April 6, 2023 Public Opinion

Dollar for dollar: What’s funded through city property taxes?

By Kate Klimesh

As budget discussions continue toward finalizing both city and county budgets, it is important to understand exactly what is funded through property tax dollars. Property taxes are levied by Winneshiek County, the City of Decorah, Winneshiek Medical Center, school districts and Northeast Iowa Community College. In this article, funding for the City of Decorah is highlighted to show how the property taxes paid by residents in Decorah support their city operations and services, and how that differs from business operations such as water, sewer, fiber internet and more.

Revenues collected from the city are funded by property taxes from the following levies: the General Levy, the Special Revenue Levy, the Emergency Levy and the Debt Service Levy. Other revenues do include fees and fines collected by the city, as well as payments received for business-type operations. Numbers discussed in this article are for the 2023-24 fiscal year beginning July 1, as discussed during the Monday, April 3, public hearing held prior to the regularly scheduled Decorah City Council meeting. The approved budget authorizes city staff to spend the money allocated in the budget in the next fiscal year.

The funds from the General Levy, currently at the maximum tax levy of $8.10/thousand of taxable valuation, cover a wide range of services provided to its residents: a portion of the costs

of general administration of the city (city staff wages), the cost of Public Safety services, like Police Department, Fire Department, Housing Inspections, Planning and Zoning activities and Information Technology services. In these departments, the General Levy covers expenses not met by fees and fines. Currently, the City of Decorah assesses $0.82801/thousand for liability, property and self-insurance costs in addition to the $8.10 general levy.

Public Works also comes from the General Levy, which covers expenses such as the Library, Parks and Recreation, and can include additional cultural use levies if voters so authorize by majority vote on a referendum. Currently, the City of Decorah does not utilize any other levies to fund these items. The total cost of the General Levy services totals $8.92801/thousand.

Special Revenue Levies cover city employee benefits across the board, including Police and Fire Department retirement accounts, FICA, IPERS, Health Insurance and other costs of benefits, budgeted at $1,725,603. This levy totals $4.20959/thousand for 2023-24. This levy also includes the Emergency Levy to cover any unmet expenses not otherwise funded for city operations, equal to $0.27/thousand – the current cap –for 2023-24 fiscal year. This is one of few times the

Dollar for dollar

continued on page 7

Hoppy hunting

Decorah Parks and Recreation’s annual Easter Egg Hunt was held Sunday, April 2. The Easter Bunny even made an appearance. Ten month-old Elowyn Panos, pictured here, was not sure how she felt about her encounter with the famous cottontail. She is the daughter of Casey and Brittnee Panos of Decorah.

Supervisors tackle public hearings, hear from citizens

By Kate Klimesh

Public hearings were held at the April 3 Winneshiek County Supervisors meeting with the first focused on the Maximum Tax Levy proposed by the county for fiscal year 2023-24, proposing a maximum tax levy of $8.64/thousand of taxable valuation for county property taxes.

This represents a 20-cent increase to the General Levy to $4.38/thousand, a 10-cent decrease to the Supplemental Levy to $2.31/thousand, and keeping rural levy rates consistent at $1.95/ thousand. No public comments were made, the maximum tax levy rate was approved unanimously. The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on the 2023-24 budget April 24 at 11 a.m.

The second public hearing regarding the vacation of a portion of right of way along 211th Ave. was held with no public comment. The resolution to vacate the right of way unanimously passed. It was noted it was not a lot of ground vacated, with

half-acres to two adjacent property owners, a third to another owner and even less to another.

Winneshiek County Engineer Lee Bjerke noted, “We just don’t need the width we had there anymore.”

Bjerke then reported on road matters and stated both the 175th Street “Golf Course Road” project by Calmar and demolition work on bridge 237 would begin this week. He noted the Golf Course work would start on the west end with Bjerke hopes for an August completion of the Golf Course Road project, weather permitting.

Bjerke also reported that Mitchell County may be interested in the historic Fort Atkinson bridge which is slated to be removed. The supervisors and Bjerke will discuss options and details over upcoming weeks with the interested parties before making a final determination.

Like many other supplies, Bjerke noted gravel prices look to be increasing from a high of $12.94/ton to new reports of $15/ton in neighbor-

Women’s Weekend Out 2023

The 21st annual Women’s Weekend Out brought shoppers to Decorah March 31-April 2. A full calendar of events included retail bargains throughout town. Pictured here all dressed up for Women’s Weekend Out at Donlon’s in downtown Decorah were, from left: Braunwyn Darrington, Nicole Darrington, Tammy Ihde and Jodi Brincks. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Roz Weis)

ing counties. “No matter what you do, you can’t catch up. Road funding has gone up 47 percent in 20 years, the feds helped out 61 percent more in that time, but gravel went up 258 percent. That’s the reality of it.”

Public comments

The supervisors heard from resident Claire Askelson, who was requesting more rock and attention to gravel roads than ditches as his son had a vehicle accident in February due to a long-standing severe gully on a gravel road near their home.

“If you don’t live on gravels, don’t be telling supervisors how to manage the roads,” Askelson stated.

Public comment was also heard from Shirley Vermace, who summarized various sources of support and statements of economy and beneficial outcomes of the county having an Integrative Roadside Vegetative Management Program. Vermace blamed Supervisors Vick, Kelsay and

Langreck’s actions for Cory Meyer’s voluntary termination as the county’s Roadside Manager earlier this year. She also reported that Winneshiek County had a top-tier IRVMP prior to this year, an amazing feat considering its short tenure of five years in operation.

Lastly, comments were heard from Jodi Enos-Berlage on a multi-year proposal for the lease of the approximately 10 acres on East Ridge Road owned by the county. It had been planted as seed plot for native plants for the IRVMP last year. Enos-Berlage proposed an 11-year lease to put the ground into CRP and allow the native plantings to continue to grow and stabilize the soil.

Supervisors will apply to have ground in CRP but must prepare a lease and post public notice for bids on any lease longer than three years. The issue will be addressed at the April 10 supervisors’ meeting held at 9:30 a.m., at the Courthouse Annex building.

Teacher salary talks under way

By Roz Weis

It’s the time of year when talks start about teacher pay in Decorah.

Educators in Decorah are proposing a 4.92% increase in compensation as negotiations begin for the 2023-24 school year. Contract negotiations began Tuesday between the Decorah Education Association (DEA) and the Decorah Community School District (DCSD).

The DEA proposal for the 2023-24 master agreement was outlined by Steve Peterson, faculty member at Decorah Middle School.

The proposal suggests a $600 increase in teacher salary supplement base, a $600 increase in generator base and an increase in the shadow base pay to $38,000 (from the current $36,500 base). Also proposed was an increase in the District allocation for health insurance to $674 to cover the increased cost of the lowest-cost single insurance plan. Taken together, Peterson said the changes would increase District costs approximately 4.92% over last year.

An increase in paid holidays from 3 to 6 days per academic year also was recommended, to bring the District in line with other school districts.

The DEA proposal suggested creating a joint recruitment and retention ad hoc committee to develop a multi-year plan to recruit and retain teachers in a difficult labor market.

In his remarks Tuesday afternoon, Peterson stated, “It’s been a tough year for public education. Whether the issue is school vouchers, book bans, legislation that would add days of busywork uploading course materials to databases or legislation that attacks our most vulnerable students over what kind of healthcare they can receive and where they can go to the bathroom … it’s hard being an educator in Iowa.”

Peterson continued, “In the past months, we outlined to the board how Decorah’s days of work, benefits and wages compare to other school Teacher salary talks continued on page 2

“If you don’t live on gravels, don’t be telling supervisors how to manage the roads.”

Decorah City Council April 3 meeting actions

By Denise Lana

The first reading of two ordinances amending the city’s water and sewer rates were both passed unanimously by Decorah City Council. The proposed ordinance would increase water rates by 12 percent and sewer rates by 6 percent. The city had anticipated a two-year span of 8 percent and 4 percent increases in 2022 and 2023, but a recent comparison to towns similar to Decorah showed that Decorah would need to increase its rates to maintain a budgeted level. The second reading of the ordinance will take place at the council’s April 17 meeting held at city hall at 5:45 p.m.

