OFFICIAL
NEWSPAPER FOR
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News 50¢
Vol. 42 No. 12 Norwalk, Iowa 50211 USPS No. 395-120 Phone 981-0406 Thursday, August 12, 2010
What's New at La Quercia?
By Mary Lou Gray
It's been five-and-a-half
years since La Quercia
opened its doors in
Norwalk. In 2004 Kathy
and Herb Eckhouse
started their business at
400 Hakes Dr., on the
south side of Norwalk.
La Quercia is nationally
known for its cured ham
and the many different se- the Ozarks provides La on one piece and good fig
lections they offer for pur- Quercia with a new pro- jam on the other. Top with
chase. Since their incep- sciutto "varietal" which several slices of La Quercia
tion in 2004 they have comes from one of the old- Prosciutto or Speck and
doubled the size of their est of pig breeds, close sandwich gently.
building and increased the The Eckhouses offer a Variations: Use a drizzle of
number of employees. An variety of prosciutto in-
honey instead of the jam;
in-house slicing operation cluding Rossa-Heirloom, use La Quercia Speck
has been added also. They Americano, Speck Amer- Americano for a delicate
make every effort to utilize icano, Coppa Americana smokiness.
area businesses and those along with many others. This richly flavored dr),
around the state to main- Some of these are pro- aged ham wins praise
tain and run La Quercia. cessed by smoking with from critics and chefs
Much of their equipment apple wood to add aroma across the continent. It was
comes from Italian sources and flavor, but never with judged the "hands down
but the set up and mainte- any preservatives or addi- winner" by a tasters' panel
nance is performed locally tives that would change from Cook's Illustrated
as much as possible. The the organic nature of the versus the best known Ital-
majority of their biggest product, ian prosciutto (Prosciutto
clients are in the Chicago For more information di Parma & Prosciutto di
area as well as the coasts about purchasing or gen- San Daniele). Made in
of the United States, with eral questions about La Iowa by Herb and Kathy
some export to Canada. Quercia you may visit Eckhouse, Bon Appetit
The Eckhouses pur- their website at www.l Magazine Food Artisans of
chase the majority of their aquercia.us or ca11515-981- the Year (2007), with hu-
ham from Iowa producers. 1625. The La Quercia manely raised, non-con-
The Becker Lane Organic products are available at finement, antibiotic free
Farm in Dyersville is the . Scott's Foods in Norwalk. pork. Selected for their
main source of the Pro- A spokesperson at Scott's menus by celebrity chefs
sciutto Green Label they Foods advised that if you Mario Batali, Wolfgang
process. Prosciutto simply desire a product from La Puck and Rick Bayless.
means dry cured ham Quercia that is not in their Salad Ideas
from therhind leg of pigs, store, they would be La Quercia
not cooked and processed happy to obtain it for you. Summer Mushroom
with sea-salt. Nothing else Salad with
is added, no preservatives La Querrcia La Quercia Prosciutto
or seasonings. Sea salt is a Prosciutto Americano Americano
more coarse salt and has Sandwich Ideas 2 small heads butter or
no additives like table salt. The Perfect Sandwich: bibb lettuce, leaves sepa-
The sea salt the Eckhouses Split fresh challah or rated, washed, and dried
use comes from California brioche rolls, or cut slices 8 ounces (or 3 3-ounce
and is processed by evapo- from a loaf, and spread packages) La Quercia Pro-
rating salt water from the with sweet unsalted but- sciutto Americano
sea. Where normal pro- ter. Put several slices of La 1 pound mixed mush-
cessed ham has lots of Quercia Prosciutto rooms (chanterelles, black
moisture, the Prosciutto Americano or Speck on the trumpet, shitake) trimmed
process actually takes the buttered piece and top and cleaned
moisture out, making a with the other. This is so 1/2 cup extra virgin olive
dryer product. It can be simple and so delicious[ oil, juice of one lemon, salt
used in recipes just as any Everyone loves it. It is and pepper to taste
other ham. The Becker wonderful for airplane 1/4 cup shaved or coarsely
Lane Organic Farm raises trips. It's also good made grated Parmigiano Reg-
pigs on organic pasture with other kinds of bread, giano
and they eat a healthful Savory and Sweet: La Heat the olive oil over
diet of corn and soybeans. Quercia Prosciutto, fresh mediumheat and saut6 the
Some other organic con- goat cheese, and fig jam: mushrooms for about 3
nections are Eden Farms Split a ciabatta roll and minutes. Remove from
and Heritage Acres. In toast if desired. Spread heat, add the lemon juice,
2010 the Kremer Farm in fresh goat cheese (chevre)
Continued p. 2
By Mark Miller
Norwalk City Administrator
The Citv of Norwalk is completing actions on multiple purpose bond issues. The
efforts include a new Public Works facility, funding for streets, water and sanitary
sewer improvements, a new aerial platform truck, trails, economic development
projects and a remodeling of the current municipal building, as well as a number of
purchases to provide a safe work environment, safe equipment and solid planning
efforts to address where the City is going in the near future.
