Decorah, Iowa (Union, Luther: college, bus, bike)

[Norsk]

Can anyone briefly tell me if there is a lot of woodstove burning in town? Most days here in McMinnville, Oregon, you're hit with it in the face all winter and there is visible smoke lying over the town.

[falcon271]

I lived in Decorah for 3 1/2 wonderful years in the early 70's. Have been in Iowa since that time and originally from Chicago. Cedar Falls, Hudson and Ackley have been my other homes. By far.....DECORAH...is heaven. There is something about it that just makes you smile. Granted the town has grown since the 70's, a lot more housing, stores and jobs. I don't think the snow is as bad in Iowa as it was years ago. And we do have snow plows. So, you may get one or two heavy snow storms per year with maybe 6 plus inches of snow, but sit back....relax, enjoy the time. A snow plow will come and take it away and all you have to do is shovel your walk or driveway. Other snow storms can be from 1 to 4 inches. Driving can be tricky on the hilly areas of Decorah, but learn about driving in the snow before it snows. Go slow and don't jam on your brakes. I often drive to Decorah for a "better mental health" day and if I could find a teaching job there, I would return in the blink of an eye. But, teaching jobs in Iowa are getting tougher to hang on to unless you are in the large metro areas. Declining enrollment and budget cuts have hurt many. Right now...I'm looking to leave the state and give up on snow for awhile.

[Boof]

Falcon,

Nice post. It's funny how you are ready to get out of the snow for a while, and we're wanting to get in the snow for a while. I've never lived in a snowy area, although hubby has.

Being from 'Sunny California', I've been spoiled with the near perfect year 'round weather...at least in the areas I've lived in. Only in my later years have I started to use the jackets and sweaters in my closet. And I don't think visiting the snow on occasion counts as any experience.

Thank you for telling us of how beautiful Decorah is. If one were to visit, what would you say are the top 3 MUST SEE attractions or activities?

Also, are there many Antique stores there?

Thanks again,
Boof

[ocmccormick]

Meth? What are you talking about? Decorah is one of the best towns in NE Iowa. Other than the snow in the winter, it is a great little town. Dunning Springs, Luther College, I would recommend it.

[ocmccormick]

Stores? There is a Small JCPenney downtown, there are many downtown shops, small I would say. There are also some out on the South Side, near State Hwy 9. There is a strip mall, but is isnt very active. Many Fast-Food Places popping up though. McDonald's, Culver's, a new Convenience Store, Kwik Star. Of course, SE of town, out towards Lansing, the one and only Wal-Mart, Haha. I live in Muscatine and travel to Decorah now and then for the weekend.

[Alt Dach]

Not much smoke in Decorah.One of the nicest small towns in the US IMHO.

[Luren Singer]

We have lived in Decorah for 36 years. Ten years before that, when we graduated from Iowa State University, Iowa was a feeder system for California’s aerospace and high-tech industries. (Just incidentally, the founder of Intel, Bob Noyce, lived in Decorah as a boy when his dad was a pastor here.) As we were moving to the S.F. Bay Area, we encountered a huge billboard on the Nebraska border which read: “There is no California!” Now, we need to resurrect that old billboard, turn it toward California, and print on it: “Go back, there is no Iowa!"

Whenever I want, I can walk to trout fishing at Twin Springs, or to smallmouth bass fishing at Chatahoochee Beach, or to morel mushroom hunting by the eagles’ nest at Nor-Ski Runs. But, fishermen aren’t supposed to disclose where the big ones are; and Winneshiek County morel mushroom and ginseng hunters could evade any bloodhound en route to their choicest forest groves. You Decorahans take heed! Shut up, already.

[Bill Stoen]

Originally Posted by Norsk

We're thinking of moving to Decorah.
1. Is it really as idyllic as the hype on their web page?
2. Is there a meth problem in the town or county?
3. Are there any mega farms nearby (now or planned) that spoil the air quality in town?
4. How long is the snow season, typically? (We've lived in ND and MN for 30 years, so we know what six full months of snow is like.)
5. How friendly is the town?
We have neighborhood watch programs .... Whether you wanted to join or not..... OUR businesses will go out of their way to assist you, have had many visitors in dire straights on a weekend get help.. from a rental car on a sunday.... to a ride to a wedding, last minute shopping afterhours for a tie or sportcoat that got lost or forgotten at home, hairstyling on Sat. afternoon for attending a family funeral. Luther College - a private Liberal Arts college, adds a lot to our community and attracts a diverse- well educated range of residences.

If not Decorah, where would you go to find a nice, quiet, midwestern, rural town over 6,000 in which to work and retire? We've been to the Pacific NW for seven years and are headed back to the Midwest for a more "normal" way of life.

[Bill Stoen]

Decorah has been working hard on making the community accessible for bikes and has been changing out the side curbs, widening out the sidewalks doubling at bike routes, designated some streets for sharing with bike travel, looking at installing more bike racks around town. We are working on becoming accepted as a BLUE ZONE and would like to take on our Governor's challenge to make IOWA the most healthy place to live in our country! We are working on a " 100 Day Challenge" to adopt ways to exercise more and control the ave. weight of our community members.
WE have a new landmark that can be seen for many miles around Decorah, a wind turbine was erected by Luther College to study how wind can be a part of reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, produce our own energy needs locally.
We have people looking at installing rain barrels for a water source for the flower and vegetable gardens/ landscaping around the yards and help reduce the runoff into our storm sewers and rivers, companies are offering ideas and plans to create Bioswales and rain gardens to hold our rainfall on the land and not flood our rivers.
Winneshiek county has a Energy District, one of the first counties in the country to have this designation! The Decorah community has special funds through the Energy District to help homeowners correct areas of energy in-efficiencies, they perform energy audits and give suggestions on how a home can save money by updating or tightening the home, making simple changes or maybe justifying a whole new heating system upgrade.

[DMRyan]

I would love to see some photos of Decorah. Seems like such an underrated small town that you don't hear a lot about, at least in Central Iowa.