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State Representative Kristi Hager (R-Waukon) has announced that she will not seek re-election to the Iowa House of Representatives in 2018. First elected in 2016, she represents House District 56, which includes Allamakee County and most of Clayton County. She plans, instead, to run for Allamakee County Supervisor after serving out the remainder of her existing legislative term, which ends January 2019.

Aaron Thomas, son of slain legendary Iowa high school football coach Ed Thomas of Aplington-Parkersburg High School, will speak to Waukon Middle School and High School students Tuesday, March 13 at 2 p.m. and to the community members of the school district later that same evening, at 7 p.m. Both presentations will be held in the Waukon High School gymnasium.

Thomas has a passion for impacting lives and public speaking is one avenue he utilizes. His father was a beloved high school football coach who not only trained generations of players on the importance of hard work, dedication, excellence and commitment but personally put these values into action when he was the community leader who inspired his town to rebuild in the wake of a deadly EF 5 tornado.  Not long after the community withstood the disaster of the storm, the small town of Parkersburg endured a far worse tragedy: the fatal shooting of Ed Thomas by a former player with mental health issues.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, February 19 to address a full agenda of items, including the Public Hearing for the Flood Plain Ordinance XXXIX amendment, discussion of a County Sheriff's Department employee resignation and discussion of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) drone purchase. Chairperson Larry Schellhammer called the meeting to order.

The overnight weather radar pictured above from Monday, February 19 into Tuesday, February 20 was pretty to look at in its color schemes but did not leave a very pretty result as it left behind anywhere from one-tenth to two-tenths of an inch of icy slush on area roadways in the tri-state area. The threat of that icy weather and its eventual realization forced a number of cancellations and schedule changes in the area, as well as throughout much of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, including school cancellations and delays both Monday and Tuesday, as well as the postponement of the Kee girls basketball regional championship game from Monday to Tuesday and the Allamakee Community School District Board meeting from Monday to Wednesday.

Existing system has failed and must be replaced; Public open house set for February 28 at Effigy Mounds Visitor Center

The National Park Service has released an Environmental Assessment for installing a new septic system in the park headquarters area at Effigy Mounds National Monument. The park’s current septic system, constructed in 1959, has failed and needs to be replaced, according to information shared by Effigy Mounds National Monument Superintendent Jim Nepstad. The Environmental Assessment assesses the impacts associated with either keeping things as they are, or installing a new system in the area between the facility's main parking lot and State Highway 76.

Award nominations due by this Friday; Princess applications due by March 1

The 2018 Allamakee County Dairy Banquet will be held Saturday, March 24 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon. The meal will be served from 7-8:30 p.m., with the program starting at 8 p.m. The annual celebration recognizes the importance of the dairy industry in Allamakee County and the contributions dairy families make to the industry.

Every year, top producers from the county are recognized at the banquet. In addition, several other awards are presented that evening. The Allamakee Dairy Promotion Board and the Allamakee County Extension Office are accepting nominations through February 23 for the following awards:

Waukon wrestling 170-pound senior Tristan Hansmeier (42-5) had his championship hopes at the 2018 Iowa High School State Wrestling Tournament brought to a close by top-ranked senior Kolton Bartow (44-3) of Dubuque Wahlert, falling to Bartow by fall in 4:39. Bartow will now advance to the Class 2A 170-pound championship match and Hansmeier will next wrestle again in the Class 2A consolation semifinals Saturday morning, beginning at 10 a.m. Hansmeier's consolation semifinals opponent will actually be his first-round opponent, New Hampton senior Noah Glaser, who Hansmeier beat, 8-6, in that Thursday morning opening-round match. The winner of that consolation semifinal match will then wrestle for third or fourth place later during that same Saturday session, with the loser of that semifinal match then wrestling for fifth and sixth place later that same Saturday as well.

FIRST UPDATE:

Waukon High School junior Sean Liddiard will be among the high school youth from across this nation representing the future of the nation by looking at its past when he travels to Washington, D.C. in early March to compete at the national level of the Voice of Democracy Patriotic Audio Essay Competition sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and its Auxiliary. Liddiard, the son of Dan and Kelly Liddiard of Waterville, had his Voice of Democracy essay emerge through the ranks of local, district and state levels of competition to be one of 53 entries nationwide selected as national finalists in the essay contest.

The historic ice harvest that was once a mainstay of the Lansing area returned again this year as a joint effort of the Allamakee County Conservation Board and Gary and Karen Galema of Lansing Saturday, February 10. The ice harvest took place at the Village Creek State Boat Landing on the south side of Lansing, with those attending being even further treated to making their own ice cream at the Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center following the ice harvest. Additional photos and information about the event can be found on Page 3A in the print edition and e-edition of The Standard and the River Valley section of this website.

In response to the series of recent tragedies that have enveloped the northeast Iowa area, Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon has offered a variety of resources to help community members cope with loss and suffering. The links below have been offered by the hospital’s Employee Assistance Center company at Mayo Health System in La Crosse, WI.

Even though these links below are centered around suicide prevention in name, some of the websites and information they are linked to also have information on coping with any type of loss or tragedy: