. The Viking boys finished third overall, while the girls came away with a fifth-place finish. Competing for the girls were Marri Feuerhelm, Rylee Averhoff, Anika Grinna, Jasera Tweten, Karlie Einck and Addison Wicklund.

Members of the boys’ squad included Tyler Novak, TJ Round, Brock Christensen, Cade Averhoff, Jordan Sims and Jace Buddenberg.

For just the third time in school history, the South Winn boys golf team headed to the Class 1A state tournament after winning the district meet at Highland Park Golf Course in Mason City. South Winn shot a 325 to win the district meet. The four Warrior sophomores led the charge as the scorers. It wasn’t the full state golf tournament experience for the 2024 South Winn boys golf team was hoping for as the thunderstorms throughout Iowa shortened the event to one day. Getting on the course at Ames Golf & Country Club the Warriors finished with a one day total of 337 in eighth place, four strokes out of fifth place in the tight Class 1A race.

#10

The Decorah boys’ swim team hit its peak with its sixth straight North Central Swim Conference title in Grinnell in February. The Vikes racked up 472.5 points to win the title over Boone who tallied 448. Outstanding performances were the norm for Decorah at the conference meet with 44 of the 46 individual swims and five of the six Viking relays posting seasonbest times and winning three events and putting 18 individuals and/ or relays on the podium with top six finishes.