News Center newsletter

Zack and Chelsey Woodbeck of Waukon announce the birth of their daughter, Joslyn Jerrilynne Woodbeck, born August 22, 2022 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. She weighed 7 lbs. 2 ozs. and measured 19-1/2 inches in length at the time of her birth. She joins siblings, Kinley (7), Greyson (5) and Braxton (1).

Grandparents are Robert and Peggy Woodbeck of Waukon and Richard and Kathy Speicher of New Hampton. Great-grandparents are Jerrilynne (Dana) Waters of Waukon and Dean Bigalk of Cresco.

Kramer and Alexa Dixon announce the birth of their daughter, Wren Dixon, born August 17, 2022 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. She weighed 8 lbs. 10 ozs. and measured 21-1/2 inches in length at the time of her birth.

Fall Fest is scheduled for Saturday, September 17 this year, and will be held from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. in Ferryville, WI. Fall Fest involves many vendors, both seasonal and new, providing a great variety of items. This year’s event will feature Music in the Park by Tim Bohankamp and a bratwurst  fry as well.

For additional information about attending the event, or about how to become a vendor, reach out to Janelle Anderson, Market Manager by email at  Janelleanderson79@yahoo.com or by telephone at 715-216-1411.
 

by Lissa Blake

A long-vacant property on Main Street in downtown Waukon is getting a fresh start thanks to a collaboration between the City of Waukon, State of Iowa and local business owners.

AJ Steakhouse, located in the building known previously as JCPenney or Tierney’s on the southwest corner of the stoplight intersection on Waukon’s Main Street, is set to open early in the month of September.

New building and business owners Arturo Barreda and Jose Velarde first opened Fiesta Vallarta in 2014 just a couple blocks east of their newest venture, and their busy Mexican restaurant has been a draw to downtown Waukon ever since.

A few years back, after the Waukon community lost both Mulligan’s and Gus and Tony’s to fires, the two restaurateurs started thinking about what they could do to fill that void. “We needed more restaurants and we thought the steakhouse would be a good idea,” said Arturo.

Initial planning meeting scheduled for Wednesday

Hazard risks can be natural or man-made, and cover a variety of things, such as storms and flooding, hazardous materials, infrastructure, terrorism, human disease and more. The public is invited to be involved in Allamakee County Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee (HMPC) meetings to identify hazard risks and discuss ways communities can prevent, or mitigate, these risks in the future.

Planning committee members require no previous experience to be involved. The planning process will provide the data, materials and questions necessary to engage stakeholders in thinking about hazard mitigation needs for their community.

Planning committee members will attend up to five meetings over the course of the coming year. The initial planning meeting will be held from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, August 31 at Waukon City Hall, located at 101 Allamakee Street in Waukon.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is hosting an informational meeting on Chronic Wasting Disease Wednesday, August 31 at the Waukon Banquet Center from 6:30-7:30 p.m. The DNR invites everyone to attend who is interested in learning more about what Iowans can do to help slow the spread of the disease.

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal disease that affects members of the deer family, including white-tailed deer in Iowa. The DNR began statewide surveillance efforts for the disease in 2002 when CWD was detected in wild deer in some of Iowa’s neighboring states. Since then, the DNR has maintained statewide surveillance efforts in order to monitor the spread of the disease in Iowa’s white-tailed deer population. Following the 2021-2022 hunting seasons, a total of 163 CWD-positive deer have been detected in 12 Iowa counties.
 

by Lissa Blake

Although the ownership of McMillan Muffler in Waukon has changed, the faces one will see and the services they provide remain the same at the business’ First Street NW location. That’s because Jim Hennessy, a long-time employee of the auto repair and muffler shop, purchased the business from long-standing owner Mike McMillan at the beginning of this year.

“Read Beyond the Beaten Path” was the theme of the 2022 Summer Reading Program (SRP) with activities spanning from June through August this summer. The Kids and Teens 4-Week Reading Challenge ran from Friday, July 1-Saturday, July 30 and is the highlight of the program with participants tracking their reading and reading-related activities for prizes.

• Kids 4-Week Reading Challenge: Infants to sixth graders tracked their progress on reading logs to receive weekly prizes in addition to adding their name to prize drawings for a Skippy Jon Jones book and stuffed animal toy or Ice Cream With the Librarian. A total of 83 children registered and 41 participated with a total of 991 activities completed. The top readers in each category received a new book of their choice purchased by the Library Foundation, including the following:

Those who are feeling down or blue should know they are not alone, and that can be especially true now that there is a local group program to help lift their mood. Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Lansing recently received a grant from Gundersen Health System of La Crosse, WI to offer a new resource to help adults with low mood called Raising Our Spirits Together.

Raising Our Spirits Together is a technology-assisted, engaging, small group program that provides people who are feeling down with new tools and skills to feel better. The small groups meet in local churches and are led by pastors.

The Iowa Knights of Columbus recently recognized Chad Egeland (right in above photo) from the Waukon Knights of Columbus, Council 1570, as Knight of the Month. He is pictured above receiving from the Iowa Knights of Columbus a personalized shirt and a certificate presented to him by Council 1570 Grand Knight Tyler Plein when his brother Knights recognized him in May as Knight of the Month.

“Chad does not drive, and yet he makes it to most of our monthly meetings and he contributes to our meetings,” Council 1570 leadership praised. “When we have events, such as Tootsie Roll drives or serving meals for various benefits, Chad is the first to volunteer. We are proud to have Chad in our Council.” Submitted photo.