Wings Over Prairie offers fly-ins, food to spectators

The Prairie du Chien Municipal Airport welcomed dozens of fly-ins during the Wings Over Prairie du Chien event on July 13. The Reedsburg Flying Club offered flights to spectators during the day.

Dave Wesener, a member of the Prairie du Chien Rotary Club, cooks bacon for the fly-in breakfast that kicked off the Wings Over PdC.

the Prairie du Chien Police Department's senior K9 unit Rico at the Wings Over Prairie du Chien event.

A look inside the La Crosse CAP flight simulator, cockpit which was available during the day.


Derrick Eastman, a member of the city fire department, shows adults and children different pieces of equipment used to fight fires.

The 77th Alice in Dairyland Hailei Heinzel went up with Mayor David Hemmer in one of the City of Prairie du Chien’s fire engines during the Wings event.

Alice in Dairyland Hailei Heinzel poses with two visitors to the Prairie du Chien Municipal Airport.

Former Driftless Development, Inc. Executive Director Carol Roth peruses the Historical Society pie auction.

Multiple organizations bring attractions to event at the PdC airport
By Steve Van Kooten
For anyone who heard the voluminous air traffic going over Prairie du Chien on Saturday, July 13, your ears did not deceive you. The municipal airport was a hotbed of activity by air and by land due to the second annual Wings Over Prairie du Chien event.
Along with the airport, several organizations, including the local Rotary Club, Fire Department, Police Department, Reedsburg Flying Club, Civil Air Patrol, Prairie du Chien Historical Society and representatives from the armed forces, made the event a one-stop fly-in destination.
At 7:30 a.m., the Rotary Club kicked off the event with their fly-in breakfast in one of the airport’s hangars. The menu included brisket, bacon, potatoes and eggs, among other items. The breakfast raised money for local youth programs, according to club member Dave Wesener, who spent a good portion of the morning cooking bacon for hungry visitors. In 2023, more than 300 people ate at the fly-in.
“What I find really enjoyable is that I get a good location to watch the planes come in, and I see many faces from the community that I know,” said Wesener. “This wouldn’t be a success without community members coming and enjoying breakfast.”
The Prairie du Chien Police Department brought one of their K9 units, Rico, to meet the public, sell raffle tickets and distribute free gun locks. The money raised at the event goes to the K9 Foundation, which pays expenses for the department’s four dogs.
Police Chief Kyle Teynor believes events like Wings Over Prairie give the department important opportunities to connect with their community.
“There were a lot [of people at the event last year], and if we can interact with a lot of people, we are going to be there,” said Teynor. I think it blew people’s minds how many people showed up last year.”
As the morning wore on, the heat steadily increased, as did the crowd at the airport. Next to the police tent, the city fire department set up some of their equipment for the public to see.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Derrick Eastman, a 15-year veteran of the fire department, said. “To me, let [kids] touch stuff, see things, get interested and not be scared of you. They’ve seen us before; it will make them less nervous if we need to come to their house.”
The fire department participated in this past year’s Wings event. This year, on the same day the department planned to hold their Family Fun Event, the department had their brush truck, rescue boat and one of their fire engines available for display.
“A lot of people don’t realize the equipment we have, so they can at least see what we have here,” Harry Remz said. “It just adds to the things that people can see. The police department is here, and the [coast guard] auxiliary, and the F-16 simulator.”
On the other side of the airport building, next to the U.S. Marines tent, the Civil Air Patrol, based out of La Crosse, opened up their flight simulator for kids to experience what it is like to pilot a military aircraft.
“We have a full cockpit set up from an F-16,” Ryder Stollenwerk, a member of the Civil Air Patrol, said. “We brought it down to get kids more interested in aviation and to give them a good experience.”
The simulator uses projector screens to replicate piloting an airplane out of La Crosse. Inputs from the cockpit’s stick, throttle and rudder pedals, along with a few other controls, can make the plane soar through the sky or go nose first into the ground, depending on how the pilot uses the controls.
The CAP, the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit, volunteer organization. The closest chapter operates out of La Crosse.
“The program provides cadets with aerial experiences,” Stollenwerk said. “We try to include physical fitness, and there’s a military aspect to it as well. We’re trying to create the next leaders.”
He added that the flight simulator was one way for young people to see what it is like to fly a plane and get them interested in joining the CAP program.
The Prairie du Chien Historical Society relocated their yearly pie auction from St. Feriole Island to the Wings event. Starting at 10 a.m., bidders competed with their pocketbooks for pies of every variety. The money raised from the auction went toward programming and operations for the local museums.
While planes flew overhead and the smell of crisp bacon wafted from the Fly-In, Wisconsin’s current Alice in Dairyland, Hailei Heinzel, made an appearance to eat breakfast, fly in one of the Reedsburg Flying Club’s airplanes and kick off the pie auction.
“So, this is my first time coming to Crawford County,” Heinzel said. “I will be coming at least once a month for the next year to prepare for the finals.”
Heinzel said her visit to the Wings event was her sixth day as the 77th Alice in Dairyland — a position she won on July 8.
“I did not grow up on a farm, so I was really familiar with what it was like to be curious about where my food comes from, and that curiosity is what drives my passion for agriculture.”
She added that she milked a cow for the first time in 2018, which became the catalyst to join the Future Farmers of America in high school, pursue a degree in life science communications at UW-Madison and, eventually, vie for the Alice title.
“It is what set me on that path to learning everything I could about agriculture,” said Heinzel.
Alice in Dairyland is a one-year contracted position with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. The winner spends a year touring Wisconsin businesses, learning about agriculture industries, and acting as a marketing, advertising and communications representative.
The 2025 Alice in Dairyland competition will take place in Crawford County, which will be the first time the event has taken place within the county, though three out of the previous 76 representatives hail from Crawford. The event is scheduled for May 15–17, with a location yet to be determined.
The Wings Over Prairie du Chien is an annual event, so mark your calendars now. Even though some things are still up in the air, you can be certain the wings will fly high again next July.