Steven Langland, age 68, of Decorah, Iowa passed away on Friday, January 16, 2026, at The Highlands (Aase Haugen) in Decorah, Iowa.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, January 24, 2026, at Helms Funeral Home, 306 E Water Street, Decorah, Iowa with Rev. Matthew Becker presiding. Burial will be at the Highland Lutheran Cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. until the time of the service at Helms Funeral Home on Saturday morning.

In lieu of flowers donations and memorials can be made to the Winneshiek County 4-H and The Highlands (Aase Haugen) Capital Campaign.

Steve was born October 26, 1957, and graduated from Spring Grove High School in 1976, going on to study agriculture at the University of Minnesota – Waseca for two years. He then joined his father, Walter, in the dairy operation on the ‘home farm’. While helping on the farm, he also started his own beef herd as well as doing custom silo filling for neighbors. For eleven years, Steve drove daily to Rochester to serve people with disabilities in a group home for Bear Creek Services, Inc.

Serving the community was Steve’s great passion. He held office and served on boards including Aase Haugen Senior Services (The Highlands), Winneshiek County 4-H and Extension Service, Community of Hope, Highland Lutheran Church, Winneshiek County Cattlemen, The Spectrum Network, University of Minnesota – Waseca Alumni Association, Winneshiek County Planning and Zoning Commission and Board of Adjustments and Winneshiek County Farm Bureau.

In serving the 4-H community, Steve was on the Winneshiek County Extension Council for around ten years. In 2022, he was honored with the Winneshiek County 4-H Hall of Fame award, both in Decorah and at the Iowa State Fair. As a member of the Highland Hawks 4-H club, he showed cattle at the fair. Upon his return to Decorah from college, he continued to volunteer for the Youth Development committee, the Foundation Board, as a club leader as well as manager of the Clover Café at the fair and other fundraisers.

Steve was a lifetime member of Highland Lutheran Church with his service including Council President and Pastoral Call Committee.

One of the original founding members of the Winneshiek County Community of Hope in 2007, Steve served as vice president and secretary. Having managed the pork chop booths during the Winneshiek County Fair and Nordic Fest, Steve helped people in developing countries become food sufficient for the rest of their lives. The money raised was used for education, building materials, water treatment projects, etc. Through 2025, the Winneshiek County Community of Hope growing projects raised $458,553.

A founding member of the Winneshiek County Planning and Zoning Commission in the mid-90’s, Steve continued to serve as a member and sometimes Chair all those years until his death.

In 2023, Steve and his father, Walter, partnered with Sawyer Wise in a unique farm succession plan that gave Sawyer an opportunity to purchase his first farm while assisting the Langlands in their farm operation. With age and health considerations, Walter and Steve knew decisions had to be made yet didn’t want to sell to investors or a large farmer. They continued their conservation and farming practices with a unique partnership not typically heard of in the ag industry these days - a farm succession plan that benefited both Steve, Walter and Sawyer and his family. “You’ve got to think outside the box,” Steve said – a skill that he honed over the years in many settings.

One of Steve’s greatest passions and accomplishments was his vision, extensive work and seeing through The Highlands nursing home project while serving on the Aase Haugen Senior Services board. Steve served almost fifteen years as President of the Board and felt honored to be a resident at the home on Ohio Street, then experience being wheeled in the front door of the new building just a month ago. Steve said he came in the front door, and he was also going out the front door, so he was escorted by a handful of friends as he left The Highlands on Friday, January 16, 2026.

Steve is survived by his parents, Walter and Adeline (Lovstuen) Langland of Decorah; his sister, Karen Harthan, of Clear Lake, Iowa; two nephews, Ben (Sarah) Harthan of Worthington, Minnesota (children Rebekah and Madelyn) and Jacob Harthan of Norway, Wisconsin; his Corgi, Mitzi, and numerous cousins.

He was preceded in death by his partner, Jeffrey Kovacevich, his grandparents, Charles and Clara Langland and Oscar and Florence Lovstuen as well as his brother-in-law, Mark Harthan, many aunts and uncles and his devoted “fur babies”, Wellington and Theodore.

The family appreciates the compassionate care shown to Steve by St. Croix Hospice and The Highlands (Aase Haugen).