City leaders, committee begin preparing for RAGBRAI

 New Hampton has taken “baby steps” when it comes to preparing for RAGBRAI, but Mayor Deb Larsen told the City Council Monday night that planning will really pick up steam early next month.Larsen told the council that a RAGBRAI Committee has been formed and is being headed up by Phil Zwanziger and Julie Winter-Havel.But Larsen said the committee won’t make definitive plans on how the city will welcome and handle thousands of bicyclists and support personnel until an April 8 meeting with officials from the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa.“That’s the day we’ll find out the do’s and the dont’s,” she said, “but we already have some really great ideas that we’re kicking around.”— For more on this story, see the March 24 Reporter