Thursday, March 13, 2025
Vol. 160, Issue 11 www.decorahleader.com
Decorah, Iowa 52101 email: editor@decorahleader.com
One Section
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A test of time:
Seed Savers Exchange celebrates 50 years of sharing seeds and stories BY ZACH JENSEN, STAFF WRITER
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The organization’s original newsletter, called “The True Seed Exchange,” was first typed in 1975 and has grown into a massive telephone-booksized directory of more than 14,000 seeds from all over the country which people share and exchange. (Photo by Zach Jensen) BELOW- This aerial view shows how much Seed Savers has grown over the last 50 years. (Photo courtesy of Shawn Linehan)
eed Savers Exchange, the largest non-governmental seed bank in the United States, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Today, the exchange is located just north of Decorah. It was founded in 1975 by Diane Ott Whealy and Kent Whealy, and Seed Savers has retained what organizers there called an unwavering commitment to its mission. “For a nonprofit to survive for 50 years, a little more effort had to be done to keep that viable,” Diane said, reflecting on the past five decades since she and her then-husband founded the exchange. “A lot of nonprofits that started when we did are no longer in existence, but I think we always had a good mission that sustained us all these years.” Diane said the organization’s main priorities are to save heirloom seeds and preserve the stories associated with them. “You can’t really find fault in that,” she said. “We’re saving seeds for the future of the food source and, along with the seeds, we’re saving the stories, which bring the seeds to life. People like stories, and they help us remember the seeds. It’s hard to save something you don’t understand, so we have always tried to help people understand the importance of genetic diversity.”
Seed Savers continued on page 10
Chief Deputy Jeff Berns is retiring March 16 after serving 33 years as a Winneshiek County Sheriff’s deputy. (Photo by Zach Jensen)
Sheriff’s Office bids farewell to retiring chief deputy Berns served Winneshiek County and Decorah since 1990
BY ZACH JENSEN STAFF WRITER The Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office is losing a mentor this weekend. Chief Deputy Jeff Berns is retiring Sunday after serving Decorah and Winneshiek County for the last 35 years. “I have mixed feelings about leaving,” Berns said. “I’m excited for the additional free time and for the ability to attend family’s and friends’ events that I’ve often had to miss due to the job. I’m also a little apprehensive, because I’ve done this for twothirds of my life. I’ve spent a whole
lot of time with the people here, and they’re great people.” After earning a bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of Northern Iowa, Berns began his law enforcement career as a Decorah Police officer in 1990. Two years later, he accepted an offer from the sheriff’s office and has been a deputy ever since. Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx said he began working with Berns when Marx first started as a jailer in 1997. Over the next several
Berns continued on page 14
First phase of Heivly Street project inches closer as city prepares for traffic study Visit us online - www.decorahnewspapers.com
Local care organizations watchful as federal Medicaid cuts loom BY ZACH JENSEN STAFF WRITER A proposed budget resolution which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in late February could potentially result in more than $2 trillion being cut from fedSteve Slessor, eral Medicaid WinnMed CAO funding over
a period of approximately a decade, according to a report the U.S. Joint Economic Committee released earlier this month. The JEC — which is made up of federal lawmakers from both parties in both chambers of Congress — said, though the resolution does not include specific policies, it would require at least $1.15 trillion in federal spending cuts. “To help hit those targets, the Republican House Budget Committee laid out a menu of potential cuts, including cutting up to $2.3 trillion from Medicaid – about one third of Medicaid’s projected federal funding over that period,” the report said.
By the numbers Medicaid is a joint federal and state program established in 1965 under President Lyndon B. Johnson, which helps people with limited incomes and resources pay for medical costs, according to information from the U.S. Health and Human Services. Although most Medicaid spending provides care for the disabled and the elderly, the American Hospital Association says more than 70 million Americans nationwide — about
Medicaid
“Great rates got us the car.” “Great service keeps us coming back.”
continued on page 10
BY DENISE LANA STAFF WRITER Bid letting for the city of Decorah’s Heivly Street-College Drive traffic study is set for 9:30 a.m. March 13, with the Decorah City Council expected to consider submitted bids and potentially award a contract for the work during the council’s regular meeting at 5:45 p.m. Monday, March 17 at city hall. The traffic study is part of the much-anticipated first phase of the city’s North Alley Project, which will kick off this spring on Heivly Street and run from the Decorah Fire Station to College Drive. At a price tag of more than $2.4 million, key features of the project would see Heivly Street’s width reduced and expanded at various locations, in addition to extensive reconstruction of public utilities, the burying of overhead utilities and the renovation of the street’s intersection with River Street.
Additionally, a 10-foot-wide pedestrian track is to be installed on the northern side of Heivly, starting at the fire station and tentatively ending at College Drive. The city’s current plans call for a new, safer crosswalk to start where the track terminates at College Drive. The crosswalk would continue west across College Drive, crossing an expansion joint in the College Street bridge — the expansion joint has settled over time and developed a 4-inch gap has developed and is in need of repair. The proposed pedestrian track would meet up with a sidewalk which runs along the western side of the bridge heading north, allowing pedestrians to continue onto Trout Run Trail or move toward Luther College. There is a laundry list of issues in need of attention at the intersection of Heivly Street and College Drive,
Heivly Street project continued on page 6
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