Community News

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, June 8 to address a full agenda of items including the consideration of bids for concrete patching, the hiring of Secondary Roads Department employees and discussion of COVID-19 related items.

During Public Comment, Executive Director Val Reinke of Allamakee County Economic Development (ACED) provided an overview of upcoming events and discussed her online attendance June 4-5 at EntreFEST, a two-day conference dedicated to Iowa and Midwest entrepreneurship and innovation. Reinke indicated that Sweeney Real Estate has made a social media post relating to the sale of the Waukon Inn Restaurant with the new owners to utilize the existing equipment in their business.

by Brianne Eilers

The month of April ended with a positive operating margin of $181,000 for Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) in Waukon. However, the operating margin for the 10-month period ending April 30, 2020 is still showing a loss of $514,000 for the hospital, according to numbers shared at the VMH Board of Trustees meeting May 28.

VMH Administrator Mike Myers noted that the decrease in patient revenue of $892,000 for April was due to the COVID-19 restrictions that were put in place, which did not allow for elective surgeries and resulted in a slowdown in outpatient services. There was also a decrease in the areas of obstetrics (OB), swing bed and Emergency Room (ER) visits. There was an increase in acute days and Urgent Care visits.

This sculpture art piece, entitled “Crossroads” and created by artist Cara Briggs Farmer of Marion, was installed this past week at the downtown Plaza location at the stoplight intersection in Waukon as part of another step forward in the development of that Plaza area. The steel and plexiglass sculpture was designed to reflect the vibrancy and uniqueness of Waukon and to complement the downtown area surrounding it, with the artwork’s “Crossroads” title seeming to be very fitting at that intersection of Main Street and Allamakee Street/Spring Avenue that is part of the Driftless Area Scenic Byway in northeast Iowa.

Robey Memorial Library in Waukon is now opened back up to the public at its regular hours as of June 1, with some service limitations. Library policies and procedures have been amended to prioritize public safety.

Social distancing is encouraged; hand sanitizer is provided throughout the library. Face masks are available. Surfaces and returned books are sanitized. Minors age eight and under must be accompanied by an adult. Curbside service will continue for the convenience of patrons.

The library is open for browsing, check-outs and inter-library loan requests. Public computers are available for use by individuals for up to two hours per day; computers can be reserved up to 24 hours in advance. Printing, copying, scanning and faxing services have also resumed. Library staff encourages use of the library’s wireless printing service; patrons are encouraged to ask for details.

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, June 1 to address a variety of matters including an audio/visual technology upgrade for the City Council Chambers, the purchase of Police Department vehicle radios and the option of utility and other payments by residents to the City being made by credit card.

During Public Comment, Allamakee County Fair Board member Tyler Plein requested feedback from Mayor Pat Stone and the Waukon City Council relating to their opinions of having the Allamakee County Fair this summer with COVID-19 precautions as a consideration. The mayor and council were supportive of having the event. Plein further discussed that grandstand events could be allowed at 50% capacity, food stands would not be part of the event to help promote social distancing, children would be allowed to show animals and sanitizing would occur regularly.

The Boy Scouts Northeast Iowa Council has announced the launch of the free Scout Me In Challenge! The challenge became available starting Monday, June 1 for all youth and is accessed at: https://mailchi.mp/scouting/smichallenge.

The Scout Me In Challenge has activities for June, July and August. As families continue spending time together during the global pandemic, the challenge puts a fresh perspective on many of the projects families are currently doing together, as well as exposes them to new activities. The challenge takes the core of Cub Scouting, such as citizenship, personal fitness, character and leadership, and breaks it into bite-sized pieces that can be done as a family.

Allamakee County experienced another week of a fairly low single-digit number of confirmed positive test results for COVID-19, as four cases were confirmed this past week to push the county’s total to 118 positive cases. With more days without any cases than days with confirmed cases reported for the second consecutive week, those four cases came in a week where more than 70 tests for the infection were conducted.

Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation (NEICAC) is committed to decreasing food insecurity and supporting community members across its seven-county service area to stay home and stay healthy during the COVID-19 Outbreak. NEICAC also understands the imperative role food pantries are playing in meeting hunger needs during this current pandemic.

In an effort to further facilitate the connection between those two aspects, NEICAC is partnering with area food pantries in offering its EARL Public Transit system to transport food and household necessities from food pantries, directly to the door of community members.

Clients are asked to contact their local food pantry to learn if they are participating, or reach out to the Family Service office in their area. The Family Service office in the Waukon area can be reached by calling 563-568-4224 and the Decorah office can be reached at 563-387-4958.

Mental Health Today/Matt Howe Tribute Endowment (MHT), in partnership with the Alice Hermeier Foundation Endowment, has announced plans to use its 2020 endowment disbursement to provide transportation for Allamakee County residents of all ages to and from wellness checks, mental health checks and mental health therapy appointments. Both endowments were created through and are held by the Allamakee County Community Foundation (ACCF), an affiliate of the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque.

“The Allamakee County Community Foundation has made the brain health of our region a priority for our research and grantmaking. We are proud to support funds like MHT and the Alice Hermeier Foundation, which are making an impact for residents who need it most,” said Betty Steege, ACCF Coordinator.

Rides will be provided at no cost by Northeast Iowa Community Action EARL transit services. Appointments can be within Allamakee County or outside its borders.

The City of Waukon has announced that its Spring Clean-Up has now been scheduled for Saturday, June 20. Watch for additional information to be published in The Standard and Northeast Iowa Extra publications in the near future.