December 7, 2023 by Decorah Leader

Thursday, December 7, 2023

Lighted Holiday Parade is Friday

Vol. 158, Issue 49

Decorah, Iowa 52101 www.decorahnewspapers.com

One Section email: news@decorahnewspapers.com

Price One Dollar phone: 563-382-4221

fax: 563-382-5949

Holiday Lights Fireworks launch Dec. 12

Decorah’s annual Water Street Lighted Holiday Parade will be Friday, Dec. 8. The parade will begin at 6 p.m. and travel from the east end of Water Street to the intersection of Water and Mill Streets. Santa Claus will be the Grand Finale of the parade, and immediately following the parade will be at T-Bock’s Sports Bar & Grill’s second floor for photos and festivities. Warm drinks and refreshments will be available, and photographs by Nick Chill will be available, free of charge, for download after the event. Fireworks The Holiday Lights fireworks show over downtown Decorah will be launching Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 6:30 p.m. They will light up the night with an amazing show this holiday season. All are welcome to watch the fireworks from the stands of the Decorah High School football field. Grab a blanket, your winter gear and enjoy the show. Cookies and hot chocolate will be available from the Decorah Athletic Booster Club. Parking is available next to the football field. Holiday Lights is one of the largest drivethrough lighted Holiday displays in northeast Iowa and all free-will donations benefit Helping Services for Youth & Families, a nonprofit organization with programs that promote healthier and safer families and youth throughout Northeast Iowa. Holiday Lights is open nightly 5 to 9 p.m. through Christmas night at the Pulpit Rock Campground.

Supervisors Norwegian debate property sale Christmas By Zach Jensen Winneshiek County supervisors are in disagreement over the terms of the proposed sale of 4.7 acres of county property to Iowa Rotocast Plastics, Inc. During the Board of Supervisors Dec. 4 meeting, Supervisor Shirley Vermace suggested the purchase agreement include the requirement that if the land is used for the company’s solar array as previously discussed, the panels must be mounted atop native prairie plantings, allegedly in order to retain any benefit against flooding the property may provide. “It is a flood area, and why would we let control of that go to the highest bidder, because we don’t know who the highest bidder would be,” Vermace said. “We have no idea. I don’t think the residents of Freeport well - eight of them - don’t want development there. Most of Freeport, doesn’t even know we’re talking about this today. And yes, they can come to a public hearing, but if you pass a resolution today that doesn’t have any deed restrictions in it, it’s done. It’s a done deal.” Supervisor Mark Faldet agreed with Vermace and added that while “this particular entity wants to do with it, they might not be the highest bidder. So, if we don’t put some restrictions on there, then it’s wide open for someone to take choice of what they want to do with that piece of land. So, if we’re intent on selling it, certainly, I think it’s in our best interest to be considerate of Freeport and the original intent of the previous boards […] . It’s certainly not going to hurt us.” Vermace said the prior board of supervisors identified the property as a buffer zone for flooding, but Supervisor Steve Kelsay said that’s not the correct use for the piece of land, which is zoned M2 – the zoning ordinance categorized for heavy industrial areas. “That’s not what the property was intended to

Property sale

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A traditional Norwegian Christmas Celebration drew hundreds to Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum Saturday, Dec. 2. The event included crafts, goats, folk-art demonstrations, treats and photo opportunities galore. (Driftless Multimedia photos by Roz Weis)

Pictured clockwise from top rightThe Julenisse paraded through Vesterheim Commons, from left: Soﬁa Hageman, Nels Johnson, Charlotte Yu and Sanna Dyer. Karen Teslow was one of the volunteers, assisted by her grandson, Brock. Ted and Norma Cahalan try their hand at straw wheat ornament-making. Sisters-in-law Theresa and Kris Lynch were among the visitors at Vesterheim Dec. 2 for the Norwegian Christmas Celebration. Kris is holding the “julenek” sheaves of wheat grown from Borlaug wheat that was available from the Norman Borlaug Foundation.

Area schools highlighted Visit us online - www.decorahnewspapers.com with historic collages in Visit us online - www.decorahnewspapers DHS Commons Walking around the commons area at Decorah High School now offers a history lesson of schools from the surrounding area. From Bluffton to Burr Oak and Nordness to North Winneshiek, 13 regions are honored with photo collages displayed on the pillars of the DHS cafeteria and gym entrance. Adam Riley, Associate Principal and Activities Director, wanted a way to pay tribute to the schools in the area. He contacted Elizabeth Lorentzen, who is currently on the board of directors at the Winneshiek County Historical Society and was a Decorah Schools art teacher for 42 years. “We can’t thank Elizabeth and others from the Historical Society enough for the work that was put in to help this vision become a reality,” Riley said. “Our commons area is a place where people from all over our school district come to gather, and we hope these photo boards can continue to help our students stay connected and have pride in the areas that their families come from.” Lorentzen does research for the

Historical Society, teaches the public about the architecture of Decorah and writes for the society’s newspaper. For this project she spent 25 hours researching each area and ﬁnding photos to represent them. “I really liked Adam’s idea,” Lorentzen remarked. According to Lorentzen, there used to be community bands, baseball teams (from the 1890s to the 1920s and 1930s), and other events that drew people together. Gathering authentic photos helps with the identiﬁcation of each of those places. She also shared that during the 1850s Winneshiek County had 225 country schools until a 1960s law forced consolidation of the schools. Locust School was in use the longest in the state of Iowa. Elizabeth Lorentzen knows well the history of the area schools and was invested in the project because it was for the high school. “The photos are important because those areas still have a very personal feel for those residents,” commented Lorentzen. “They are proud of where they come from.”

Elizabeth Lorentzen former Decorah art teacher and current member of the board of directors for the Winneshiek County Historical Society pictured by one of the photo collages. (submitted photo)

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