Cities IG - 1-20-24

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Next up this Saturday morning, Knowledgeis Power, hosted by Rob Kane of
Citi's Insurance Group. If you havea question for Rob and would like it
answered on an upcoming show, emailhim at r Kane at citiesig dot com
and now Rob Kane, Hi,everyone, Welcome to Living in Leclair.

(00:20):
This is a periodic segment of Knowledge'sPower available thanks to the generosity of Rob
Kane in City's Insurance Group. I'mWayne Wally and I am the president of
the Leclair Tourism Board. The purposeof this segment is to talk about all
things Leclaire. Now. I'm originallyfrom Morgan Hill. It's a small town
in California, just south of santasein the San Francisco Bay Area. Winners

(00:43):
there were fairly mild. Yes,it would get below freezing, and as
a kid, it would be funto go jump on puddles that had a
little bit of ice on top ofit and see it crack. But that
didn't really prepare me for what wesee here in the Midwest. In addition,
I went to school in Los Angeles, again mild winters, but then
my wife and I moved to NewYork in Chicago for different jobs. Of

(01:04):
mine, and that's when I gotan introduction to what a Midwest winter is
all about. Then we moved toLeclaire in two thousand and five, and
while the weather is similar, Yesit's cold, we can get below zero
temperatures, we get snow, weget ice, very similar to Chicago.
There's something very unique about winters.When you're in Leclaire. You could be

(01:25):
sitting in your front porch. Youcould drive down the street. Maybe you're
taking the drive down Great River Roadtoward lock and Dam fourteen, and you
know what you're gonna see, especiallywhen the temperature is below zero, like
it has been. Bald eagles,Lots of bald eagles. Lock and Damn
fourteen, in fact, is oneof the more popular spots in the nation

(01:46):
for photographers and visitors to see andtake pictures of eagles soaring through the air,
diving down to catch fish out ofthe Mississippi River, or simply sitting
in the nearby trees. What hassurprised me the most is the size of
these majestic birds and what their wingspanis. I mean again, growing up
in a small town in California,I never expected to see live bald eagles.

(02:09):
When I'm just out driving around town. It really is a fantastic thing
to see. Now, since Leclairehas been a favored winter stop of bald
eagles during their migration, you knowwhat better place is there to have some
type of eagle festival. There oncewere annual eagle related activities and programs at
the former Welcome Center, but afterthat facility closed, it wasn't until last

(02:30):
year that the Leclaire Tourism Board moveforward with recreating Eagles and Ice, a
festival celebrating bald eagles. Eagle andIce twenty twenty four starts on Saturday,
January twentieth with ice carving and eaglewatching. Then there will be presentations by
Midwestern eagle experts, activities for kids, vendor tables, additional ice carvings,

(02:54):
and a hot cocoa bar at theCelebration Center next to the Mississippi River Distillery
on Sunday, January twenty first.Those activities start at eleven am and go
to four pm. This free eventoffers a once in a lifetime chance to
see bald eagles in their natural habitatwhile experiencing live eagle demonstrations and educational opportunities

(03:15):
while you're in the warmth of theCelebration Center. There's even going to be
spotting scopes on the Celebration Center rooftopfatio that will allow you an upclose look
without disturbing the eagles as they huntfor food. Other birds will be identified
as well. The Saturday attraction happensin front of Ann Hattie's Fanciful Emporium at
one O two South Cody Road.Rob Storm will be there carving three ice

(03:38):
sculptures in the cold on Saturday.Now on Sunday, Rob's going to move
and be near the Distillery and CelebrationCenter where he's going to complete three more
carvings. And this we said before, there's going to be the program inside
where you can see the live eaglesand owl listen to storytellers. And in
addition, a lot of shops downtownare going to be open Saturday Sunday and

(04:00):
they're going to be offering specials andthings related to eagles as well. Be
sure and check that out. Whenit comes winter time and when you've had
the storms that we've had, allyour shop keepers and local restaurants are going
to really appreciate it if you comevisit them and take time to support our
small businesses in Leclair. Now tolearn more about this event, Eagles in