Mayor Lorraine Borowski declared April 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month. A representative from Decorah’s Riverview Center spoke with the council and shared the many services the center offers for victims and families of sexual assault. They offer services to anyone in need, from adults to children and LGBTQ youth. The center has three advocates and a therapist on staff, and all services are free and confidential for assault victims.

Services include legal advice and support, therapy, assistance with basic resources, emergency housing planning, transition support and financial assistance, companionship for victims going to court, food pantry resources, emergency call response and much more. The center receives support from local hotels, churches and businesses, as well as volunteers who assist with the 24/7/365 hotline, fund raising and community awareness, just to name a few. The center is located on Mill Street and can be reached by calling its confidential line 563-380-3332 or in an emergency by calling 888-557-0310.

The council held a public hearing on the proposed FY24 budget, with one comment received in writing from a Decorah resident. The budget has undergone several changes due to State File 181, which reduced residential rollback. For an indepth explanation of the entire budget, be sure to check out the property tax analysis and breakdown story in this issue.

In conformance with the newly-established Alley Assessment Policy, the council held a public hearing to discuss the

proposed assessment of houses adjacent to the 2023 alley project which encompasses alleys within the 300 and 400 blocks between Decorah and Center Avenues. The project will include resurfacing south of Center Avenue between Riverside Avenue and Second Street, and there will be more street maintenance to do while working on the alley, according to Jeremy Bril, Decorah City Engineer.

The 2023 proposed assessment will include construction of 4” asphalt alley paving 10 feet wide, a two-feet wide concrete flume, grading and rock base, concrete alley approaches and sidewalk as necessary. All adjacent property owners were notified of the proposed assessment for their part of the project, at just under $2,500 per property. Jim Hoeg of 303 Center Avenue, spoke to the council, asking, “How do we pay this, is it over a period of time? The assessment I got — the actual cost — will it be adjusted after bids come in?”

City Manager Travis Goedken addressed these questions, explaining, “Historically, you can elect to pay the full value or it can be a voluntary assessment on property taxes.”

Goedken stressed that the length of assessment has yet to be determined, as the resolution has yet to be set. City Attorney John Anderson stated that currently the assessment length is five years for non-corner lot houses, and 10 years for corner-lot homes.

A public hearing was conducted regarding a proposed amendment to the 2022 Bluffside Urban Renewal Area and was passed unanimously by the Council. As part of this hearing, the Council indicated that tax rebates are preferred incentives instead of tax abatement. As part of the tax rebate for the Bluffside URA, the plan covers the site where the Veterans Administration hospital will be constructed, as well as the public Right of Way of Bruening’s Third Addition. The cap for the tax rebates was set at $550,000 for cost reimbursement associated with the developer’s construction of public infrastructure.

Additionally, Council conducted the first reading of an Ordinance for Division of Levied Taxes on the April 2023 Addition of the 2022 Bluffside URA, with exemptions being the school’s instructional support levy, physical plant and equipment levy and all debt service levies.

Public Health Week Proclamation in Winneshiek County

Winneshiek County Supervisors unanimously approved the proclamation of April 3-9 as Public Health Services Week in Winneshiek County Monday, April 3. Public Health Services strive to improve the health of the people of the community through prevention strategies, educational campaigns and direct assistance and treatment. Working with a vast network of partners and celebrating the efforts of local Public Health organizations and staff as they continue “Centering and Celebrating Cultures in Health.” Pictured at the proclamation are Supervisors, Luther College Student Nurses and Winneshiek County Public Health representatives: (l-r) Mark Vick, Emma Lichte, Jaimie Wagner, Steve Kelsay, Shakira Herrera, Kaylee Waterhouse, Rainey Baker, Krista Vanden Brink, Lars Marquardt, Shirley Vermace, Mark Faldet and Dan Langreck.

Seed Savers Exchange launches ‘First Fridays’ talk series at Heritage Farm

Starting seeds is both fun and easy! In fact, anyone can do it with a bit of time and a little technical know-how. Learn how to start seeds successfully from Seed Savers Exchange Executive Director Mike Bollinger on Friday, April 7, at the Lillian Goldman Visitors Center at Heritage Farm located at 3074 North Winn Road in rural Decorah.

Bollinger’s 30-minute talk begins at 3:30 p.m., and is part of the “First Fridays” monthly series that will run thru October (except in May) at Heritage Farm, Seed Savers Exchange’s 890-acre headquarters.

Talks are free and open to the public; no registration is re-

Teacher salary talks continued from front districts. We identified the challenge Decorah Schools face in recruiting and retaining teachers. As you can see from our proposal, our financial goal is to narrow the base pay gap we have with our peers, which would help with recruitment and retention. Additionally, we relish the opportunity to engage in productive conversations about how to move forward in future years.”

DCSD Superintendent Tim Cronin and DCSD Board Member Ben Lange acknowledged the initial proposal from the DEA. A response to the DEA’s proposal will continue during negotiations scheduled for Thursday, April 13, at 3:45 p.m., in the Central Administration Office.

quired.

Upcoming “First Fridays” topics include:

June 2: The Preservation Garden at Heritage Farm

July 7: Heritage Farm’s Ancient White Park Cattle

August 4: History of Heritage

Farm

September 1: Apple orchards at Heritage Farm

October 6: Community Seed Network (resources for saving and sharing seeds)

The Lillian Goldman Visitors Center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily from March through October. Heritage Farm’s trails, gardens and trout streams are open to the public year-round, sunrise to sunset.

Yard waste site keys available at City Hall

The City of Decorah is announcing that starting on Friday, April 7, keys will be available for residents who want to access the City’s Yard Waste Site. Keys must be checked out from City Hall. City Hall is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please note that City Hall will be closing Friday, April 7, at 11:30 a.m.

The City is expecting to have set open hours for the Yard Waste Site starting sometime within the next few weeks.

As a reminder, any yard waste that is deposited at the Yard Waste Site must originate from within the Decorah City Limits.

A letter to the Decorah City Council

Changes need to be made in regard to your budget proposals:

1. Salaries should be frozen, but Decorah should offer outstanding health benefits. No terminations should occur due to staffing numbers. If terminations should occur due to the need to reduce staff, that is the result of poor planning.

Holy Week schedules

The Holy Week service schedules submitted from area churches are as follows:

St. Benedict Parish, Decorah: Holy Thursday 7 p.m., Good Friday 12:00 p.m., Easter Vigil Saturday 8:30 p.m. and Easter Sunday 7:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Decorah: Maundy Thursday, 7 p.m.; Good Friday, Stations of the Cross, all day, Jazz Worship 7 p.m. Easter Vigil Saturday at 7 p.m. Easter Sunday 9:30 a.m. Washington Prairie Lutheran Church: Maundy Thursday 5:30 p.m., Good Friday 5:30 p.m., Easter Sunday 10 a.m.

First Lutheran Church, Decorah: Maundy Thursday, 5:30 p.m. Lord’s Supper with first communion celebration and meal, 7 p.m. Maundy Thursday Holy Communion with Bell Choir. Good Friday, Passion of Jesus Christ with hymns and Adult Choir, 7 p.m. Holy Saturday, Easter Jam Kids Party 4 p.m. 7 p.m. Easter Vigil at Good Shepherd Lutheran. Easter Sunday, 8:30 and 10 a.m. Festival Worship with choirs, bells and brass.

Chamber Ambassadors: Adam Baker (Paul Hudson State Farm), Tade Kerndt (Viking Realtors), Joe Hammel (Hammel Jewelers), Joanie Rollins (AJ Realty, Inc.), Tara McConnell (Serenity Fitness), Holly Allen (Decorah

2. A moratorium on hiring should take effect immediately.

3. Elected officials should relinquish their stipends.

4. For the time being, all

newly-developed department programs and projects should be suspended or cancelled.

5. When the city works with other Decorah elected and non-elected boards, the council must be cognizant of the need to be resourceful. The City Council should consider the future of all of Decorah before giving away or selling assets. For example, there have been talks about the school obtaining part of the tennis court owned by Decorah. If and when the tennis court is no longer owned by

Decorah, it could mean Parks and Recreation would be financially responsible for funding a new court. Since they are funded by taxpayers, taxpayers lose in such a negotiation. In another example since a large amount of taxpayer money is allotted to Decorah Schools, questions surface as to how much money was lost when Decorah Schools sold North Winn.

