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by Lissa Blake

If someone had told Mississippi River fishing guide Ted Peck of New Albin an Alabama company would ever name a fishing lure after a Yankee from Illinois, he would have said they were telling fish stories.

But that's exactly what happened in October of this past year.

Bill Lewis Lures renamed its signature Rat-L-Trap red/white floating model RT-97 “Red Head Uncle Ted” in honor of Peck. Rat-L Trap has been making lures since 1964. The Red Head Uncle Ted is the only model out of Rat-L Trap's 143 lures to be named for an individual.

“It's quite humbling,” said Peck of the lure that bears his name.

HIS BACKGROUND
Peck and his wife, Candy, moved to New Albin l1 years ago after living in Wisconsin for much of their lives. He grew up in Carroll County, IL fishing with his dad, who gave him some of his favorite lures.

The Allamakee County Community Foundation (ACCF) is now accepting 2018 grant applications. The application for the grant funding is available online at www.dbqfoundation.org/accf. Applications are due February 1, 2018 by midnight.

Nonprofit organizations can apply for grants from the ACCF for projects or programs that address significant community issues and benefit a broad spectrum of the community. Projects must be in Allamakee County.

The ACCF awards grants in the areas of Health and Human Services, Education, Neighborhoods and Community Development, Environment; Children, Youth, and Families; and Arts and Culture, including historic preservation. Preference is given to projects that:

The Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC) and EARL Public Transit will have a draft of the region’s 2018 Passenger Transporation Plan (PTP) available for public review and comment beginning Thursday, January 11 on the UERPC website: http://uerpc.org/tip-comments.html. The Passenger Transportation Plan (PTP) is a document that is developed to serve as a mobility management tool to help meet the specific passenger transportation needs of the region and further the development of the local and regional public transportation system.

by Lissa Blake

After half a century of service to the community, Carol Krumme is retiring from Waukon State Bank.

It's been quite a career, according to Krumme, considering the job was something she says she just sort of “fell into” back in high school. Krumme has served as head teller at the bank for more than 25 years, and she has served in various other positions for the bank since she was a senior at Waukon High School in 1968.

“Our teacher, Miss Ernestine Holzer, started a pilot program for the office education students. She had 10 students she wanted to send out to businesses to work,” recalled Krumme about the beginning of what would turn out to be an enjoyable career for her.

Krumme and classmate Susan Smedsrud were sent to Waukon State Bank to work in the afternoons.

In Allamakee County, 11 people are superheroes to a local youth. This January Helping Services for Youth & Families is celebrating those champions and inviting others to become a hero, during National Mentoring Month. Mentoring has a positive impact on youth, and some youth are without this type of role model. Nine million kids in America say they are growing up without adults whom they can turn to. In this area, 23 youth are currently waiting for a mentor. Research shows that mentored youth are apt to learn more, earn more and live healthier lives. Mentored youth have a greater chance of avoiding negative influences, such as substance abuse, bullying or dropping out of school.

by Julie Berg-Raymond

• Two million children are currently exploited in the commercial sex trade.
• Human trafficking generates about $150 billion per year.
• More than 30 million people are currently enslaved, worldwide.

Local individuals may be as unaware of these statistics as the initiative and the website, www.dressember.org, from which they came. Lest anyone think these statistics might be referring to something that is happening “somewhere else” and doesn’t have much to do with northeast Iowa, two Waukon residents are here to say it does - and they are dressing up as part of a global effort with the hope that someday it does not.

Allamakee County and its jurisdictions have worked diligently over the last year and a half to complete an update to a comprehensive Hazard Mitigation Plan. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), through Iowa Homeland Security & Emergency Management, provided grant funds for the planning process, which was lead by the Allamakee County Emergency Management Agency with assistance from Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission and a countywide Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee.

The Committee started working together in the summer of 2016. That process began by identifying the characteristics and potential consequences of hazards, and assessing vulnerabilities of communities and the county. After gaining an understanding of hazard risks, the Committee determined what the priorities should be and then looked at possible ways to avoid or minimize the undesired effects, culminating in a list of potential countywide hazard mitigation actions.

Allamakee County Economic Development is conducting a survey to better understand housing in the Allamakee County area and plan for the future. The survey takes about five minutes to complete but can benefit Allamakee County and its residents and homeowners for many years to come.
Both residents of Allamakee County and those working in Allamakee County but living elsewhere are encouraged to complete the survey. The survey can be completed online at www.allamakeecounty.com or a paper copy can be picked up at any bank in Allamakee County and returned or mailed to the Allamakee County Economic Development Office at 101 West Main, Waukon, IA 52172.
Deadline to complete the survey is this Sunday, December 31. For more information contact Allamakee County Economic Development Executive Director Val Reinke at 563-568-2624 or by email at aced@mchsi.com.

by Brianne Eilers

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors met on a couple occasions this past week, including a work session Tuesday, December 12 and the board’s regular monthly meeting Monday, December 18.

Allamakee County and its jurisdictions have worked diligently over the last year and a half to complete an update to a comprehensive Hazard Mitigation Plan. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), through Iowa Homeland Security & Emergency Management, provided grant funds for the planning process, which was lead by the Allamakee County Emergency Management Agency with assistance from Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission and a countywide Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee.

The Committee started working together in the summer of 2016. That process began by identifying the characteristics and potential consequences of hazards, and assessing vulnerabilities of communities and the county. After gaining an understanding of hazard risks, the Committee determined what the priorities should be and then looked at possible ways to avoid or minimize the undesired effects, culminating in a list of potential countywide hazard mitigation actions.