USDA Forest Grant Given to City

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Decorah Street Department

Press Contact: Jeremy Bril, City Engineer, 563-382-2157


City of Decorah Secures $630,000 Grant from USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program

Decorah, Iowa (October 5, 2023) – The City of Decorah is excited to announce its successful grant application to the USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program, resulting in a substantial award of $630,000. This grant marks a pivotal moment in the city’s dedication to preserving and enhancing urban green spaces.

Over the next five years, the grant funds will be strategically allocated to various projects, in collaboration with valued partners including Trees Forever, Decorah Tree Board, Decorah Jobs, Inc., and Winneshiek County Conservation. Key focus areas for this grant include:

  1. Tree Trimming and Pruning: With a commitment to maintaining the health and safety of our urban forest, funds will support extensive tree trimming and pruning of boulevard trees across the city.
  2. New Tree Plantings: A portion of the grant will be dedicated to planting new trees, enriching the urban landscape and contributing to improved air quality and aesthetics.
  3. Tree Inventory: The grant will enable the city to carry out a comprehensive tree inventory, providing valuable data for informed management decisions and future planning.
  4. Community Engagement and Education: Decorah values community involvement, and we are dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of our urban trees. The grant will support various educational programs and initiatives to engage residents in tree care and environmental stewardship.

City Engineer Jeremy Bril expressed his appreciation for the grant, saying, “This grant is a testament to our commitment to preserving our urban forest resources. We are grateful for the support of the USDA Forest Service and our dedicated project partners. This grant also allows us to leverage the city’s Public Tree Utility Management Fee, more than quadrupling the impact of these funds.”

Bril also extended his gratitude to City Forester Sam Hogenson, acknowledging his invaluable efforts in securing the grant. “Sam’s tireless work on this grant has been instrumental in bringing these funds to Decorah. His expertise and dedication to our urban forestry initiatives is truly commendable.”

 

This is an official city press release.  Modifications of any kind are prohibited without express written consent of the author.  Any reprint or broadcast of this information must include this entire communication.

 

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Joint Press Release from City of Decorah & Decorah Community School

October 3, 2023

Recent Land Purchase Showcases City and School Cooperation


The City of Decorah’s recent purchase of 30 acres on the east side of town near the river presents an exciting opportunity for both the City and the Decorah Community School District to improve educational and extracurricular opportunities for community members.

The City intends to develop a single-site location for multiple recreational baseball and softball fields in its newly-acquired prime location along the Trout Run Trail. This complex would replace the current fields, which need significant updates and improvements.

At the same time the sale of City-owned land to the School positions the School to pursue a new elementary campus in the heart of our community to replace the current, outdated, building.

These plans demonstrate the City’s and the School’s shared commitment to enhancing quality of life for area residents and continuing to provide state-leading educational opportunities for area children.

Decorah Community School District Superintendent Tim Cronin is optimistic about the plan: “It’s great that strong cooperation and compromise resulted in a mutually beneficial solution. I believe this plan advances the interests of both the School and community.” Mayor Lorraine Borowski is also excited: “We’ve been trying to find a solution to these issues for more than a decade,” she shared, “and now we’re making real progress! I’m proud that City and School leaders got together and found a way to proceed that achieves so much for our community.”

The School and City are working together to finalize a suitable new location for the tennis courts currently west of John Cline Elementary that ensures those facilities remain accessible to both the school community and the general public. With these proposed changes, the high school softball team will finally have a permanent home. Other details will also be worked out in the coming months with community input.

To view the Press Release Click Here

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Open House for Historic Weiser Home

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (timed in order to increase attendance at the August 27 event)

Decorah Historic Preservation Commission

Contact: Mark Z. Muggli, DHPC Chair (historicpreservation@decorahia.org; 612-720-5795)

August 27 Centennial Open House for Historic Weiser Home

Decorah, Iowa (August 14, 2023) The owners of the 609 W. Broadway Weiser house, Susan and Dale Goodman, and the Decorah Historic Preservation Commission (DHPC) invite the public to an open house on Sunday, August 27, 1-4 pm, in order to celebrate the centennial of the home’s 1923 construction. The architect was Charles Altfillisch, and the builder was A. R. Coffeen.

Refreshments will be provided on the home’s outdoor patio. A newly-printed brochure highlights the home’s features and identifies three other Charles Altfillisch designed homes within the same block of the Broadway-Phelps Park Historic District.

The Goodmans said they were inspired by the enthusiasm they saw at the November 2022 reception at the Altfillisch Mound Street home. Said Dale, “The Weiser home was built on land first owned by George Phelps and then Ben Bear. The house itself has been part of this community for 100 years, and we wanted to share its distinctive, well-preserved interior with the wider public.”

“We appreciate the Goodman’s public-spirited generosity,” said DHPC chair Mark Z. Muggli. “They have done painstaking restoration on the house, and now they are opening the house to the public, are providing most of the refreshments, and are funding this new open-house brochure.”

Charles Altfillisch

A Bellevue, Iowa, native, Altfillisch was the most important architect and engineer in Decorah’s history. He also designed many buildings across the upper Midwest, including numerous schools, the Allamakee County Courthouse, and three buildings at the University of Iowa.

The Dutch Colonial Revival Weiser home, built in 1923 for Charles Weiser and his bride Dorothy Reeves as a wedding gift from his parents, was one of Altfillisch’s early projects. It includes distinctive interior woodwork, built-ins, and generous natural lighting.

