Mississippi - Part IV

This is the fourth part of our tour along the Mississippi River. We finished our last flight at Keokuk (KEOK), IA, and we continue from there.

We follow the Mississippi north and reach Muscatine (KMUT), IA. This community has an interesting history and a remarkable resident: From the 1840s to the Civil War, Muscatine had Iowa's largest black community, consisting of fugitive slaves who had traveled the Mississippi from the South and free blacks who had migrated from the eastern states. One of the most prominent community leaders was Alexander G. Clark Sr., born free in Pennsylvania. He was a barber, a respected position at the time, and eventually became a wealthy timber salesman and real estate speculator. In 1848, he was among the founders of the local African Methodist Episcopal Church, which had been established as the first independent black denomination in the US. In the antebellum period, he assisted fugitive slaves and petitioned the state government to overturn racist laws before the Civil War. In 1863, Clark helped organize Iowa's black regiment, the 60th United States Colored Infantry (originally known as the 1st Iowa Infantry, African Descent), though an injury prevented him from serving. In 1868, he gained the desegregation of Iowa's public schools by suing the Muscatine school board after his daughter, Susan, was turned away from her neighborhood school. Eleven years later, in 1879, his son Alexander Jr. became the first black graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law and its first black graduate from any department. Clark Sr. went to the college and became its second black law graduate five years later, despite being 58 years old. He said that he wanted to serve “as an example to young men of his own race.” Clark rose to prominence in the Republican Party, serving as a delegate to state and national conventions. In 1890, Clark was appointed ambassador to Liberia by President Benjamin Harrison. He was one of four Muscatine residents to be appointed as a diplomatic envoy between 1855 and 1900, a remarkable feat for a town of such small size: George Van Horne was consul at Marseille, France during the 1860s; Samuel McNutt served at Maracaibo, Venezuela in 1890; and Frank W. Mahin represented his country in Liberec (Reichenberg), Austria-Hungary in 1900.

We turn east and land at Quad City (KMLI), IL. The airport was named "Illinois Primary Airport of the Year" in 2012. It serves the Quad Cities Metropolitan area, including Davenport and Bettendorf in Scott County, Iowa, and Moline in Rock Island County, Illinois. The airport does not have any international commercial passenger flights; its international designation is due to being an official port of entry and having a Foreign Trade Zone and U.S. Customs Office, enabling international cargo shipments and international general aviation passenger flights. On our departure, we overfly Rock Island and head north for our next landing at Tri-Township (KSFY), IL.

We return to Iowa and land at Dubuque (KDQ), IA, at the junction of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Dubuque is a regional tourist destination featuring the city's unique architecture, casinos, and riverside location. The current City of Dubuque was named after Julien Dubuque, who settled at the southern end of a large flat plain adjacent to the Mississippi River. The city was officially chartered in 1833, located in the unorganized territory of the United States. The region was designated the Iowa Territory in 1838 and included in the newly created State of Iowa in 1846. Beginning in the mid-19th century and into the early 20th century, thousands of poor German, Luxembourgish, and Irish Catholic immigrants came to the city to work in the manufacturing centers. The city's large Roman Catholic congregations led to its designation as the seat of the newly established Archdiocese of Dubuque.

We return to the river and reach Prairie Du Chien (KPDC), WI. Often called Wisconsin's second-oldest city, Prairie du Chien was established as a European settlement by French voyageurs in the late 17th century. Its settlement date of June 17, 1673, makes it the fourth colonial settlement by European settlers in the Midwestern United States, after Green Bay, Wisconsin; Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; and St. Ignace, Michigan. Prairie du Chien is near the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers, a strategic point along the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway that connects the Great Lakes with the Mississippi. This location offered early French missionaries and explorers their first access and entrance to the Mississippi River. Early French visitors to the site found it occupied by a group of Meskwaki led by a chief whose name, "Alim," meant chien in French ('dog' in English). The French explorers named the location Prairie du Chien, French for 'dog's meadow'.  Further 52 miles north, we reach today's destination, La Crosse (KLSE), WI. La Crosse County is a top ten tourist destination in the state, with $433 million in travel-related spending generated in 2023.

The trip has 265 miles and 5 landings. We want to cruise at about 180 knots. I will probably be in the C414. As always, fly what you like.

The flight plans are here.  

There are two freeware add-ons available:

Quad Cities KMLI

La Crosse KLSE

We try real weather. Please set your simulator for a 1 PM local departure.

Multiplayer Particulars:

Date and time: Sunday, May 11, 2025. 1600 UTC

Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server.

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