Times-Register

Betty Reeg, 87, of Monona, went to be with her Lord on Oct. 5. Betty Jean was born Nov. 11, 1930, at the McGregor Hospital, to Alfred Flexman and Alice Henrietta (Carlson) Siegele. She was baptized (sponsors were Betty’s grandparents, Carl and Emma Carlson) on Jan. 18, 1931 and confirmed Sept. 9, 1945 at First Evangelical Lutheran Church, rural McGregor. 

Betty attended rural McGregor schools through the eighth grade, graduating from McGregor High School in 1949. Betty then moved to Cedar Rapids to attend the Hunter Business School, after which she secured employment in Savannah, Ill., as a clerk-typist in the Ordnance Depot office. There she met her love, Carlyle Vincent Reeg, being united in marriage Dec. 24, 1954, at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Bellevue. Two children were born to this union, Steven Carlyle and Sandra Jean. 

By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times

McGregor’s By the Spoonful will hold its first Mini Aronia Berry Fest Oct. 6-7, highlighting the benefits and potential uses of the antioxidant-rich fruit that’s seen a burst in popularity. 

“A lot of people have heard of them,” remarked By the Spoonful owner Katie Ruff of the dark purple berries sometimes referred to as chokeberries. They contain even more antioxidants than the blueberries one can buy in the store, making them a growing “superfruit” of choice. 

“But for most people, all they know is to put them in a smoothie,” Ruff noted. “They want to use aronia berries, but they just don’t know how. There are other things they can be.” 

On Saturday, Oct. 6, the Driftless Area Wetlands Centre, in partnership with the Upper Iowa Audubon Society, will host HawkWatch. This 34th annual event will celebrate the magnificent fall migration of hundreds of thousands of raptors and other birds along the Mississippi River Flyway. 

HawkWatch is a free event, designed to appeal to everyone, including families, amateur birders and raptor enthusiasts. HawkWatch activities will be held at the Driftless Area Wetlands Centre, located at 509 U.S. 18, in Marquette, a half-mile west of the Marquette-Joliet Bridge. Activities will begin at 10 a.m. and will wrap up at 3 p.m.

By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times

Replacing the pedestrian bridge that spanned B Street for many years looks to be more costly than the McGregor Council originally anticipated.

The project was re-bid this month, after contractors bid 125 to 150 percent over the engineer’s estimate at the original letting in July.

But this time around, totals weren’t any better, said Tim Cuttsforth, from H.R. Green Engineering, who attended the McGregor Council’s Sept. 19 meeting. The lowest bid was $250,000, well above the estimated cost of $182,891.