(04:21):
Ice twenty twenty four. We willbe talking to Leclair Tourism manager Cindy Brune
when we return. When it comesto choosing a Medicare plan, Blue is
Affordable, Blue is Convenient, Blueis Staying Healthy. Blue is Medicare Advantage
from Well Marke Advantage Health Plan.Need help finding the right plan, call
Rob kin with Cities Insurance Group inLeclair. That five six three three five

(04:44):
nine oh eight five four. RobKain is a local authorized independent agent for
Well Marke Advantage Health Plan. Tobe eligible, you must reside in the
service area of the plan. WellMarket Advantage Health Plan, Inc. Is
an independent licensee of the Blue Crossand Blue Shield Association. Hey everybody,
and welcome back to living in Leclair. We're not talking with Cindy Brune,
the Leclair Tourism manager who was heavilyinvolved with organizing the second annual Eagle Fest

(05:10):
that's happening on Saturday, January twentiethand January twenty first on Sunday. Cindy,
welcome, Thank you for joining us, Thank you glad to be here.
Now, can you tell us alittle bit about the Leclaire Eagle Fest.
I know there used to be abigger festival that was at the old
Welcome Center, but it was lastyear that we really started this new event

(05:31):
that's called Leclair Eagle Fest. Whatcan you tell me about it? Well,
we're doing similar to what we didlast year. It was our inaugural
event last year for doing it downtownat the Celebration Center, and we had
people talking about eagles, and wehad live eagles, and we had eagle

(05:53):
watching, and we had ice carvingand just made an event out of it
for the whole weekend. Well,what is going to be happening this week?
It sounds like Saturday is the icecarving with Rob Storm in front of
Anne Hattie's. But then Sunday there'sa whole program in addition to the ice
carving that's outside of the distillery inthe Celebration Center. Yes, on Sunday,

(06:15):
we have a lot more going onthat will actually be at the Celebration
Center, which is right next doorto the distillery, and we have a
vendors so we'll have a kid's activitytable that the library's doing for us.
We have some things for sale,books, the museum will have some stuffed
eagles, really cute things for sale, and then we'll have our hot cocoa

(06:41):
bar while supplies last, and ourspeakers. We have a wonderful storyteller,
Brian fox Ellis a lot of peopleknow him, have seen him entertain He's
wonderful. He's going to be ourMC and he's going to be doing some
stories for us. And then wehave the Rare Group which they help preserve

(07:03):
and take care of live birds ofprey and they will tell about what they
do, and they'll have a liveeagle and hawk. I'm sorry, they
will have a live owl and hawk. And the World Bird Sanctuary from Saint
Louis are bringing their eagles, sothey have a bald eagle and a golden
eagle. So we're really excited andit's just gonna be a fun time.

(07:26):
Well, now, how close canpeople get to these live birds? Is
it something where you're actually touching themor are they just on display in a
cage? How does that work?It's very interesting because you get really close
to them, and the World BirdsSanctuary people have some feathers and their display

(07:48):
is very interesting, so you actuallycan touch some of those. You won't
be able to touch the live eagles, but you can get very close to
them, and we took a lotof fun pictures last year. They are
just really friendly people. They havewonderful birds that travel with them, and
they just do a really nice job. You know, is there also an

(08:11):
eagle viewing part of this or arewe just telling people that, hey,
it's cold out, you're going tosee bald eagles if you go out to
Lock and Damn fourteen. Well,you're definitely going to see eagles anywhere right
now. You don't even have togo to the lock and dam because they're
flying everywhere. It's the perfect weatherfor them. We are also going to
have access to the rooftop of theCelebration Center and the Army corp of Engineers

(08:35):
will be up there again this yearfor us with their spotting scopes. I
also have another person that's going tobe up there helping identify some of the
other birds, not just the eagles. So we have a lot of really
interesting wildlife in this area with differentkinds of ducks and other birds flying around.
So it should be a really goodtime. If you want to brave