6. There is a limited shelf life when raising taxes. Decorah can be progressive without going into debt. The city council must be resourceful and consider the needs of all of Decorah. Research is needed.

Laurie Worcester, Decorah

SATURDAY, APRIL 8 - 8:30 a.m. Collectible and Household. Sale located at Sweeney Auction Center, 1240 Rossville Rd., Waukon. Sweeney Auction Service. www.sweeneyauctionservice.com Waukon, Ia 563568-2464.

SATURDAY, APRIL 22Upcoming machinery consignment auction. Machinery wanted! Davis Corners Auction Service, Dan Hershberger 319240-9984 or Sam Hershberger 641-430-3593. www.daviscornersauction.com

Bank & Trust Co.), and Zachary Shearer (Edward Jones)

James White

James Lee White, 76, of Ridgeway, passed away Friday March 31, 2023, at his home.

James “Jim”, son of Charles and Velma (Bland) White, was born in Cresco on Sept. 8, 1946. He graduated from Crestwood High School in 1964.

James White

After graduating high school he worked as a farmhand on Hurst farms and tried an apprenticeship in carpentry. Jim soon realized that he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become an auto mechanic. He went on to run his own gas station, Jim’s DX in Cresco.

Jim also worked for the Howard-Winneshiek School District driving buses, working as a mechanic and later on became a bus dispatcher. He later went on to work at Stapelkamp’s Stoplight Standard gas station as a mechanic. In the early 90s Jim began working for the Winneshiek Co-Op as a mechanic and sprayer. He spent most of his time at the Burr Oak location and he later retired in 2008.

Throughout his work life as a mechanic, Jim developed his love and passion for farming. Jim took extra time and care to tend to his fields. He enjoyed driving his tractors. His love for John Deere ran deep, if it wasn’t green and yellow, it wasn’t worth your time or money. His devotion for green and yellow

Francis O’Regan

Francis J. O’Regan 88, of Waukon, died Friday, March 31, 2023, at Green Lea Care Center in Mabel, Minnesota.

Francis

carried on into his love for the Green Bay Packers. Closely following the Packer’s success each season.

Jim enjoyed many things in life, at a young age he was hooked on racing. Whether it was drag racing or driving a stock car, he earned numerous trophies. Jim also enjoyed the challenge of building better and faster cars. All of his life, he was a die-hard Chevrolet fan!

He loved spending his time outdoors; he enjoyed hunting and fishing, especially with friends. Throughout his whole life, Jim enjoyed listening to classic rock. With new technology, it made it easy for him to listen to the music that he loved and it brought him joy every day.

During recent years, he truly appreciated all of his friends that came to visit him at his home.

Jim is survived by his daughter Melissa (Steve) Jensen of Cresco; grandchildren: Breannah (Mike) Jensen of Cresco, Nicole Jensen of Waucoma, and Joshua Jensen of Cresco; great-grandchildren Sophia and Emmalynn McIntyre; along with many cousins, extended family and dear friends.

Jim was preceded in death by his father, Charles White; mother, Velma (Bland) White; and his best friend and beloved dog, Buddy.

Family and friends are welcome to call Monday, April 10, from 4 to 6:30 p.m., at the Lindstrom Funeral Home in Cresco. A prayer service will follow at 6:30 p.m.

Obituaries

Reverend Monsignor Cletus J. Hawes

Reverend Monsignor Cletus

J. Hawes, 96, of Wexford, rural Lansing, died Saturday, April 1, 2023, at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Reverend Monsignor

Cletus J. Hawes

Cletus J. Hawes was born in Wexford on March 28, 1927, the son of John and Ellen (Conway) Hawes. He attended the one room Wexford rural school through eighth grade, graduated from Immaculate Conception High School in Lansing in 1944, Loras College in Dubuque in 1948 and St. Mary’s Seminary University in Baltimore, M.D., in 1952. He was ordained into the priesthood on April 26, 1952, in Dubuque.

Msgr. Hawes served as a parish priest, pastor and administrator all the years of his priesthood and worked in Catholic schools as a teacher, coach, counselor and administrator. He was often referred to as a workaholic and was a keen problem solver and community builder. His assignments included: St. Joseph Church and School in Elkader (1952-57); St. Columbkille Church and School in Dubuque (1957-62); Walhert High School (1960-62); St. Mary Church and School in Cascade and Aquin High School (1962-67); St. Bridget Church in Postville (1967-72); De Sales High School in Ossian (1967-

(Lindsay) O’Regan of Hudson;

69); St. Patrick High School in Waukon (1970-71); Visitation Church and School in Stacyville (1972-76); St. Joseph Church in Bellevue, coordinator for Marquette High School, and dean of the Bellevue Deanery (1976-87); St. Donatus in 1980 and 1984; St. Peter, Sabula, and Sacred Heart in Green Island (1981); Holy Rosary in LaMotte (1982); St. Catherine (1986); St. Nicholas Church in Evansdale and coordinator at St. John-St. Nicholas School (1987-99); St. Francis De Sales in Ossian, Our Lady of Seven Dolors in Festina, De Sales School, and CFS School (1999-2015); and St. Patrick in Waukon, St. Mary’s in Dorchester and St. Mary’s Hanover (2015-16).

Mgsr. Hawes was very active throughout his life in the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women (ACCW) and was a Faithful Friar of the Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus. He retired from his priestly assignments in 2016, and moved back to Wexford, living with his brothers Cyril and Fr. Donald on the farm where he was raised.

Until the end he remained active in the parish of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Wexford.

His father died when Msgr. Hawes was only eight years old, and he took the responsibility of being the big brother seriously. He set the spiritual example for his brothers and sisters and was always quick to provide love and support to those who needed him.

He was an enthusiastic card player, especially the Sunday night games of 500 with his brothers and neighbors. Having grown up on the farm, he had many activities that kept him outdoors, including fishing and hunting. In the summer, you could almost always find him in the garden growing vegetables. Msgr. Hawes was a fearless and avid traveler, having traveled to six of the seven continents. He loved to share his travel experiences with stories of his adventures and later by organizing trips with friends and family. In this way he could share his favorite pastimes with those people who were important to him. He is survived by his brothers: Father Donald Hawes and Cyril Hawes; nephews and nieces: Chris (Angelina) Hawes, Shawn (Matt) Hartung, Cheryl Nordlander, Valerie (Jeff) Foster, Michelle (Paul Sum) Rydz, Maureen (Paul) Bigelow, Brenda (Mark) Hostager, Michael

(Gail) Hawes, Brian (Allison) Hawes, and Tom Hawes and their families; a large extended family; and many friends.

He was preceded in death by parents, John and Ellen; two sisters: Sister Therese Marie Hawes (PBVM) and Alice Rydz and her husband Robert; brother, Gerald Hawes and his wives Mary and Jane; and grandniece, Nicole Nordlander.

A funeral mass was held Wednesday, April 5, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Wexford with Archbishop Michael O. Jackels officiating and burial in the church cemetery.

Casketbearers were Jeff and Matthew Foster, John and Pat O’Neill, Shane Gavin and Ray Wagner.

Online condolences may be left at www.martinfunerals. com.

Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon handled arrangements.

Service Notices

GLORIA WHITNEY, 97, of Decorah, passed away on Saturday, April 1, 2023, at Wellington Place in Decorah. Funeral services were held Thursday, April 6, at Decorah Lutheran Church with Rev. Peter Kowitz presiding. Burial was in the Burr Oak Cemetery.

JANNAN MALANAPHY, 92, of Decorah, passed away on Friday, March 31, 2023, at Wellington Place in Decorah. Mass of Christian burial will be held Tuesday, April 11, at 11 a.m., at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Decorah with Rev. Donald Hertges presiding. Burial will be in the St. Benedict Cemetery. Visitation will be held Monday, April 10, from 3 to 7 p.m., at the St. Benedict Catholic Church and one hour before the service on Tuesday. A rosary will be held Monday at the church at 2:30 p.m.

Francis O’Regan

James O’Regan was born on May 12, 1934, in Waukon, the son of Maurice James and Mary (Bresnahan) O’Regan.

He graduated from St. Patrick Catholic High School in Waukon. Francis served in the U.S Army from 1956 to 1958.

