Top Stories

by David M. Johnson

When individuals are attending school in their early youth, they generally do not give much thought, much attention, to what lays ahead after their education is completed. Many may take it for granted that things will fall into place and they will land that “dream” job or became a member of that occupation that the older generation of their family was involved in.

Today, there is more of an emphasis and concentration on early development, as early as grade school and progressing into middle school and then high school. Many students do not just choose classes to “get by” but classes and subjects that prepare them for their employment later in life.

Faith Palmer (right in photo at right), 17-year-old daughter of John and Meghan Palmer of Waukon, was crowned the Alternate Iowa Dairy Princess during an evening ceremony at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines Tuesday, August 7. Palmer represented Allamakee County and will be a senior at Waukon High School this fall.

Julie Hammerand (left in photo at right), an 18-year-old from Sherrill, was crowned the 66th Iowa Dairy Princess. Hammerand is the daughter of Jerry and Lois Hammerand, and she will spend the year serving as a goodwill ambassador for Iowa’s dairy farmers. Throughout their year-long reign, Hammerand and Palmer will make public appearances to connect with consumers and help them understand the dedication of dairy farm families to their cows, their land and the milk they produce. Hammerand represented Dubuque County and will be a student at the University of Northern Iowa this fall, where she is will major in Art Education.

The Heffern Memorial Award was established by the Heffern family in memory of Bernie Heffern, who passed away in 2008. Bernie was very passionate about all areas of 4-H and its importance in the lives of youth and their families. She and her husband, Bob, were inducted into the Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame in 2007 for their lifelong dedication to 4-H. Each year during fair week, the Allamakee County Fair Board observes families and selects a family who emulates the Heffern family attitude of helping others, working well with each other, and going above and beyond for the fair.

The Hefferns hope that creating this award and honoring a family each year will help to develop the kind of passion and dedication Bob and Bernie showed for the 4-H program. They also hope that it will instill the kind of family involvement that was important to Bernie.

The annual celebration of Lansing Fish Days took place this past weekend, August 9-11, in Lansing. A wide range of activities and events, such as pictured above, once again made this year’s Lansing Fish Days celebration a success. Additional photos of this year’s Lansing Fish Days fun can be found on Page 12A in the print edition and e-edition of The Standard.

For additional photos, pick up this week's print edition or subscribe to our e-edition by clicking here.

Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) officials have advised that the street paving portion of this summer’s Iowa 9/76 improvement project is anticipated to begin prior to the final week of August, depending, of course, upon the weather. Iowa DOT District 2 Field Services Coordinator Pete Hjelmstad says, depending upon the condition of the roadway, some areas will require milling down to a depth of as much as four inches while other areas will not receive any milling at all. Motorists may have already encountered some street patching on areas of Allamakee Street north of the Allamakee County Courthouse on through the north edge of town by the City Airport, and DOT officials say no further paving will be required on that section of roadway due to that being the most recently paved area of the Iowa 9/76 network through the town of Waukon and, thus, still being “in good condition”.

by Joe Moses

Representative Abby Finkenauer of Iowa’s 1st Congressional District visited Waukon Wednesday, July 31 to tour the WW Homestead Dairy facility. Prior to the tour, Finkenauer was greeted by Director Ardie Kuhse of Waukon Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), Waukon City Manager Dean Hilgerson, WEDC Board Member Joe Cunningham and Tom Weighner, an owner of WW Homestead Dairy.

Allamakee County Economic Development (ACED) is seeking nominations for the 2019 “Cloy Kuhse Positive Impact Award”.

To be eligible, the recipient must be a business located in Allamakee County.  ACED will accept nominations until Tuesday, September 10. Award winner announcement and ceremony will be at the ACED Annual Banquet October 10. The Award Recipient will receive a plaque and will be added to the Award Plaque that is displayed at the ACED office.

Growing Bear Daycare in Waukon was the 2018 Cloy Kuhse Positive Impact Award winner, and ACED looks forward to announcing another business that is making a positive impact at its annual meeting this October.

What does the future hold for downtown Lansing?

Community residents and business persons will have a chance to chime in as part of the Downtown Lansing Market Study project being orchestrated by Main Street Lansing.

Andy Kelleher, Main Street Lansing Executive Director, said a special project team assembled by Main Street Lansing initiated work on the project last month. Main Street Lansing, the local non-profit group spearheading downtown Lansing revitalization efforts, is performing the study to fine-tune and enhance downtown business development and marketing strategies. Kelleher said the study will include an in-depth analysis of input collected from local business and consumer surveys to be conducted throughout the month of August (see shaded sidebar box accompanying this article).

Main Street Lansing is currently undergoing a market study, and input is needed from locals, tourists and business owners. Anyone who has ever stepped foot in Lansing is invited to provide input through a survey being conducted during the month of August.

Individuals are invited to take ten minutes (or less) to complete a simple survey and help improve downtown Lansing. Survey insights and suggestions will be used by Main Street Lansing to fine-tune strategies to enhance downtown Lansing.

The survey will only be available until August 30, so participants are urged to act now to complete the survey, and also encouraged to invite others to participate. The survey can be found at the following link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MS_Lansing
 

Public invited to August 6 event at Driftless Center

The Allamakee County Conservation Board (ACCB), Driftless Area Scenic Byway Board (DASB), Northeast Iowa RC&D and well-known Iowa artist Mary Ann Gloe invite the public to gather Tuesday, August 6 at the Driftless Area Education & Visitor Center to view an original watercolor painting, “Lansing from the Driftless Center,” completed by Gloe as part of a public parks and natural areas art and byway promotional project called Capturing the Beauty of Iowa’s Natural Areas Through Art Project. The event is open to the public and begins at 2 p.m. All are encouraged to attend.

ACCB Director Jim Janett noted, “It is a wonderful project for us to partner on with the DASB. We participated because it highlighted the scenic and cultural heritage that our Driftless Area Education & Visitor Center property and facility showcase.”