News Center newsletter

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) staff and board members continue to visit each Allamakee County community to present and discuss the need to convert from a city-owned hospital to a county-owned hospital. These sessions last less than an hour and will answer any questions anyone may have about the proposed conversion of Veterans Memorial Hospital from a city-owned to a county-owned hospital.

The schedule for these county meetings, by community and date, is as follows:

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) and Elliott Jewelers of Waukon hosted their 17th Annual Women’s Health Day Luncheon Tuesday, September 27, at the Waukon Banquet Center. Over 120 ladies attended the sandwich and salad luncheon hosted by the Auxiliary members, plus many free health and wellness tests were also available.

The theme for this year’s event was “Embrace Allamakee County.” Speakers included Val Reinke of Allamakee County Economic Development (ACED); Michelle Crary, Family Nurse Practitioner and the new full-time provider at the VMH Postville Clinic;  Tara Fink, who is the new Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner beginning at Veterans Memorial Hospital October 17; and Michael Coyle, CEO of VMH.

Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care/Allamakee County Public Health’s annual flu shot clinics are underway.  The new COVID-19 vaccine booster for variant strains is also being offered, as well as the primary (first and second doses) of the COVID-19 vaccine.

These walk-in clinics are currently being held every Wednesday through November 9, from 9-11:30 a.m. in the ICN room located on the west side of the hospital, next to the Gundersen Clinic.  Parking will be available right outside that entrance, marked with orange cones.

Veterans Memorial Hospital will sponsor a Babysitting Seminar Saturday, October 22. This class will be broken down into two different sessions to allow for better spacing of students. The morning session will be held from 9 a.m.-Noon and the afternoon session from 1-4 p.m. The same information will be taught at both sessions, so students can sign up for one session or the other. A total of 20 students will be taken in each session.

To the Editor:

There has been much discussion lately on this page regarding climate change, with appeal to various sources of authority. Yet the ultimate source of authority, the Creator of the universe, has been ignored.

God’s promises in the Bible are 100% true, and God promised that “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.”  (Genesis 8:22)

When God created Adam and Eve, He gave them dominion over the rest of His creation. This means that we have permission to use God’s creation to meet our needs, but also the responsibility to care for it.

We have not always done a good job at caring for our planet responsibly, but we are nowhere near powerful enough to mess up the created world that God designed so perfectly and holds together (Colossians 1:16-17).

Sarah Majewski
Lansing

To the Editor:

Mr. Klees, in his letter to the editor of September 21, does not remember the economic history of the Trump presidency. Mr. Klees falsely claims that the MAGA Party handed out trillions of dollars to big companies and wealthy individuals.

What the tax break did was lower the corporate tax to a rate more competitive with the rest of the world, which made it profitable for companies to bring their businesses back to the U.S. It also gave millions of IRA and 401K holders, many of whom are in the middle and lower income class, a huge increase in income.

At the same time, it increased income for all of the lower and middle class workers, including blacks and women. It also created the greatest economic growth and lowest inflation rate since President Reagan - who would probably fit into that MAGA category, and he indeed made America great.

To the Editor:

Nursing homes are closing. Dependent seniors are having their home, their caretakers, their sense of life’s balance and security pulled out from under them when they are at a vulnerable stage of life. Now, let’s go to the other end of life in regards to being dependent and vulnerable, grandchildren.

Currently, Iowa does not recognize the continued importance of grandparents in grandchildren’s lives, even if the grandparents have played a key role in the grandchildren’s lives. If, for some reason, the connection, communication, etc. between grandparents and grandchildren is broken, short or long, Iowa gives grandparents, even vital grandparents, little recourse in keeping that connection intact.

This is devastating to grandchildren. It breaks their heart. They learn to build a protective wall around themselves and bottle up what is going on inside them. In time, this will callous and harden the grandchildren.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
October 31: Organic Certification Cost-Share and Transition/Education Certification Program

Defining Soil Health
by LuAnn Rolling, District Conservationist
I’ve talked a lot about soil health over the past years, but what truly is the definition?  One definition I found said, “Soil health is the vitality of a soil in sustaining the socio-ecological functions of its enfolding land.” What does that mean?

Soil health can be broken down into three elements, according to H. Henry Janzen, David W. Jansen and Edward G. Gregorich writing in Soil Biology and Biochemistry in August of 2021. The first would be functionality, which they said can be defined as, “the condition of an organism in which it performs its vital functions normally or properly.”  They add that function cannot be evaluated by measuring soil composition but by observing how well its ecosystem thrives.

The Iowa Nutrient Research Center at Iowa State University announces funding of over $1.4 million to support a dozen water quality and nutrient management projects for 2022-2023.

“This year, INRC celebrates its first decade. We are very pleased to have the opportunity to continue supporting this important work to improve Iowa’s water quality and agricultural systems,” said Matt Helmers, Iowa Nutrient Research Center director and professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State. “These projects represent new approaches, as well as continuing study of areas where more work is needed to inform recommendations for farmers, policymakers and stakeholders.” The new projects, listed below, fall into INRC’s edge-of-field, multi-objective and nutrient management categories. Lead researchers are located at Iowa State unless otherwise indicated. Projects will extend for one to two years.

The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Women in Ag Leadership Conference is seeking Women Impacting Agriculture nominees. The winners will be honored at the 2022 Women in Ag Leadership Conference, to be held Nov. 29-30.

“The goal of the award is to honor women who are making positive changes in Iowa agriculture,” said Madeline Schultz, Women in Ag program manager with ISU Extension and Outreach.

Schultz invites nominations for women in all areas of agriculture including owners, managers and employees of Iowa farms, agricultural businesses and organizations. Nominees must also have a connection to ISU Extension and Outreach, either serving as a volunteer, Iowa State University alum or any unpaid position within the organization.