On Oct. 4, 1958, Francis married Leona Mary Franzen at St. Mary’s Hanover Catholic Church in rural Waukon. They farmed near Waucoma from 1969 until 1998 when they moved to Waukon. Francis and Leona were blessed with seven children: six boys and one girl. Their family had many adventurous road trips and always had a sit-down dinner at their family table every night, where stories of the day were told and delicious food was served.

The story of Francis and Leona goes that Francis first sighted Leona in the Catholic Witness Newspaper, where her

Dennis Zidlicky

Dennis Lee Zidlicky, 74, of Decorah, died on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at Gundersen

Health Systems in La Crosse, Wis.

Dennis Lee

Zidlicky was born on Feb. 11, 1949, to Arthur and Gatriel (Thompson)

Dennis Zidlicky

Zidlicky in Nevada, Iowa. He graduated from Cresco High School in 1967. In 1970 he married the love of his life, Donna (Moe) Zidlicky. To this union, two sons were born: Dean and Don. In his early years, Dennis worked for Camcar and Marigold, but his true passion was farming. Dennis and Donna went on to farm together for 35 years near Ridgeway, Waukon and Highlandville. He also worked for Holden Farms in their hog buildings.

Dennis liked to keep busy, so after his farming years he worked for Winneshiek Medical Center as a janitor, Gemini, Oneota Eye Clinic as a janitor, and most recently, people

picture was displayed for being valedictorian of her high school class. He vowed he was going to marry that girl one day and as fate had it, he met beautiful Leona Franzen and they were married for 59 years until Leona passed to heaven on Oct. 21, 2017.

Francis was a great baseball pitcher in his day; legend has it, he hit the longest homerun in Waukon to date. He was a Little League coach, a faithful man who took his family to church religiously, a life-long farmer, a proud employee of John Deere in Waterloo for 28.5 years, a hunter who would never shoot a pheasant because he thought they were a beautiful bird, a seasoned pool player and mentor of the game, a brilliant storyteller, a lover of music and live shows, an accomplished numismatist, and most of all, was a loving husband to Leona and an inspirational father who loved his children dearly.

Survivors include his daughter and his six sons: Katie O’Regan of Waukon, Patrick (Amy)

O’Regan of Decorah, Michael (Wanda) O’Regan of Leland, Ill., Kenneth O’Regan of Saratoga, Donald (Lisa) O’Regan of Madison Heights, Va., Dean

O’Regan of Waukon, and James

remember him as the Thrifty White Pharmacy delivery man. Many of his delivery spots could count on him to include a few chocolates along with whatever he was dropping off.

Dennis will be remembered as a kind and gentle soul. He would go the extra mile to make someone smile and loved to “give people a hard time” with his humor and would just take “a minute” of your time to tell you a good story. He could talk about his flowers and gardens for hours, and enjoyed puttering around the house with projects, housekeeping, cooking and watching the Iowa State Cyclones. Dennis loved supporting his boys and grandchildren at all their activities. He loved his family very much, and they loved him more.

Dennis will be greatly missed by the many family, friends and community members whose lives he touched.

Dennis is survived by his wife of 53 years, Donna (Moe) Zidlicky; two sons: Dean (Casey) Zidlicky of Minnesota City, Minn., and Don (Karrie) Zidlicky of Lansing; grand-

grandchildren: Molly (David), Brian, Bridget (Cody), Darcy, Clairissa, Mitchel, Shawn, Jasonlee, Rachel, Sam, Reilley, Shane, Elise, and Cael O’Regan and Nick Decker; two great-grandchildren: Wells and Hayes; siblings: Timothy (Donna) O’Regan, Maureen Mellady, Dr. Thomas (Suzanne) O’Regan and Joanne Liddiard; and brothers-in-law: Kenneth Franzen of Apple Valley, Minn., and Donald (Elsa) Franzen of La Crosse, Wis.

He was preceded in death by his parents and sisters and brothers-in-law: Meredith O’Regan, Phillip Liddiard, MaryJane Franzen, Stan Franzen and Wilma Franzen.

Honorary casketbearers are Francis’s grandchildren. Casketbearers are Francis’s six sons.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday, April 11, at 11 a.m., at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon with Fr. John Moser officiating. Burial with military honors will be held at St. Mary’s Hanover Cemetery, rural Waukon.

Friends may greet the family Monday, April 10, from 4 to 8 p.m., at St. Patrick Catholic Church, where there will be a

children: Colin Zidlicky (fiancé Jeff Holt), Cody Zidlicky (fiancé Cassey Urell), Carter Zidlicky (girlfriend Jaydon Snitker); special family: Kevin Anderson of Festina, and Alyssa (Brent) Troyer of Columbus, Ohio; siblings: Mary (Ron) Oyloe of Decorah, Gary (Marla) Zidlicky of Decorah, Dave (Bonnie) Zidlicky of Ridgeway, John (Joan) Zidlicky of Spillville, and Alan (Bill) Zidlicky of Iron River, Wis. brothers and sisters-in-law: Marilyn Sensor, Decorah, JoAn Headington, Waverly, Sharon Cook, Waterloo, Dale (Joan) Moe, Eau Claire, Wis., and Arlyn Moe (Pam Pahl), Decorah; as well as many nieces and nephews.

Dennis is preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and Gatriel Zidlicky; father and mother-in-law, Earl and Marjorie (Bakkum) Moe; brothers-inlaw, Chuck Sensor and Bill Cook; and nephew, Matthew Oyloe.

Funeral services were held Saturday, April 1, at the Washington Prairie Lutheran Church in rural Decorah with Rev. Jennifer Edinger presiding.

3:15 p.m. Rosary and Scripture Service.

Online condolences may be left at www.martinfunerals. com.

Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling the arrangements.

Ribbon Cutting Celebration!

Congratulations

Chamber Ambassadors joined owner Stephanie Martin to celebrate this milestone.

Owner Stephanie Martin with Chamber Ambassadors Dallas Ste en, Adam Baker, Holly Allen, Tara McConnell, Tade Kerndt, Amanda Kupka, Maureen Duncklee, Lashelle Evans and Nicholas Engrav.

DECORAH CITYWIDE GARAGE SALE

Ridgeway Easter Egg Hunt April 8

The Lincoln Leader 4-H Club will host an Easter Egg Hunt Saturday, April 8, at 10 a.m., at Ridgeway Ball Field Park.

Children ages birth through sixth grade are welcome to attend the egg hunt followed by games, activities, face painting and a bouncy house. At 11 a.m., pizza and ice cream will be served.

HOP ON OVER! Little Bunny Breakfast at The Landing Market

Saturday, April 8

9-11AM

• Funfetti Bunny Pancakes

• Easter Crafts

• Bunny Gift Bags

• Ronnie’s Rolls

Women’s Weekend Out

$400

The 21st annual Women’s Weekend Out brought shoppers to Decorah March 31-April

2. This group at Agora Arts returns nearly every year for Women’s Weekend Out. From left: Kristin Murawski, Kristin Feely and Laurie Van Den Broeke. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Roz Weis)

PUBLIC HEALTH

WEEK

APRIL 3-9 IS NATIONAL Centering and Celebrating Cultures in Health

Join us in recognizing contributions of public health in improving the health of people of the US and achieve health equity:

· Many of the leading causes of death for individuals is from chronic conditions

· Significant differences in the health status of individuals living in the healthiest states and those living the least healthiest states

· Public health organizations use this week to educate public policymakers on issues that are important to improving the health of the population

· Vaccination is one of the most significant public health achievements in history and has decreased the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths associated with vaccine-preventable diseases;

· Public health helps communities prevent, prepare for, mitigate and recover from disease outbreaks, natural disasters such as flooding and severe storms, and other public health emergencies

305 Montgomery St., Decorah 563-382-4662

Roomba Races were held at Agora Arts on Friday night.

A full calendar of events included retail bargains throughout town, line dancing, spring brunch events, a Saturday morning style show, comedy shows, a drag show, market and food fair, cocktail class, craft and vendor show, morning meditations and yoga, live music, a barn quilt workshop and more. Denise Lana of Decorah served up her Plum Delicious sweets at Sparrow’s in downtown Decorah Saturday.

Joan Tupy from J. Tupy’s on Water Street in downtown Decorah decorated with festive balloons for the shop and for the Saturday morning style show brunch.