(08:56):
the cold, go up to therooftop wonderful view up there and see all
the birds up close to the scope. Is this all free or is there
any admission for this? Admittance isfree, so bring the whole family out.
Stay for a short time, stayfor a long time. Check out
our vendors, watch some of thepresentations. It should be a good time

(09:16):
for everybody. And at the sametime, even though despite cold and snow
and all that, a lot ofthe downtown stores should also be open and
several of them are doing something tocommemorate Eagle Fest if I remember right,
anything you'd like to tell us aboutthat we can expect for Saturday indoor Sunday.
Yes, quite a few of theshops are doing fun things like Anti

(09:39):
Garchaeology is going to have a littletreasure hunt that you can do indoors.
The Buffalo Bill Museum has a specialscavenger hunt and they're going to have free
admission for the children on Sunday thetwenty first. There's just other specials at
other stores, so lots of funthings to keep you moving around downtown and
check can everybody out very good?Yeah, it is amazing that this area

(10:03):
has so many eagles when it getscold, that you can just see them,
you know, from your front porch, so to speak, which is
very cool for me being someone fromCalifornia. But it looks like this will
be another fun event in January.It's time. If you've been cocooning because
of all the cold, come onout and see us on Saturday, indoor

(10:24):
Sunday, definitely Sunday to see theeagle presentation and get on that top floor
of the celebration Center to spot thebirds of prey and everything else is Leclaire
has to offer. Sendy anything elseto say about the Eagle Fest for right
now. Just come on out andhave a great time. We'd love to
see you. Sounds good, well, Thank you, Cindy, appreciate it.
Thank you. When it comes tochoosing a Medicare plan, Blue is

(10:46):
affordable, Blue is convenient, Blueis Staying Healthy. Blue is Medicare Advantage
from Well Marked Advantage Health Plant.Need help finding the right plan, call
Rob Kine with Citi's Insurance Group inLeclair. That five six, three three
five eight y four. Rob Kineis a local authorized independent agent for Well
Market Vantage Health Plant. To beeligible, you must reside in the service

(11:07):
area of the plant. Well MarketVantage Health Plant, Inc. Is an
independent licensee of the Blue Cross andBlue Shield Association. Hey everybody, and
welcome back to Living in Leclair.We're now talking with Rob Storm, who's
going to be carving ice in Leclaireon Saturday and Sunday as part of the
Eagle Fest. Rob welcome, Thankyou for joining us today. Thanks sir,

(11:28):
well Rob. Where are you fromand what do you do? And
how did you become an ice carver. I'm from Moline and ice carving is
just one of my many, manytalents. I've been ice covering for about
thirty years. Got into it throughthe restaurant industry. One of the my
chefs recognized me as an artist.I started carving fruit, melons and vegetables

(11:54):
into animals and garmige they call it, And eventually he handed me a chainsaw
and said, we're onto doing icecarving. So that's a long time ago
and over a thousand carving scents noware all the carving is done using an
electric chainsaw. What types of toolsdo you have to use to be able
to do this? I use anelectric chainsaw for a bulk of the cutting.

(12:20):
It works really well. I'm prettygood with it. I'm more accurate
with a chainsaw than most of myother tools. That's where you start.
I do use a variety of handtools at times. I have a few
different bits for a diye grinder ora very large dremal. Imagine that if
you can. It depends on thedesigns and how much the shape of the

(12:46):
detail. With ice, the shapeof the detail comes through the light that
hits it and hits surfaces and comesthrough it, And so I think about
how the shape of the designs andthe way it's detailed catches light, so
it acts in those things. Wow, that's very interesting. I mean,

(13:07):
how did you even get interested orfigure out how to do this? Was
it just you had already done sculptingwork or other things before doing ice sculptures.
Yeah. I had done some sculptingwork with clay and with you know,
the fruit and vegetables and things likethat, and doing modeling work or
you know, I'm a little prelego as far as that goes. But