Altfillisch designed three other upper Broadway homes that reflect his developing aesthetic and his clients’ changing taste:

  • The 1929 English Cottage/New England Farmhouse style William B. and Sophia (Larson) Ingvoldstad home (704 W. Broadway).
  • The 1941 International Style Edward F. and Laura Mae (Barthell) Hagen home (302 Upper Broadway).
  • The 1960 Midwest Modern style Hjalmar and Helen (Arnold) Carlson home (303 Upper Broadway).

The exteriors of these three homes are described in the new brochure and can be visited on August 27, but the interiors will not be open to the public.

Said Nan St. Clair, a new DHPC member and co-owner of the 1860s West Broadway J. T. Relf house, “The four Altfillisch houses on Broadway near our house provide a striking overview of twentieth-century architectural history and are a reminder that ‘historic’ buildings come in many different flavors.”

The DHPC Altfillisch project, which includes a printed brochure with four tours and extensive on-line materials, was in June awarded a “Preservation At Its Best” award at the annual state-sponsored preservation conference in Sioux City, Iowa. This brochure will also be available at the August 27 event.

DHPC

The Decorah Historic Preservation Commission is a state-certified city board established in 2007 to promote the public’s educational and economic welfare through the recognition of historic sites. Contact: historicpreservation@decorahia.org.

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Centennial Open House for Historic Weiser Home August 27, 2023

August 27 Centennial Open House for Historic Weiser Home

Decorah, Iowa (August 14, 2023) The owners of the 609 W. Broadway Weiser house, Susan and Dale Goodman, and the Decorah Historic Preservation Commission (DHPC) invite the public to an open house on Sunday, August 27, 1-4 pm, in order to celebrate the centennial of the home’s 1923 construction. The architect was Charles Altfillisch, and the builder was A. R. Coffeen.

 

Refreshments will be provided on the home’s outdoor patio. A newly-printed brochure highlights the home’s features and identifies three other Charles Altfillisch designed homes within the same block of the Broadway-Phelps Park Historic District.

 

The Goodmans said they were inspired by the enthusiasm they saw at the November 2022 reception at the Altfillisch Mound Street home. Said Dale, “The Weiser home was built on land first owned by George Phelps and then Ben Bear. The house itself has been part of this community for 100 years, and we wanted to share its distinctive, well-preserved interior with the wider public.”

 

“We appreciate the Goodman’s public-spirited generosity,” said DHPC chair Mark Z. Muggli. “They have done painstaking restoration on the house, and now they are opening the house to the public, are providing most of the refreshments, and are funding this new open-house brochure.”

 

Charles Altfillisch

A Bellevue, Iowa, native, Altfillisch was the most important architect and engineer in Decorah’s history. He also designed many buildings across the upper Midwest, including numerous schools, the Allamakee County Courthouse, and three buildings at the University of Iowa.

 

The Dutch Colonial Revival Weiser home, built in 1923 for Charles Weiser and his bride Dorothy Reeves as a wedding gift from his parents, was one of Altfillisch’s early projects. It includes distinctive interior woodwork, built-ins, and generous natural lighting.

 

Altfillisch designed three other upper Broadway homes that reflect his developing aesthetic and his clients’ changing taste:

  • The 1929 English Cottage/New England Farmhouse style William B. and Sophia (Larson) Ingvoldstad home (704 W. Broadway).
  • The 1941 International Style Edward F. and Laura Mae (Barthell) Hagen home (302 Upper Broadway).
  • The 1960 Midwest Modern style Hjalmar and Helen (Arnold) Carlson home (303 Upper Broadway).

 

The exteriors of these three homes are described in the new brochure and can be visited on August 27, but the interiors will not be open to the public.

 

Said Nan St. Clair, a new DHPC member and co-owner of the 1860s West Broadway J. T. Relf house, “The four Altfillisch houses on Broadway near our house provide a striking overview of twentieth-century architectural history and are a reminder that ‘historic’ buildings come in many different flavors.”

 

The DHPC Altfillisch project, which includes a printed brochure with four tours and extensive on-line materials, was in June awarded a “Preservation At Its Best” award at the annual state-sponsored preservation conference in Sioux City, Iowa. This brochure will also be available at the August 27 event.

 

 

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Field Visit for Dry Run 8/13

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Decorah City Engineer

Press Contact: Jeremy Bril, City Engineer, 563-382-2157

Field Visit for Dry Run Creek Corridor Study on August 13th


Decorah, IA (August 4, 2023) – The Dry Run Creek Corridor Study team is notifying residents that a field visit day will be hosted on Sunday, August 13th from 2:00 – 5:00 PM. The team will be at Dry Run Creek near the intersection of Mill Street and Pearl Street from 2:00 – 3:15 PM and will be at Wold Park from 3:30 – 5:00 PM. Residents are welcome to stop by one or both locations during the respective times.

The purpose of the field visit is to provide an opportunity to gather input on planned improvements in the Dry Run Creek Corridor, including flood control measures on City-owned property along Mill Street and stormwater improvements near Wold Park.

As a reminder, Decorah residents are invited to participate in a survey to assist the team in creating the Dry Run Creek Corridor plan. The survey is available online at https://arcg.is/HyeL4. The planning team is interested in collecting your feedback about issues related to the stream, as well as your observations about the corridor’s environment, history, and use.

To learn more about the effort, a project website has been created at: https://www.decorahia.org/commission-and-boards/sustainability-commission/current-projects

For more information, please contact Michelle Barness (mbarness@uerpc.org), Kevan Klosterwill (kevanjwilliams@gmail.com), or Jeremy Bril (cityengineer@decorah.iowa.gov).

This is an official city press release.  Modifications of any kind are prohibited without express written consent of the author.  Any reprint or broadcast of this information must include this entire communication.

 

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