Toys Go ‘Round seeks items for garage sale fundraiser

Toys Go ‘Round is hosting a fundraising garage sale during the Decorah City Wide Garage Sales the weekend of April 21. The toy library is seeking donations of gently-used toys, games, puzzles or children’s books to be sold at the fundraising sale. Car seats or other large items will not be accepted. Proceeds will go towards general operational expenses.

Toys may be dropped off at the toy library located at 607 Washington Street in Decorah, on Wednesdays or Thursdays between 3:30-6:30 p.m. The toy library will also accept monetary donations. For more information, contact Kathy at 563-419-9119.

Storlie to discuss DNA testing at April 24 meeting

The Decorah Genealogy Association will host Dr. Johnathan Storlie of Decorah for its monthly membership meeting Monday, April 24, at 7 p.m., at the Decorah VFW located at 104 State Street.

Storlie will discuss DNA testing, using DNA test results for genealogy research and the Genetics Ancestry Program at the Giants of the Earth Heritage Center in Spring Grove, Minn., where he serves as a genetic genealogist. Storlie will speak for about 45 minutes and will then be available to answer questions. The public is encouraged to attend. There is no admission fee but donations are welcome. Refreshments will be served. Contact decorahgenealogyassociation@ gmail.com for more information.

Luther College raises $1.1 Million in support of students on Giving Day

Luther College’s eighth annual Giving Day campaign was a “gnome-run” after raising more than $1.1 million dollars to support students.

“We are incredibly grateful to the generous donors who supported Luther on this day,” said President Jenifer K. Ward.

“I also want to give a heartfelt thank you to our dedicated team of ‘gnomes’ who worked tirelessly leading up to and on the day of the event — and who were inspired by the sto-

Winneshiek County Dairy producers honored

Receiving the Distinguished Dairy Family award at Saturday’s 60th Annual Winneshiek County Dairy Banquet was Einck Dairy. Pictured receiving the award are (l-r) Logan Einck, Mike Einck, Chris Heins and Mason Heins.

ries that accompanied the gifts flowing in. It was truly a day on which the impact of a Luther education was on display, over generations and across the miles.”

On Sunday, March 9, people from all 50 states showed their support of the college with more than 1,500 gifts totaling $1,100,901. These donations to the Luther Fund support students in many impactful ways. From scholarships to textbooks to off-campus study, it makes

student learning possible. From student organizations to volunteer opportunities, it creates experiences that shape college students into active, engaged citizens. From campus improvements to landscaping, it ensures that students live in a safe and beautiful place that they’ll be eager to return to as alumni.

Mark the calendar as Giving Day 2024 is set for Thursday, March 7.

The Distinguished Service Award went to Mark and Diane Schmitt at the annual Winneshiek County Dairy Banquet Saturday night, April 1, in Festina.

Presented with the Outstanding Young Dairy Producer awards Saturday were Josh Mashek (left) and Tanner Mashek. Tanner Mashek also accepted the Most Improved Herd award at the Winneshiek County Dairy Banquet for his parents, Dennis and Barb Mashek.

Sylvia Sandhorst

Sylvia Sandhorst is a senior violinist. Orchestra director Nicole Cody says, “Sylvia is a hard worker and she is always willing to help out when she can. I will pass her in the hallway, despite having a long list of things she could be working on, she is always helping someone out. She is such a positive influence on the orchestra.” Sylvia is also involved in Speech, Choir, Cross Country, Soccer, Envirothon, and Music Listening Team. She is the daughter of Rachel

Ramsey Zilka

Ramsey Zilka is also a senior violinist, who Mrs. Cody says “has grown so much over her four years in high school--in musicality and skill. She is a quiet leader in the ensemble and her small groups. She is trustworthy, hard working and so musically thoughtful.” Ramsey is also involved in Speech, Cross Country and Music Listening Team. She is the daughter of Jes & Keith Zilka.

Michael Njus

Michael Njus is a senior tenor in the Choir. Director Jason Rausch says “Michael has a joyful and contagious love of singing. Recently he has been busy preparing for solo and small ensemble festival with a variety of singing friends in duets, a trio, a quartet, and several larger groups. For many of these groups he sought out the singers to form these ensembles. Outside of scheduled teacher-led rehearsals, Michael also coordinated additional practices to make the best performances possible. In class, he is a proud, active leader and advocate of the tenor section.” Michael is also involved with Madrigal Singers, All-State Chorus, fall musical/variety show, large group and individual speech, band, National Honor Society, and tennis. He is the son

Winneshiek County Kwik Stars were honored as the Dairy Promoters of the Year. Representing the businesses are (l-r) Dana Stendel, Tom Wagner and Jeni Svestka. Not pictured was Barb Strong.

For the third year in a row, Doug Lyons was the recipient of the Outstanding Low Somatic Cell award at the Winneshiek County Dairy Banquet held Saturday in Festina.

The Outstanding Dairy Employee plaque was presented to Ben Guevara who is employed by Foresight Farms LLC.

Steve Einck received the Pioneer Dairy Producer Award at the Winneshiek County Dairy Banquet.

Crowned as the new royalty for 2023 are (front, l-r) Little Miss Squirt Emerson Wemark, Little Miss Squirt Claire Elsbernd; (back) Dairy Princess Kendra Elsbernd and Alternate Dairy Princess Avery Humpal. (Driftless Multimedia photos by Becky Walz)

Angie Reynolds, 85, passed away Feb. 3, 2023, of old age. She was at home, surrounded by family and peacefully drifted away.

Angie was born on May 30, 1937, to Burt and Elsie Henning in Decorah. She was named Sarah Angeline after her great grandmother who was born May 30, 1854, but always went by Angie. She was very close with her Henning grandparents and took piano lessons from Grandmother Henning starting at an early age. In high school she walked to their house before school to practice the violin. Her interest in music continued and she played the violin in the orchestra, French horn in the band and sang in chorus and other ensembles while she was in high school. Other interests that were nurtured by her grandmother that continued her whole life were birdwatching, gardening, painting and pen-and-ink-drawing, particularly of plants and flowers.

Angie went to Cornell College in Mount Vernon, and graduated with a degree in vocal performance in 1959. She knew it would have been more practical to study music education, but she had no interest in being a teacher. She also knew she was not going to be a professional vocalist. After graduating she had no firm plans so she followed her college voice teacher to New York City and got a job working for Doubleday Publishing as a secretary. After she’d been there for several months, she met a young salesman who had been working out of town for the summer. She thought he was a good-looking fellow and when she found out he was a tenor, studying opera, she knew he was the man for her.

Angie Henning married Darrell Reynolds on Dec. 29, 1960, in Decorah. Darrell continued to work for Doubleday but he

Dollar for dollar

city has elected to utilize the Emergency Levy.

The Debt Service Levy for the City of Decorah is set at $2.94677/thousand, and according to Decorah City Manager Travis Goedken, this can be one of the most volatile levies to plan for. For the FY 202324, the Decorah City Council has authorized a portion of the Local Option Sales and Service Tax (LOSST) revenues to help pay down $125,000 of debt on the Locust Road project, which was due for its first principal and interest payment in this past year, which is why the Debt Levy shows a $0.40/thousand increase over prior years to a total of $1,151,999.

The city had refinanced the debt when interest rates were low, in efforts to curb tax dollars going toward interest payments.

Paying down the Locust Road debt with LOSST funds kept property taxes from being raised to cover that debt even further.

LOSST tax revenues to the City of Decorah must be used for street maintenance and repair per city ordinance, which does include the salary of the office of the City Engineer whose focus is strictly on roads and streets.

Other past projects included in the Debt Service Levy include the airport driveway project from 2018, as well as the Gundersen Health System helicopter hangar project of 2018, the remainder of the 2014 Highway 9 road project and the Locust Road Project completed in 2022.

More detail

Of the General Fund tax revenue, totaling a conservative budgeted $3,449,532, Public Safety, which is Police (budgeted $1,473,700) and Fire Department ($400,645 budgeted), account for a total of $1,874,35 – or 54 percent of the general fund. Roads, airport and public works account for 10.7 percent of the General Fund budget, with the exception of an additional $1,500,000 budgeted (from restricted funds) for cap-

wanted to go west and was transferred to Portland, Ore. While living in Portland, Angie and Darrell had two children. Jessie was born on their first anniversary and Angus followed in 1963.