(13:31):
any of that kind of three Ddesign stuff. I had dabbled in all
of those things, you know,since I was little, from drawing to
painting to any of those things.Now you carved for the eagle Festival Claire
last year, Did I believe sixdifferent carvings? This year? Again,
you're going to be doing six more. You're working outside. Is it harder

(13:52):
to ice carve outside or easier?Well, it depends on your temperature.
It's best to work with the icewhen it's around forty or forty degrees is
good that the ice isn't melting toofast or creating too much slush. That's
where you really get cold. Theice is better if it's tempered, they

(14:13):
call it. It's warmed up alittle bit. It's softer. When it's
really really cold, the ice isvery brittle to work with and cracks when
you make deeper cuts. Sometimes itcracks from whether it's the vibration or just
the pressure of it trying to changetemperature itself. Typically, if I'm doing

(14:33):
a sculpture that I carved in theshop and then bring it somewhere, it's
about you know, I worked inside. Just inside, it'd be sixty seven
degrees hotter. It is the fasterI got to work. But working outside
presents some challenges. Working in thatcold also presents some opportunities. I'm able

(14:56):
to carve pieces off of the blockand then reattached him by fusing him back
together with a hot plate and alittle bit of water. And at this
temperature, those attachments can I canstick them all sorts of different ways vertically
as opposed to just sticking to horizontalthings. It's it's just a different way

(15:22):
to do the medium. I've workedin the really cold, I've worked in
the rain, so I'm adaptable,very good. You know, when we
were talking earlier, you said yourson is going to be your assistant this
year, and that he may doa little bit of carving too. I
don't think he'll do any carving.He hasn't he hasn't played with the chainsaw
or some of the other tools.He's watched me several times. He helps

(15:46):
me keep things clean, neat organized. I'm moving around one hundred and fifty
pounds blocks of ice and I'm gettinga little old. So young body is
nice for helping me. But he'she's a good kid, and it gets
to spend time with me and getsto watch me do what I love to
do, and that's that's a goodthing. Any hints or ideas of what

(16:07):
you're going to be carving this year, well, hopefully I will be carving
a buffalo head for the Buffalo Museum, carving a river boat. I'm going
to do another eagle. I've donemany different eagle designs. I've got a
new one in my head, anowl, and then a couple of different
kinds of fish. Some of itwill depend on the block itself, how

(16:32):
good I feel. I just sketchthings out and I start carving. Is
there a special type of ice thatyou have to use? Are you creating
your own blocks or is there isthere an ice carving blocks RS somewhere that
you're able to buy. The carvingblocks are produced by a certain machine.
It's a Climbel machine. There maybe other brands out there, but it's

(16:56):
a three hundred pound block. Takesabout five to seven days, depending on
temperature during the year to produce athree hundred pound block. It's ten inches
thick, forty inches tall, twentyinches wide. Wow. So that's the
three hundred pound block. Now,the blocks I'll be carving here, I
will have split and made thinner,so the car faster. They're a lot

(17:21):
easier to move around when we're goingto be carving at one location and moving
the ice. It's a specialized machine. They do sell them out of Dubuque.
I work with A and A andI and sell blocks out of there.
Very good. And you'll be carvingon Saturday in front of Annattie's I

(17:42):
believe, starting at eleven am.And on Sunday it'll be at the Celebration
Center near the Mississippi River Distillery.So please come out and join us and
watch Rob Bork is magic on theseice blocks. Thank you so much for
joining us today. Run not aproblem when it comes to choosing a Medicare
plan. Blue is Affordable, Blueis Convenient, Blue is Staying Healthy,

(18:03):
Blue is Medicare Advantage from Well MarkeAdvantage Health Plan. Need help finding the
right plan, call Rob Kine withCities Insurance Group in Leclair. That five
six three three five nine oh eightfive four. Rob Kaine is a local
authorized independent agent for Well Marketdvantage HealthPlan. To be eligible, you must
reside in the service area of theplan. Well Marke Advantage Health Plan,
Inc. Is an independent licensee ofthe Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

