Lansing, Iowa celebrates its 150th birthday during the summer of 2017. The northeast Iowa city has a history as a fishing and pearl and pearl button manufacturing center. The residents led by the business community raised $750,000 in bonds to construct the Black Hawk Bridge and open it as a toll bridge in 1931. As of the book publishing date, the Bridge is one of the oldest remaining bridges still in operation on the Upper Mississippi River. It is a key connection between northeast Iowa and southwest Wisconsin, serving a population of about 200,000 residents. Its unique structure sets the Bridge apart from the newer bridges between the Twin Cities and the Quad Cities. The Bridge is a key landmark in the region known as the Driftless Area.