To accommodate all of this activity the City adopted a Capital Impro.vements Pro-
gram that provides the documentation and needs of the City departments to meet
what has been planned for and successfully funded. Norwalk in the past has acted
on items such as these on an annual basis and now the City is looking longer term.
The undertaking included the City getting its first bond rating from Moody's Fi-
nancial Services; this is a barometer to indicate the successful budgeting and plan-
ning by the City to meet its financial obligations. The positive news is that the City of
Norwalk received an A1 rating, a very good score for a first-time applicant. This is an
important score for those who purchase these bonds. This effort was accomplished
with the assistance of the City fiscal agent, Public Financial Management, City staff
and Dorsey Whitney, bond counsel.
The results of the bond sale which were bid August 5, 2010 show the success of
the rating, the monitoring of financial integrity of the City and the dedication of the
Mayor and Council to make sound financial decisions. In addition the Council has
combined both debt service planning and tax increment financing. The City also
refunded existing debt amortizations with higher rates and secured savings with the
actions of August 5.
Three bond issues were bought for the following rates:
$1,260,000 UMB Bank Etl-Kansas City True Interest rate-1.192% 5 years
$4,685,000 Northland Securities-Minneapolis True Interest rate-3.320% 20 years
$5,320,000 Robert W. Baird Etl-Milwaukee True Interest rate-3.543% 20 years
The City is actively moving on a number of dther projects due to the sale of our
Waste Water Treatment Plartt to the Des Moines Metro WRA, a sanitary sewer line
that renovates the whole east side system along North Avenue, extension of a water
line to the east, the just completed traffic signals on Iowa 28 where the City used
American Recovery funding and storm water efforts on the southwest side of
Norwalk. Future studies include a Lakewood infrastructure studjfi an update to the
1998 City Comprehensive Plan and a new welcome sign to Norwalk connected to
the completion of a City marketing program/branding identity and logo. Look for
more commitment by the City in the future to the future of Norwalk.
Community Blood Drive
*A Norwalk Commu-
nity Blood Drive will be
held from 3 to 7 p.m.
Thursda~ Aug. 19, in the
Fellowship Hall at St. John
the Apostle Catholic
Church, 720 Orchard Hills
Dr. Schedule an appoint-
ment online at www.blo
odcenterofiowa.org or
contact Sharon Burns at
515-981-4184.
It is easy to show your
achool spirit! Donate
blood and you will have
the exclusive opportunity
to redeem a "What Color
Do You Bleed" gift in your
favorite team colors for
just 100 points at The
Blood Center of Iowa's
Online Store.
The blood drive is spon-
sored by the Norwalk Li-
ons Club. Participants
need to bring a valid form
of identification, such as a
Donor ID card or driver's
license.
Fall Fest
August 19
The annual kickoff for
the fall season of Norwalk
High School athletics and
activities, Fall Fest, will be
held Thursday, Aug. 19,
beginning at 6 p.m. at the
football stadium. Opening
ceremonies will be fol-
lowed by football and vol-
leyball scrimmages begin-
ning at approximately
6:30.
Admission to Fall Fest
is a non-perishable or
canned food item spon-
sored by the Norwalk Ath-
letic Ambassador Club to
assist the Norwalk Food
Pantry.
KC Pancake
Breakfast
This Sunday
Members of Knights of
Columbus will hold a Pan-
cake Breakfast Sunday,
Aug. 15, from 8 to 11 a.m.
at St. John the Apostle
Catholic Church, 720 Or-
chard Hills Dr,
The menu includes pan-
cakes, eggs, French toast,
sausage, juice, milk and
coffee for a free-will dona-
tion.
Proceeds are used for
community service
projects.
LIBRARY HOURS
Monday- Thursday
10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Friday & Saturday
10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday, 1-5 p.m.
Closed Sundays
(M mor Dv-t. orDv)
