DriftlessMode

07/23/2025

***DRIFTLESSMODE SUPPORTS EXPLORING A CAR FERRY FOR CROSSING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AT OR NEAR LANSING, IOWA (for use during the period when no bridge exists)

07/23/2025

OLD BRIDGE DEMO, EXPLOSIVE USE, IMPLOSION, SET FOR LATE 2025/EARLY 2026 - (from a news release TODAY by the Iowa DOT “...Currently we are planning to close the old bridge this fall. That’s when our contractor, Kraemer North America, will take down the bridge so work on the new bridge can be completed. This process will involve removing strategic pieces of the bridge, including the deck. When that is completed, different methods of demolition will be used, including the use of explosives. The implosion needs to take place in late 2025/early 2026 so the bridge pieces can be removed from the river and not interfere with barge traffic.
***Despite this change of plans, we still hope to have the new bridge open to traffic by mid-2027! ... SOLUTIONS: We are also looking into ways to get people across the river without having to drive to the nearest bridge connecting Marquette, Iowa and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. A couple of the options include resuming the water taxi or establishing a car ferry...” ***The Iowa DOT will keep you updated as the process moves forward.

07/20/2025

FAT PAT’S BREWERY, WTD (worth the drive) - First off, Fat Pat the man has a red beard and at least one tattoo but “Fat” is a name he picked up from band members in an earlier life in Texas, the story goes. And so it is, Fat Pat’s Brewery, in Spring Grove, deep in the southeast corner of Minnesota. Surfing the batch of short funny videos posted on Fat Pat’s page, it’s hard to tell whether Pat enjoys creating videos more than smoking meats or brewing beer. He does all well and his imagination runs wild. One of the T-shirts offered among their “merch” reads “How Do You Like Your Norwegian?” (Norwegian is the name of one of their sandwiches) We made the 40-minute drive from Iowa for lunch and a beer. First-timers, we ordered their brown ale and a stout to go with their walnut burger and WTF burger — one meatless, the other a juicy beef burger. We may have gotten our beers mixed up but both were dark and tasty. Both burgers were served with onions sautéed in their house BBQ sauce with special toppings that included pepper muenster cheese on a bun, dill pickle spears and a funnel of fresh cut fries on the side. Check came to a reasonable $37. You can try Fat Pat’s BBQ but it’s served on Fridays ONLY and after 4 p.m. till they run out. A menu of food offerings changes by the day. Pizza is served after 4 on Saturdays. There was something for everyone here. Drink or dine inside or out on a spacious patio. Play a game of bean-bag corn hole like two kids were doing when we arrived. Talk to a skeleton greeter at the door whose name may be Rick? If you’re young and can get away with it, roll around on the floor with your bestie. Fat Pat might join you. Favorite posted video: Fat Pat dressed in a fuzzy pink pig costume. When he gets done dancing around he works up such a sweat that off comes the pig head, he sits down and chugs a full mug of beer none-stop.

07/18/2025

‘GOOD’ TO THE BONE (FORK TENDER MEAT, THAT IS) - It’s no secret around Allamakee County and beyond that Thursday Night Ribs at the Old Rossville Store are fall-off-the-bone good. Excellent, in fact. The kitchen crew has been cooking and serving them for 25 years. The story goes: Before you-know-who bought “the store,” folks that previously leased it brought ribs (like we know and love them now in Rossville) to a party in Harpers Ferry. Knowing good food when he saw and tasted it, they told him how to make them and gave him a sauce recipe — but the main cook’s husband doctored it up to where it’s at today. And the fresh pork ribs used all these years? IBP baby back bone-in ribs — the best one can buy, many here would agree. Choose a half order or full, with choice of potato and salad bar. Aim for next Thursday for these pull-apart ribs.

07/16/2025

HERE'S INFO FROM AN ENGINEERING TRADE JOURNAL POST (PRE BRIDGE CLOSING ANNOUNCEMENT) GOOD BACKGROUND INFO -- https://www.enr.com/articles/60984-problem-solving-pushes-mississippi-river-crossing-forward?fbclid=IwY2xjawLke1tleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFoS3h0ZktVREFWNUR3aHpyAR5Y2FrDqCEMxHNYs7Fi97Xv2pqk9DqMhf5PwY0sLctfYYLzLVSNrb1pi5HusA_aem_D2fAzpfM4Kx5HyAyd5erBA

Movement of the existing Black Hawk Bridge, just 75 ft away, has prompted the project to pause multiple times due to safety concerns.

07/14/2025

BIG BRIDGE NEWS FROM THE IOWA AND WISCONSIN DOTs - https://iowadot.gov/news/2025-07-14/iowa-and-wisconsin-plan-existing-lansing-bridge-demolition-fall-2025?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery&fbclid=IwY2xjawLiM_FleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHnlk_K5S94JaeQ5RP2MHJD0xeXPRBUU0auPpDFYoin-q091WdZjzKQ3eizeN_aem_TwtJpHYByedxM75ULIjvFw

News release about the Iowa and Wisconsin Plan for Existing Lansing Bridge Demolition in Fall of 2025.

07/06/2025

WINE AND LICENSE PLATE BRING TABLES TOGETHER AT MADIGAN WINERY - It began with us running between raindrops Saturday afternoon to get into Madigan Winery’s tasting room. Midwesterners pay attention to license plates and their home counties. We might know someone who belongs to that car or truck. “Mahaska,” southeast Iowa, neighbor Brad blurts out. For the next half hour at this charming little winery south of Lansing, Iowa, I’m asking one table, two tables, three — are they from Mahaska County? Finally, the only table left un-queried. YES! Nearer to Pella than Oskaloosa is close enough. And that’s how table-to-table socializing began for us on this July 4th weekend.

07/05/2025

ELECTRIC POWER RESTORED ON THE NEIGHBORHOOD UTILITY POLE WHILE FIREWORKS BURST INTO THE SKY 200 YARDS AWAY ALONG THE BIG RIVER!

07/02/2025

MORE NEW BRIDGE DECK NEWS...