Darrell grew up in Alaska and became interested in dog sled mushing while living in Oregon which eventually led to moving to Alaska in 1964. Their first home was in Cantwell, Alaska, a small village in the shadow of Denali (Mt. McKinley) on the railroad. Even though living in rural Alaska was very different from her life growing up in small-town Iowa, she adapted very well and learned many new skills needed in Frontier Alaska. She made homemade bread, and was a very good cook, especially considering some groceries were in short supply, like produce and dairy. Darrell and Angie moved to Anchorage and had two more children in 1968 and 1970, Tobias and Carrie. Darrell acquired more dogs, mostly Siberian Huskies, and established Kossa Kennel at their home. Angie was not interested in being a dog musher, but she started showing the huskies at dog shows, along with some of the Newfoundland dogs the family had as pets. In the late 1960s and 1970s Angie was very active with the Siberian Husky Club in Alaska and the Alaska Sled Dog Racing Association, supporting Darrell with his Iditarod dreams.

After her youngest child started school, Angie got a job working for the Book Cache, which she enjoyed very much, being a lifelong voracious reader. The family briefly moved to Wyoming from 1978 to 1982 where Angie and Darrell tried their hand at being business owners, purchasing The Gift Box, a Hallmark store. The local economy tanked in early 1981, so by 1982 they were back in Alaska. Angie was rehired by the Book Cache and worked as a bookstore manager for the rest of the time she was in Alaska. In 1984 Darrell died suddenly while training for the Iditarod. Angie had two kids in high school at the time and wasn’t sure what the future

ital improvement of the airport facilities from an awarded ECHO grant.

Culture and recreation services – paid in part by property taxes – includes the library ($677,020 budgeted for 2024), parks ($499,338 for 2024), recreation ($297,008), campgrounds ($340,378), swimming pool ($276,460), tree plantings ($28,000), zoning administration and trail maintenance and repair. This section is budgeted for a total of $2,466,187, or 71 percent of the total General Fund budgeted revenues. While this may seem odd, many of the operations in Public Works – library, chamber, WCEDT, campgrounds, swimming pool and parks and recreation departments – have the ability to receive a portion of their annual revenue through memberships, fees and donations. The funding coming from the general budget is to offset any funding not secured through the other various revenue lines.

Other tax revenues

LOSST revenues are also not as straight-forward as they seem. All LOSST revenues are turned in to the Iowa Department of Revenue and are then redistributed throughout the county on a per capita basis. Each city or town determines their own use of LOSST funds per voter-approved referendum.

LOSST funds added up to approximately $873,000 in 2022. Also contributing to street maintenance and repairs is the Gas Franchise Fee – paid on Black Hills gas bills – is used to fund sidewalk maintenance and repair, budgeted at $55,000 for the 2023-24 year. The Alliant Energy Franchise Fee offsets salaries in the Engineers Office to the amount of $58,075 and street expenses of $71,600 for the year in addition to paying the City Forester’s salary, again paid through users’ Alliant Energy bills. For 2023-24, the Alliant Franchise Fee is budgeted at $270,000.

A portion of franchise fees

would bring. She stayed until 1988, when her youngest graduated, and then moved back to Decorah.

After returning to Iowa, Angie was employed by Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in a variety of roles, including gift shop clerk, development staff, archive assistant, education coordinator and much more. In her free time she volunteered in local schools, dressing up as book characters and reading to the students and making presentations about living in Alaska and dog mushing. She became active in music and theater again. She performed in many New Minowa Players shows in the chorus and also in the chorus of several Dorian Opera Theater productions at Luther College. For a short time she was the director of the Farm Bureau Women’s Chorus, and sang in Northern Lights, a local women’s chorus. She was the Church Choir director at Decorah Congregational UCC for almost 20 years, rousing a small group (usually less than 15) to many stirring performances over the years, including a lot of gospel, a little Hank Williams, a Beatles themed Sunday service and the music of Bob Marley.

As she aged, she suffered from reduced mobility, until she was entirely wheelchair-dependent. She was able to live independently thanks to the local Hometown Taxi drivers, who delivered her groceries weekly and made sure she was able to get to appointments safely. Even when she didn’t go anywhere but funerals and the doctor, she still got together with her “Birthday Girls” Ruth Bruce, Carole Fox and Joyce Epperly. They were a small group of friends who met five times a year for a birthday luncheon for each and a small Christmas party. Their friendship meant a lot to Angie.

Angie had one final adventure in her life, when she moved to Chama, N.M., in 2021, accompanied by her three youngest children and her grandson. She wasn’t sure about the move but she didn’t want to be left behind

continued from front

are often passed through as an added charge on a person’s utility bill, that is paid to the utility, then gets paid back to the city as revenue.

Road Use Tax Fund (RUTF) is spent on the city’s road crew salaries, street maintenance and upkeep of the roads, including up to $132,000 in Capital Equipment purchases. The FY2023-24 budget is estimated to be $1,262152 in Road Use Tax Funds distributed to the city from the State of Iowa.

The city has $250,000 budgeted from the American Rescue Plan Act funding to be spent in 2023-24 for predetermined projects.

Hotel/Motel Tax Funds state they must be used at least 50 percent toward tourism-related expenses, with 50 percent for use per city discretion. This tax revenue should provide $278,000 for trail repair and maintenance, and $125,000 (down $10,000 from FY 2022-23) for both the Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce and Winneshiek County Tourism combined. These funds are fiscally managed and payment directed by the Hotel/Motel Steering Committee. The city has directly assigned $225,000 in Hotel/Motel funds to Parks and Recreation, and $150,000 to Decorah Jobs to encourage movement into the city for residents and businesses. In FY 2023-24, $1,2000,000 is budgeted for total Hotel/Motel tax revenues to the city.

Business-type operationbudgets are offset by revenues and are not funded by property tax dollars. They must support themselves, which is why not raising rates over an extended period of time can lead to not only a deficit, but to the inability to repair/replace utility systems as the need arises.

Other tax levying authorities, which will be covered in more detail in upcoming articles, include the county, the hospital, schools and community colleges. Each of these entities can levy taxes on a home or business taxable valuation.

and her kids were glad to have her there. It was particularly nice having her “boys” Angus and Tobias living next door. She had only seen them on vacations every few years for the last 30 years and she enjoyed seeing them more regularly.

Angie was a lifelong member of Decorah Congregational Church, later called UCC, P.E.O and D.A.R. She remained close with many of her high school classmates and after she returned to Decorah, she got to know some that she’d only been acquainted with before. Angie remained single following her husband’s death. She said she enjoyed her independence and Darrell was one-of-a-kind and she was lucky for the time they had together. She was a good friend to all and enjoyed vacationing with friends while she was still able.

She was a very good mother, and much-loved by all of her children. She made Halloween costumes and holiday decorations by hand. Every year in February she made Valentines with the kids. She encouraged them to take music and dance classes and participate in sports and theater. She said she was blessed with a very happy childhood and wanted her kids to have the same.

Angie is survived by her brothers Dale Henning (Barbara Beving Henning), Darrell Henning (Terry Sparkes) and Tom Henning (Lois Beitland Henning); sister-in-law, Cora Sue Dickson; children: Jessie Reynolds, Angus Reynolds, Tobias Reynolds and Carrie Reynolds; grandchildren: Angela Berry, Autumn Burns, and LaQuin Reynolds-Dunlap; and great-grandchildren: Griffin, Amelia and Liam Lewis; and many nieces, nephews and friends in Alaska, Iowa and across the country.

Angie was preceded in death by her parents, Elsie Beagle Henning (Davis) and Burt Thurber Henning; her husband, Darrell Eugene Reynolds; sister, Kay Janice Green (Dr. Edward Green); sister-in-law, Rosemary (Newell) Henning; and nieces Lisa Heverling and Angie Green.

There will be a memorial service held in Decorah on Saturday April 29, 2023, with more details to follow. Memorial funds will be donated to La Clinica Del Pueblo Ambulance Service.

Wanted to Buy

Real Estate Miscellaneous

Angie Reynolds

Coming up in varsity sports

Viking boys second, SW seventh at DHS Early Bird

Decorah Early Bird Team scores 1. Mason City 146; 2. Decorah 145; 3. Clear Lake 125; 4. Waukon; 5. New Hampton 49; 6. MFL MarMac 46; 7. South Winn 19

The weather cooperated Monday night for the Decorah early bird meet, the Vikings first outdoor meet and South Winn’s second of the 2023 season.

Overall, Mason City loaded the buses with the team title with 146 points, one point ahead of the host, while South Winn finished the night with 19 points in seventh place.

A solid outing

“The coaching staff was very pleased with the efforts throughout the evening. The post team meeting had a load of hands raised when asked who had a personal best time, split or distance.

It is always fun to witness that excitement. Also exciting was seeing seven names or events posting times or distances worthy of going on our top 15 all-time list,” said Decorah Coach Joel Rollinger. “We look for continued improvement as we head into the meat of the outdoor season. Another great job by our meet workers for running off a very efficient track and field meet. We are so appreciative of their time dedicated to our athletes.”

Decorah had three events come in first. Kaiden Quandahl bested the long jump field with a leap of 21 feet 2 inches. With a throw of 134 feet 9 inches, William Hahn was crowned the discus champion. One relay also came out on top. Tommy Sexton, Joshua Adam, Gavin Groux and Dakota Johnson posted a time of 1:05.37 to win gold in the shuttle hurdle relay.

Six events took second, including K. Quandahl in the high jump; Sexton in the discus; Ben Wymer in the 400-meter dash, Cade Olson in the 800-meter run; the sprint medley quartet of D. Johnson, B. Wymer, Brayden Hartl and Olson; and Olson, Landon Quandahl, Hartl and Tommy Hammel in the distance medley relay.

Gaining experience

South Winn also had a solid day with numerous top-10 finishes. Parker Timp was the runner-up in the shot put with a throw of 42 feet 2 inches and finishing 10th in the 200-meter dash. Keagen Streeter finished fourth in the discus at a distance of 117 feet 2 inches. With a leap up 18 feet 5.5 inches, Lukas Weiss took home seventh place in the long jump. Wrapping up the field events in the high jump, Kaden Barton-Franzen and Eric Greve took ninth and 10th places.

In the individual distance events, Abe Conway took seventh in the 1600-meter run in 5:23.34, with Hunter Wagner crossing the finish line ninth in 5:29.94. Nathan Davis was eighth in the 3200-meter event in 13:36.60.

Four relays were also in the top 10, including the 4x200 of Streeter, Nolan Sabelka, Weiss and Kaden Bullerman who took fifth in 1:40.43. Two quartets competed in the 4x800 with Brady Ohrt, Brody Tieskoetter, Brad Dahl and Conway finishing sixth, while Brennan Franzen, Wagner, Kyle Hageman and Max Moonen were ninth. Kyle Kuboushek, Landen Schnuelle, Dahl and Barton-Franzen combined for ninth place in the 4x100 relay.

Looking ahead

The Decorah boys are at Waverly-Shell Rock Thursday, April 6, at 5 p.m., and host another home meet Monday, April 10, at 5 p.m.

South Winn is at Postville today, Thursday, April 6, at 4:30 p.m., and at Decorah Monday, April 10.

Postponements and cancellations

Several events were postponed or cancelled Tuesday, April 4, due to Mother Nature.

The Decorah and South Winn girls golf meet at Waukon is now Friday, April 14, at 4 p.m. The Decorah boys’ soccer game at Waverly-Shell Rock will now be played Thursday, April 20, at 5:30 p.m. The Decorah girls’ tennis meet at Oelwein was postponed to Friday, April 14, at 4 p.m. The Decorah girls’ soccer match at Clayton Ridge will now be played Monday, April 17, at 6:30 p.m. The Decorah boys’ tennis meet versus Independence was postponed with no date set for a make-up contest.

Among the cancelled events were the Decorah girls’ track meet at Dubuque Senior, the South Winn girls’ track meet at Jesup, the Turkey Valley boys’ track meet at Edgewood-Colesburg

Individual results (Top 10) High jump – 2. Kaiden Quandahl, Dec, 6’2”; 6. Peyton Webb, Dec, 5’6”; 9. Kaden Barton-Franzen, SW, 5’6”; 10. Eric Greve, SW, 5’0”

Long jump – 1. K. Quandahl, Dec, 21’2”; 2. Kelley Gates, Dec, 20’7”; 5. Gavin Groux, Dec, 19’5”; 7. Lukas Weiss, SW, 18’5.5”; 9. Trevor Kuennen, Dec, 18’2.5”; 9. Ashton Saltou, Dec, 18’2.5”; 13. Kaden Bullerman, SW, 17’6.5”; 15. Montana Jump-Gerleman, Dec, 16’11.5”; 18. Garrett Waskow, Dec, 16’5.5”; 22. Justin Fortman, Dec, 13’11” Shot put – 2. Parker Timp, SW, 42’2”; 6. Luke Franzen, Dec, 40’9”; 11. Fisher Tweten, Dec, 38’8”; 18. Henry Brynsaas, Dec, 34’0.75”; 20. Chandler Riehle, SW, 33’6”; 26. Cash Riehle, Dec, 30’10.75”; 27. Kyle Kuboushek, SW, 30’7.5”; 29. Landen Schnuelle, SW, 29’2.5”; 30. Logan Tieskoetter, SW, 29’1.25” 33. Brody Hanson, Dec, 29’0.5”; 26. Tristen Bodensteiner, SW, 28’3”; 45. Eli Sassaman, Dec, 23’10.25”; 46. Anthony Putnam, Dec, 23’10.25”; 49. William Tallier, Dec, 21’7.5” Discus – 1. William Hahn, Dec, 134’9”; 2. Tommy Sexton, Dec, 130’4”; 4. Keagen Streeter, SW, 117’2”; 9. Timp, SW, 102’6”; 11. Tweten, Dec, 96’10”; 13. Franzen, Dec, 95’8”; 25. Riehle, SW, 80’5”; 26. Hanson, Dec, 79’6”; 29. L. Tieskoetter, SW, 77’7”; 34. Riehle, Dec, 73’10”; 35. Schnuelle, SW, 71’5”; 43. Kuboushek, SW, 65’4”; 44. Sassaman, Dec, 64’10”; 47. Bodensteiner, SW, 62’1”; 49. Putnam, Dec, 56’9”; 54. Mason Vote, Dec, 50’7.5” 100m – 3. Gates, Dec, 11.40; 14. Jump-Gerleman, Dec, 12.54; 15. Mason Avila, Dec, 12.73; 16. Riehle, SW, 12.84; 17. Jace Buddenberg, Dec, 12.85; 19. Fortman, Dec, 12.89;

20. Douglas Bentley, Dec, 12.94;

22. Nolan Sabelka, SW, 13.00; 28. Barton-Franzen, SW, 13.34; 29. Greve, SW, 13.37; 32. Will Teslow, Dec, 13.65; 33. Louis Bucksa, Dec, 13.66; 34. Archer Sims, Dec, 13.70;

35. Caleb Johnson, Dec, 13.91;

37. Carlos Macario, SW, 14.06;

39. Noah Vilardo, Dec, 14.22; 44. Shawn Holzer, Dec, 14.66; 45. Ryan Northup, Dec, 14.92

200m – 10. Timp, SW, 24.91; 13. Weiss, SW, 25.16; 15. Sabelka, SW, 25.44; 16. Jump-Gerleman, Dec, 25.47; 17. Bullerman, SW, 25.54;

18. Streeter, SW, 25.66; 26. Bentley, Dec, 26.29; 28. Riehle, SW, 26.32; 29. Avila, Dec, 26.33; 30. Fortman, Dec, 26.36; 32. Brady Ohrt, SW, 26.63; 34. Nathan Wymer, Dec, 27.00; 35. Teslow, Dec, 27.41; 41. Bucksa, Dec, 27.99; 43. Johnson, Dec, 28.14; 44. Vilardo, Dec, 29.15;

48. Holzer, Dec, 30.34; 49. Northup, Dec, 30.34

400m – 2. Ben Wymer, Dec, 53.82

800m – 2. Cade Olson, Dec, 2:11.28; 7. Grant Zilka, Dec, 2:16.74;

