Lansing bridge: November opening
Lansing, Iowa — The new Mississippi River bridge at Lansing is now expected to open in early November, months ahead of its scheduled opening in the spring of 2027.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds praised the work of contractors, led by Kraemer North America. The Iowa Department of Transportation said that contractors worked long hours and seven-day work weeks, while favorable weather and river conditions also quickened construction.
The historic Black Hawk Bridge was demolished in December of 2025. As of the end Since the end of August 2026, a free car ferry has moved 131,000 vehicles across the river.
Because locals pushed back and refused to accept a common bridge silhouette, the new bridge retains an unusual profile for a modern bridge that echoes its historic predecessor.
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Help a mussel out
Muscoda, Wis. — During low water last summer, mussels got stranded on the Wisconsin River near Muscoda and below the Castle Rock and Kilbourn dams.
Mussels were also stranded on the Chippewa and St. Croix rivers. Friends of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway put out an emergency call to help “hundreds of thousands” stranded at a premiere mussel bed along the St. Croix River near Interstate State Park.
The mussels were “being roasted… in less than an inch of water, stranded on gravel bars and stressed from the 90-plus degree water,” according to Marian Shaffer, aquatic biologist with the National Park Service. Stranded mussels included endangered species and likely mussels up to 100 years of age.
Freshwater mussels can survive stranding for a short amount of time, but if you see one out of the water, it’s likely in trouble. If the mussel is closed, it's probably alive. Pick it up and walk it or gently toss it into deeper water. If the shell is open, it's probably too late.
If you want to help in future mussel rescue efforts, you can sign up for alerts at www.WisconsinRiverFRiends.org/Mussel-Rescue.
‘Save our Homes’
Minneapolis — Renters on Nicollet Island are banding together to try to save their homes. Using a co-op model, they’re hoping to buy six Victorian “painted ladies” that provide 22 units of moderate housing to islanders, some of whom have lived there for 40 years.
The land under the houses is owned by the Minneapolis Park Board, but the homes themselves are owned by the nonprofit Twin Cities Housing Development Corporation (TCHDC), which wants to sell the homes to focus on strictly income-restricted housing.
TCHDC once leased the homes to a previous tenant cooperative. That co-op tried to buy the buildings in the mid-2000s but failed to secure financing in the face of the Great Recession.
TCHDC is asking for nearly $4 million for the houses and says it will look at all competitive bids. That’s a high price for a group of tenants that include retirees, artists, service workers and wellness instructors.
The co-op is developing its proposal with Land Bank Twin Cities, which would purchase the property up front and allow the co-op to pay it off over time.
Nicollet Island is parkland in the middle of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. It’s home to the Nicollet Island Inn and DeLaSalle High School, as well as the historic homes on the north end of the island.
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