(18:27):
Eagles in Nice twenty twenty four isthe first of many events coming up in
Leclair this year, so you canstart marking your calendar and be prepared to
enjoy what our city has to offer. If you go online to visit Leclair
dot com and click on events,you'll see the wide depth and breadth of
different events that happen in our town. Some great stuff parks and recreationists,

(18:48):
several things planned in the coming year. There are committees that get together to
put together Tudfest each year. There'sa committee for Christmas in Leclair. There
are other things that the tourism does. There are things the Buffalo Bill Mute
Museum does. There are lots ofthings going on that you can enjoy or
you can also get involved in.And if you want to get involved in

(19:10):
different events, feel free to contactme, you know, shoot me an
email at Wowally at gmail dot comand I'll be sure to hook you up
with the right person to help youget involved in some of these things.
For example, right now is TriviaNights season, and this is at the
Civic Center on Cody Road in downtownLeclair. There is one Saturday each month

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starting now with January twentieth, thenSaturday February seventeenth, Saturday March sixteenth,
Saturday April twentieth, and Saturday Mayeighteenth. There will be Trivia Nights.
The proceeds of Trivia night go towarddifferent charities that the Civic Center and Civic
Club find and then create this greatatmosphere for you to come in, have

(19:53):
a team, have a table,just come in and enjoy testing your trivia
knowledge for an evening of fun.And all the proceeds, again are going
toward charity. So please check thatout and join us for one of the
Trivia nights coming up this year.Also on Saturday, February seventeenth, participating
downtown businesses are going to be offeringsome treats as part of a Cocoa Crawl.

(20:15):
It's something that's been done in downtownLeclair before and we're aiming to do
it again this year. In addition, come have fun at the Buffalo Bill
Museum on Sunday, February twenty fifth, starting at noon for the annual Buffalo
Bill Birthday Party. Now, ifyou haven't recently been to the Buffalo Bill
Museum, now is a good timeto go check it out, and the

(20:37):
Birthday party is as good an excuseas any to go down there. Executive
Director Emeritus Bob Shifke has been workingfor years on creating new exhibits, building
new exhibits, getting the loan Startcleaned up. It really is a fantastic
experience. Now, when you gothrough the Buffalo Bill Museum, you learn
some stuff about Buffalo Bill, butyou also learn a lot about regional history

(21:02):
in local history of Leclaire. There'seven a tpe that was Ironized Cody's tpe
that Mike Wolf from the American Pickersfound and donated to the museum. Why
ironized Cody, Well, he wasfriends with Cecil Fletcher, who was a
Leclaire historian, and so there isthat connection. Something fun to see.
There's also a great exhibit about thelife of James crash Ryan. He's actually

(21:27):
the inventor of the black box andthe inventor of the seat belt, and
apparently he kind of served as hisown crash dummy. He was a professor
in Minnesota, but he was bornin Leclaire, so it's kind of cool
to see an exhibit that shows hisold office and everything else. She'd be
sure and check that out when thetime comes. Buffalo Bill Birthday Party Sunday,

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February twenty fifth. Now it's hardto think of this now with all
the snow on the ground, butstarting up on Saturday April twentieth, and
each month on a Saturday through October, there will be cars in cops be
on the levee. This has beenkind of an informal event where it's word
of mouth. People hear about itand they get together on those Saturday mornings
once a month on the levee toshow off their cars and to have some

(22:11):
coffee and enjoy the ambiance of thelevee and also the Mississippi River that's right
there. Next up that starts tohappen is different events in downtown Leclaire.
Plans are underway for a wine hopevent, and then there's also shops with
hops. I don't know if you'veever gone to a shops with hops,

(22:32):
but the way this is set upand the next one will be held in
May, you pay your fee.Again, proceeds are going toward charities,
but you get a little cup andyou get to go to different places downtown
where different breweries have set up tastingstations at different retail shops and restaurants in
Leclair. It's really kind of acool event, so watch for that coming
up on your calendar. Also,downtown businesses, we'll be looking at doing

