News Center newsletter

The Waukon boys basketball team played through a busy week, starting off this past week by extending a newfound winning streak to four games before having that streak ended and starting one in the opposite direction, but only by narrow end results. The Indians opened the week with a 61-53 win at Crestwood Tuesday, January 25 but then fell in back-to-back road games, 55-52 at Spring Grove, MN Thursday, January 27 and by a 56-53 final in overtime at Waverly-Shell Rock Friday, January 28.

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

Deputy John L. Grampovnik, 51, of Waukon died Thursday, January 27, 2022 at University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis, MN. A celebration of life will be held Thursday, February 3 at 11 a.m. at Iron Ridge Church in Waukon. Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Wednesday, February 2 at Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon.

If you have a story to share about John, please write something down and bring it to the visitation or funeral as there will be a special area to place your memories. The family respectfully requests everyone please wear a mask.

Linda M. Lea, 69, of Mendota Heights, MN, formerly of Waterville, passed away Wednesday, January 26, 2022 from a stroke at White Pines Senior Living in Mendota Heights, MN. Private family graveside services are planned to be held at Old East Paint Creek Cemetery in rural Waterville with Pastor Ken Kimball officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Old East Paint Creek Lutheran Church in rural Waterville.

Linda Margaret Lea was born August 28, 1952 in Waterville, the fourth child of Ambrose and Eunice (Forde) Lea. After graduating from Waukon High School in 1970, Linda received her degree from Luther College in Decorah. She was a teacher in Omaha, NE, Burnsville, MN and at L.A. Unified in Los Angeles, CA, where she lived for more than 20 years.

Linda also spent time in Arizona and at her cabin in Cross Lake, MN. Linda enjoyed cooking, had a lively personality, a great sense of humor, and amazing style and fashion sense.

Farmers Union Cooperative, in conjunction with several of its business partners, has made a $20,000 donation to the Building New Traditions Campaign at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds. The Building New Traditions Campaign is dedicated toward constructing a new, larger all-species youth livestock show barn centrally located at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds, a project that will also involve relocation, elimination and transformation of some of the other livestock buildings at the Fairgrounds. Farmers Union Cooperative made an initial $5,000 donation which was then matched by three other companies that work together with the cooperative, including Land O’ Lakes, Cenex and CoBank, to make up the $20,000 total donation.

submitted by Denise Beyer, Allamakee County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections

Every 10 years, following a census, cities over 3,500 population and all counties must go through a process called redistricting and/or reprecincting. Redistricting is the process by which new congressional and state legislative boundaries are drawn. Reprecincting is a process during which the boundaries of city wards may change, as well as boundaries for county voting precincts.

The Iowa Constitution provides that state representative districts be apportioned on the basis of population. Congressional district boundaries should be drawn to be as equal in population as possible, according to law. A state agency, the Legislative Services Agency or LSA, meets and proposes new boundaries for the congressional and state legislative districts.

The number of positive cases of COVID-19 for Allamakee County reached an all-time high during the week of January 12-18, according to the weekly update provided by the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) last week. That statistical update indicates that 131 new cases of COVID-19 were reported to the IDPH for the seven-day reported timeframe of January 12-18.

That number far exceeded the previous single-week high for Allamakee County of 111 cases, a total that was recorded during the first week of December 2020. That previous highest-ever weekly total capped off a four-week stretch that remains as the highest “monthly” case count total for Allamakee County of 421 cases that included 108 from November 10-16, 95 from November 17-23, 107 from November 24-30, and the 111 from early December of the inaugural COVID-19 year of 2020.

Monday, February 7 at 7 p.m.
At the following locations in Allamakee County:

• Waukon/Dorchester: Waukon High School Auditorium
Point of Contact: Duane Smith 563-568-1631/Dan Emerson 563-568-7361

• Lansing/New Albin: Lansing Library
Point of Contact: Matthew Majewski 563-217-0135

• Postville/Frankville: Turner Hall (Postville)
Point of Contact: Dave Koopman 563-864-3854

• Harpers Ferry/Waterville: American Legion Hall (Harpers Ferry)
Point of Contact: Lowell Engle 563-586-2338
 

Monday, February 7 at 7 p.m.
Participants must be in line or signed in by 7 p.m. in order to participate. Masks are required to be worn.
Any registered Allamakee Democrat is eligible to participate in the Democratic Caucuses. Participants may register as an Allamakee Democrat at each caucus site.

The following precincts will caucus at the Waukon Middle School cafeteria located at 1059 Third Avenue NW, Waukon:
• Precinct 1 - Hanover, Waterloo Townships
• Precinct 2 - French Creek, Jefferson, Ludlow, Makee, Union Prairie Townships
• Precinct 3 - Franklin, Post Townships and Town of Postville
• Precinct 4 - Linton, Paint Creek Townships and Town of Waterville
• Precinct 8 - Waukon Ward 1
• Precinct 9 - Waukon Ward 2
• Precinct 10 - Waukon Ward 3

Saturday, January 22 the Waukon Police Department received multiple reports of vehicle entries and reports of theft of contents from vehicles. Throughout the day, the department conducted a thorough investigation.

With help from cameras owned by citizens and a business-owned camera in Waukon, a Waukon Police Department officer applied for and was granted a search warrant of a suspect’s residence in Waukon. The search warrant was executed late that same evening, Saturday, January 22. An adult suspect at that residence was arrested in connection with the incident.

The investigation is ongoing and further arrests are likely. The Waukon Police Department was assisted by the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office in the execution of the search warrant.

The Tuesday, January 18 home game for the Waukon boys basketball team against Prairie du Chien, WI allowed the crowd to witness more than just basketball at the Waukon High School gymnasium, as youth ranging from Pre-Kindergarten on up through eighth grade performed as part of the Little Indian Cheerleading Camp that took place just a day earlier, Monday, January 17, during a scheduled day off in the Allamakee Community School District. Under the guidance of Waukon High School cheerleading coaches Amy Bieber and Lexi Brink, along with past and present members of the Waukon High School Cheerleading Squad, a combination of more than 80 young providers of the pep took what they learned from that Monday camp, with Pre-Kindergarten through second grade participants performing during halftime of Tuesday’s junior varsity game and third through eighth graders performing at halftime of Tuesday’s varsity game.