10. Max Grimstad, Dec, 2:21.22; 11. Garrett See, Dec, 2:21.88; 12 Omar Flores, SW, 2:25.44

1600m – 3. Thomas Hammel, Dec, 5:08.06; 7. Abe Conway, SW, 5:23.34; 8. Carson Bohner, Dec, 5:24.82; 9. Hunter Wagner, SW, 5:29.94; Kyle Pattison, Dec, 5:36.33;

13. Brody Tieskoetter, SW, 5:48.26;

15. Phuong Doan, Dec, 5:50.89; 16. Kyle Hageman, SW, 6:04.56; 21. Max Moonen, SW, 6:45.22

3200m – 4. Zilka, Dec, 11:00.98;

5. Garrett See, Dec, 11:13.36; 8. Nathan Davis, 13:36.60

110m hurdles – 3. Josh Adam, Dec, 17.00; 8. Franzen, Dec, 19.83

400m hurdles – 3. Dakota Johnson, Dec, 57.33; 9. D’Mitry Lesser, Dec, 1:07.25; 12. Caden Malanaphy, Dec, 1:09.85

Shuttle hurdle – 1. Sexton, Adam, Groux, D. Johnson, Dec, 1:05.37; 5. Franzen, Saltou, Kaiden Youngblood, Malanaphy, Dec, 1:15.09

4x100 – 3. Waskow, Groux, B. Wymer, K. Quandahl, Dec, 45.73; 4. Adam, Youngblood, Webb, Saltou, Dec, 46.83; 9. Kuboushek, Schuelle, Brad Dahl, Barton-Franzen, SW, 51.34; 13. Macario, Brennan Franzen, Greve, L. Tieskoetter, SW, 54.71

4x200 – 3. Waskow, Groux, Trevor Kuennen, K. Quandahl, Dec, 1:37.23; 5. Streeter, Sabelka, Weiss, Bullerman, SW, 1:40.43; 6. N. Wymer, Youngblood, Webb, Saltou, Dec, 1:40.85; 9. Kuboushek, Schnuelle, Dahl, Barton-Franzen, SW, 1:48.58

4x400 – 4. Landan Quandahl, Kuennen, Sexton, Brayden Hartl, Dec, 3:43.02; 8. Carter Dlhy, Buddenberg, Sims, Brock Taylor, Dec, 4:04.06

4x800 – 4. Lesser, Dlhy, Pattison, Bohner, Dec, 9:21.04; 6. Ohrt, B. Tieskoetter, Dahl, Conway, SW, 10:03.17; 8. Grimstad, Hanson, Taylor, Doan, Dec, 10:05.75; 9. B. Franzen, Wagner, K. Hageman, Moonen, SW, 10:37.51

Sprint medley – 2. D. Johnson, B. Wymer, Hartl, Olson, Dec, 1:38.10; 7. Adam, L. Quandahl, Teslow, Avila, Dec, 1:49.04

Distance medley – 2. Olson, L. Quandahl, Hartl, Hammel, Dec, 3:56.66

Vikings get started with 9-0 win

In their first meet of the year, the Decorah girls’ tennis team defeated Osage 9-0 on Monday night at home.

Experienced doubles duo Annalise Skarade and Haley Gossman took full control of their No. 1 doubles match with excellent groundstroke control and active net play to defeat Kaitlyn Olson and Kendall Olson in a pair of 6-2 sets.

Returner Evon Leitz partnered for the first time with sophomore newcomer Klaara Short to secure a solid win at No. 2 doubles. The pair defeated Brooklyn Brock and Sue Meier 6-2 and 6-0.

Varsity newcomers Mara Branum and Jaidyn Duvel made an impressive comeback in the first set, winning 7-5 after being down 1-4 to Osage’s Riley Tabbert and Bailey Nasstrom. The Viking duo then dominated the second set, winning 6-1 in the No. 3 doubles slot.

All singles players also performed solidly. In No. 1 singles, Decorah’s Annalise Skrade was in full control of her match winning over Kaitlyn Olson, 6-2

and 6-2.

Additional highlights in singles included Decorah’s No. 2 Evon Leitz battling through a tight and lengthy match, ultimately winning 7-5 and 7-6 (with the tiebreak being 7-4), over Kendall Olson. Viking senior Haley Gossman, playing at No. 3, defeated Brooklyn Brock in a pair of 6-0 sets. Decorah freshman Olivia Huinker secured her first varsity win over Sue Meier, 6-0 and 6-2, at the No. 4 spot. Playing at No. 5 Viking Camryn Holland defeated Riley Tabbert 6-2 and 6-3. Senior Viking Janna Hartz also dominated the net with a pair of 6-0 sets over Osage’s Bailey Nasstrom in the No. 6 spot. Decorah JV was also highly successful, winning every match played against Osage (14-0, 10-0 in singles and 4-0 in doubles). Also exciting was four Decorah middle schoolers getting their first ever match play — in doubles, the middle schoolers won one match and tied another due to time constraints; in singles, they were 4-2.

Tough dual victory for Decorah No. 2 singles.”

Varsity at Winona Cotter

Branum won by set scores of 6-1 and 6-2 at the top spot, while Skrade came away with 6-0 and 6-2 set victories. Landon Baker had a tough match, that went to a third set (5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-7)), while Michael Njus fell 6-3 and 7-5.

The team also picked up victories from the doubles teams of No. 2 Lucas Arendt and Gabriel Hiner, in two 6-0 sets and No. 3 Adam Walter and Andy Kruger who won 6-4 and 6-1. The No. 1 doubles duo of Liam Chamberlain and Aidan Nalean-Carlson played tough sets, falling in identical 4-6 sets.

Decorah’s No. 1 player, Caden Branum, returned from Winona Cotter with a singles win Monday to help the Vikes to a 4-3 dual meet victory.

(Photo courtesy of Tami Bohr)

The Decorah boys tennis varsity team traveled to Winona Cotter Monday evening and picked up a tough 4-3 dual meet win playing Minnesota rules where teams play four singles matches and three doubles matches. The team also played a JV match against Osage, which is starting a boys program this year coming away with a 6-3 team victory at home Monday.

“In both meets there was some tough competition, early season nerves and plenty of hard fought matches,” said Coach Matt Anderson. “In junior varsity action many of the players got their first experience playing full matches that counted towards a team score. At Cotter, the experience of Caden Branum and Daniel Skrade, both returning state qualifiers, really showed as they secured two quality wins at No. 1 and

The coaches commented at both meets, “That after some early jitters, the players calmed down and experience took over, as well as finding some opportunities to improve upon.”

Junior varsity

Back in Decorah, the Vikes host a JV match against Osage with singles wins by No. 1 Seth Bolson over Jarin Camlin, 8-3. No. 3 Aitor Cuevas defeated Osages’ Ian Schwarting 8-4, while Decorah’s Alex McGohan topped Brady Nicholson 8-5 at the No. 4 spot. Competing at No. 5 Leander Buettner was victorious over Green Devil Carter Muller 8-5 and Ansel Kowitz rounded out Decorah’s victories at No. 6 over Payton Scott 8-4. In doubles’ action, the No. 3 team of Buettner and A. Kowitz came out on top 8-2 over Muller and Scott of Osage.

Coming up Decorah hosts a new opponent on their schedule, Mounds Academy from the Saint Paul (Minn.) area, Saturday, April 8, at Luther College at 1 p.m.

and the Turkey Valley girls’ track meet at Postville.

Decorah’s Ben Wymer (left) gets the baton from sprint medley lead-off runner Dakota Johnson to start the outdoor track and field season Monday in Decorah. (Driftless Multimedia photos by Becky Walz)

Junior Kaiden Quandahl had some outstanding performances Monday. The Viking took the title in the long jump with a leap of 21 feet 2 inches and went on to claim silver in the high jump after clearing 6 feet 2 inches.

Making the exchange of the baton in the 4x800 relay for South Winn are Brad Dahl (left) and Brody Tieskoetter Monday night in Decorah.

South Winn 4x800 anchor Abe Conway sprints down the final 100 meters after passing Decorah and New Hampton runners.

Seniors Annalise Skrade (left) and Haley Gossman teamed up in the No. 1 doubles spot Monday to defeat Kaitlyn Olson and Kendall Olson of Osage in Decorah’s first tennis match of the 2023 season. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Becky Walz)