This letter is in reference to the DNR’s decision to take a “passive management” approach to Yellow River State Forest. In doing so, they have cut the hours of the park ranger at Yellow River State Forest down to only eight hours per week. There are so many reasons why this is not a good idea - the big one being safety.
It is very concerning that there will be no park ranger available to people who are utilizing the forest as there are obviously many, many things that can happen that could cause injury. If such a thing does happen, there is no cell phone service in most of the forest. The camp host now has a landline but that is one area in nearly 10,000 acres of land.
We are leaving Afghanistan but we are not doing it right. We should not evacuate. We should withdraw, even if we are still there after August 31, 2021.
The French, British and Dutch have sent their own soldiers into Afghanistan to evacuate their citizens out of Afghanistan. Are we doing the same? We have great soldiers who would risk themselves to fight for a perimeter around the airport that is being controlled by the United States. Those U.S. soldiers would also evacuate American citizens and Afghan interpreters, and their families, who have helped our military effort.
Governor Kim Reynolds has decided that a number of people from Afghanistan may come to Iowa. I agree with Governor Reynolds, if they are Afghans who have helped our military effort. This would give us some redemption.
Students from Waukon High School will join thousands of other youth and many others on athletic fields across the nation Wednesday, October 6 to share their Christian faith with fellow students and the general public for this year’s Fields of Faith event. The local event is now in its 10th year and will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Waukon High School football field Wednesday, October 6, or in the Waukon High School gym in the event of bad weather.
The weekly updates by the Iowa Department of Public Health of positive COVID-19 case numbers have begun to reveal increased levels in Allamakee County not seen since mid-March of this year. After declining to an average of single-digit weekly positive case numbers in late spring and throughout the summer - at times hovering right around no new positive cases reported, the past two weeks have seen those positive case numbers increase to between 15 and 20 cases per week, with the week of March 9-15 earlier this year being the last time Allamakee County reported as many as 20 new positive cases for a reported week’s timeframe.
Iowa Ag Secretary visits Waukon Feed Ranch ... Thursday morning, August 26, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig (far right) visited the Waukon Feed Ranch Agronomy Center located west of Waukon on Old Highway 9. Pictured above with Secretary Naig are Waukon Feed Ranch staff members (left to right) Brian Herman, Trevor Herman (partially hidden), Kim Winters, Brad Herman, Michelle Wood (partially hidden), Daniel Dykstra and Natalie Rasmussen. Standard photo by Joe Moses.
by Joe Moses
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig visited the Waukon Feed Ranch Agronomy Center west of Waukon Thursday, August 26 to meet with management and stakeholders to hear concerns and discuss matters relating to agriculture and agribusiness in Allamakee County.
Naig began the meeting with discussion of drought conditions that are being seen throughout the state. He noted that some areas in Iowa are not far from the D2 or D3 drought categories, which can be described as categories where crop or pasture losses are likely. Naig commented that parts of the state are in 12-inch rain deficits, which will likely not be made up until this fall, and that river navigation on both sides of the state are a concern with low river levels.
Senator Joni Ernst toured TransferMaster, a manufacturer of adjustable beds for hospitals and those with disabilities, in Postville Friday, August 20 as part of her annual 99-County Tour. Ernst learned about the company’s operations and discussed the challenges the business has faced and worked to overcome during its time in business in the small northeast Iowa community. Pictured above, left to right, during that visit are Gwen Rekow, Postville Mayor Leigh Rekow, Senator Joni Ernst, and TransferMaster Office Manager Heidi Meyer, Manager Chaim Abrahams and Production Manager Jason Meyer. Standard photo by Joe Moses.
“Reading Colors Your World” was the theme of the Summer Reading Program (SRP) at Robey Memorial Library with activities spanning from June through August. The Kids and Teens 4-Week Reading Challenge ran from Monday, July 5-Saturday, July 31 and is the highlight of the program with participants tracking their reading and reading-related activities for prizes.
In the 4-Week Reading Challenge: Kids, Infant to 6th Grade, participants had the choice of completing 1-10 spaces, 11-20 spaces or blacking out the Activity Card to receive weekly prizes in addition to adding their name to three different prize drawings for an Eric Carle Magnet Set and board books, Chronicles of Narnia book set and DVD, or Ice Cream with the Librarian. A total of 76 children registered and 47 participated with a total of 1,267 activities completed. The top three readers in each category received a new book of their choice purchased by the Library Foundation. Those top readers are as follow:
The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, August 30 to address a full agenda of items including the Public Hearing for the Private Burial Ordinance, consideration of the Bible Reading Marathon to take place on the Allamakee County Courthouse lawn and discussion and consideration of a resolution declaring Allamakee County as a Second Amendment Sanctuary County.
During Public Comment, Executive Director Val Reinke with Allamakee County Economic Development (ACED) discussed attending the Iowa Rural Summit at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids with representatives of Postville relating to community development and grant opportunities. Reinke also discussed attending the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, manning the ACED booth there Saturday and Sunday, August 21-22 with follow-up taking place relating to specific information requests.
The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Directors of the Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD) was held at Kee High School in Lansing Monday, August 16. Besides Keystone Area Education Agency (AEA) representatives, most of the rest of the meeting audience consisted of new staff members of the district prior to the start of the new school year.
Alex Marti of Waukon was one of more than 140 first-year University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine students - the Class of 2025 - to participate in the 27th annual Arnold P. Gold Foundation White Coat Ceremony earlier this month. Marti is a 2016 graduate of Waukon High School.
The White Coat Ceremony is a celebrated experience as students enter medical school. In the presence of family, guests and faculty members, students are welcomed into the medical community by leaders of the medical center and ceremonially “cloaked” with their white coat. Then, dressed in white, they stand to take the ancient Oath of Hippocrates, traditionally sworn at graduation.