(22:57):
May Market Days again this year,where we'll have sidewalk sales and other events
going on for that weekend in May. And while it's colled out, why
not start looking around your house andfigure out what would be good to sell
at citywide garage sales this year,there'll be June seventh and eighth in Leclair.
Now, more details will be comingshortly about a new event for Leclair

(23:18):
and this is one that the BuffaloBill Museum is involved in. They are
bringing the Buffalo Bill wild West Show. It's going to happen June twenty eighth
and twenty ninth and is scheduled tohappen at Cody Elementary which is appropriate after
all, why not have a BuffaloBill wild West Show at Cody Elementary School
named after Buffalo Bill Cody. Inaddition, we are working on creating another

(23:45):
type of event downtown to complement theBuffalo Bill wild West Show and to celebrate
the one hundred and ninetieth birthday ofLeclair. Leclair was founded in eighteen thirty
four and its namesake is Antoine Leclair. Just what will happen? We're working
on those details now. If youwant to join in and be part of
this one hundred and ninetieth celebration again. Contact me Wayne Wally Wowally at gmail

(24:08):
dot com or leave your name atAnn Hattie's facil Emporium and let it just
leave a note that says, hey, I want to be involved in some
of these events, and I willget in contact with you and put you
in touch with the right people tobe a part of what we do in
our wonderful town of Leclair. Butfor right now, let's talk again a
little bit more about eagles and iceagain. Saturday, January twentieth ice carving

(24:32):
in front of Ann Hattie's one otwo South Cody Road. Sunday, eleven
am to four pm at the CelebrationCenter, two twenty nine North Cody Road
in Leclair. There will be differentthings happening. Schedules as follows. Ten
forty five am, the doors aregoing to be open to the public.
There'll be vendor tables, kids' activities, and a hot cocoa bar. Now,
starting at eleven am, the SaintLouis based World Bird Sanctuary will host

(24:56):
presentations with live eagles. This ispretty cool. Well, the World World
Bird Sanctuary has treated more than twentyone thousand injured birds. They've helped to
organize conservation efforts on four different continents, So come and check that out.
At noon and again at three fifteenPM. They'll be Eagle Tales with internationally
acclaimed author Brian fox Ellis, soyou have two chances to hear him tell

(25:21):
his stories about eagles again. That'sat noon and at three point fifteen at
twelve thirty pm. The Iowa Citybased Rare Group it's a nonprofit raptor rehabilitation
and education organization that will host presentationswith a live owl. The Rare Group
is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and conservation of birds of prey throughout

(25:42):
Iowa. Their avian ambassadors educate thepublic about the wonders of Iowa's raptor species,
the dangers they face, and whatcan be done to help these birds
have a better quality of life inthe wild. There's also a photographer that's
going to host a presentation with slidesand information offering an off an unseen look
at the lives of Iowa's bald eaglepopulation, from fishing to building nests and

(26:06):
much more. You can find outhow researchers track eagle's movements and where the
eagles come from. Now, thephotographer's book is going to be for sale
and it can be signed by theauthor, so be sure and check that
out. And as we've mentioned before, Rob Storm Saturday at ant Hattie's carving
three ice sculptures, Sunday at theMississippi River Distillery Company, carving three more.

(26:27):
Once the sculptures are complete, they'regoing to be moved around to various
locations for viewing in downtown Leclair,and one is even scheduled to go up
to the McDonald's up on the hilloff of Eagle Ridge Road. In addition,
the Leclaire Community Library will be onhand with organized activities for children.
Now, again, we really appreciateyour listening today. I want to thank

(26:49):
Cindy Brune and Rob Storm as ourguest, and I want to thank you,
as I've said now for listening tous today, and please come and
enjoy Eagles on Ice twenty twenty four, enjoy everything else that Leclair has to
offer. I'm Wayne Wally and thishas been living in Leclair. Thank you
for listening to this week's edition ofKnowledge is Power with your host Rob Kane.

(27:14):
If you have a question for Roband would like it answered on an
upcoming show. Email him at rKane at citiesig dot com. Please tune
in again next Saturday morning.