Did you vote in the 2020 election? Were you proud of the excellent jobs our Commissioners of Elections and poll workers did? Did you know Iowa ranks as one of the top states in election integrity and lowest voter fraud incidences in the nation?
Why, then did our Republican-dominated state government feel the need to enact voter laws that suppress our citizens’ right to vote?
There are presently 250 new bills or laws passed in 43 states that are aimed at voter suppression. Iowa is one of them. They are mostly controlled by the Republican Party. According to data from the Brennan Center for Justice, this is the greatest infringement on citizens’ right to vote since the end of Reconstruction. Seems we are back there again.
Addiction is a disease that can be hard for the addicted person to explain to their family and friends. Some aspects of addiction are isolation, depression and denial that the dependency exists in the first place.
Addictions and substance abuse disorders still carry too much stigma. There are well-known facts about addiction that scientists agree on. For example, addiction is a disease of the brain. Here are three myths about addiction and recovery that are still very well established in society today:
Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
April 9: Quality Loss Adjustment Program
May 15: August 1: Primary Nesting Season
July 15: Crop Certification
Small Grains and Planting into Green Covers Can be the Answer by LuAnn Rolling, District Conservationist
I believe that every farmer I work with wants to be profitable, take care of the soil, water and wildlife and make sure their children and grandchildren can keep farming in the future. How do farmers find profitability with the many different kinds of uncertainty right now, none of which we can control?
George Beardmore of Dorchester was recently honored for his third-place finish in the 2020 National Corn Grower Association Yield Contest for Iowa with a yield of 300.39 bushels per acre using Pioneer 1366AM. The photo above represents a 68-year history of yield improvement from that same field where this year’s yield award was won and an even longer history of family ties to the same farm.
Successful aerial drone seeding ... The photo above was taken March 11, 2021 and shows excellent germination as a result of aerial seeding. Submitted photo.
Harpers Ferry farmer Jon Kruse utilized a unique method of planting cover crops this past fall - a drone. September 16, Kruse hired a private contractor, to fly a drone over standing soybeans to seed red clover as a cover crop.
Aerial cover crop application is growing in popularity across Iowa because of the upsides. A big advantage of aerial seeding is that more acres can be seeded in less time than with ground equipment. Aerial application also allows seeding to be done when it is physically impossible to use ground equipment such as when crops are present, or the soil is too wet for regular equipment.
A sign of the times ... Pictured above is the signage now being used by Veterans Memorial Hospital for its COVID vaccination locations. These signs, designed and printed by LC Signs of Waukon, direct patients to either the main entrance or ICN entrance of the hospital. Vaccine is typically given at both locations on the same days in an effort to keep everyone at a safe distance during the immunization clinics. Submitted photo.
Veterans Memorial Hospital and Allamakee County Public Health are asking anyone age 65 and older who has not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine to call their office at 563-568-3411 and schedule an appointment. Ask for the COVID line and a staff member will assist the caller in making an appointment to receive the vaccine.
Veterans Memorial Hospital and Allamakee County Public Health have been very busy the last two weeks vaccinating not only those 65 years of age and older, but also all those in manufacturing and ag-related professions after receiving a vaccine allotment designated specifically for those two industries. They are also now encouraging anyone ages 18-64 who has an underlying medical condition to go to the hospital’s website and fill out the form to be placed on the waiting list for the vaccine.
Floods, tornadoes, derecho winds; these are just some of the potential disasters seen throughout the state of Iowa in the past few years, and Allamakee County Emergency Management Coordinator Corey Snitker has to be prepared to deal with those hazards should they strike at the local level. Now an even more deadly threat confronts the residents of Allamakee County: the virulent COVID-19 pandemic that has caused the death of dozens of residents and sickened hundreds.
That is why Snitker is seeking volunteers to help in disaster preparedness and response to cope with the wide array of natural and man-made disasters that could beset the communities and people of the county. He is being assisted in this recruitment project by AmeriCorps Northeast Iowa RSVP 55+ Initiative in recruiting and matching volunteers’ skills and abilities with the tasks that may be called on to perform in time of emergency.
Iowa’s Severe Weather Awareness Week for 2021 is scheduled to be observed from Monday, March 22 through Friday, March 26 and will include a statewide Tornado Drill to be conducted Wednesday morning, March 24 at 11 a.m. This drill will include Allamakee County sounding its warning sirens in all six cities of the county at that time.
It is the current understanding of Allamakee County Emergency Management that the National Weather Service will not issue any type of Watch or Warning prior to 11 a.m. as it has done in the past but will announce the drill as part of its weekly NOAA weather radio test that day.
During this time, Allamakee County Emergency Management urges everybody within the county, at a minimum, to make sure they have a plan for what they would do if an actual tornado warning were to be implemented, making sure that everyone within their family also understands what to do both at home and away in the event of a tornado.
Allamakee County Treasurer Lori Hesse would like to remind property owners the second installment of property taxes is due by Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Those payments may be made at the Allamakee County Treasurer’s office at 110 Allamakee Street in Waukon between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Taxpayers are reminded to bring their tax stubs with their payment to insure proper credit. To avoid penalty on the second installment, payment must be received in the Treasurer’s Office before Thursday, April 1, 2021. Due to social distancing requirements, only two customers will be allowed in the office at one time.
E-check and credit card payments are also accepted online at www.iowatreasurers.org. Anyone paying by E-check will need their receipt number. That receipt number can be found on their tax statement.
Programming the robot ... St. Patrick School students Raymond Sweeney, Elijah Weighner, Tate Ellingson and Jakob Schulte (left to right) work to program the St. Pat’s RoboCats robot to perform a variety of tasks on the challenge mat laid out before them. The four young men are part of the St. Pat’s RoboCats team that has qualified for the FIRST® Lego League Challenge State Championship being hosted virtually by Iowa State University this Saturday, March 27. Submitted photo.
Tasks to test the robot ... St. Patrick School students Ashley Hennessy and Katie Regan (left to right) set up one of many tasks on a challenge mat for the St. Pat’s RoboCats robot to perform. The two young ladies are part of the St. Pat’s RoboCats team that has qualified for the FIRST® Lego League Challenge State Championship being hosted virtually by Iowa State University this Saturday, March 27. Submitted photo.
The St. Pat’s RoboCats robotics team from St. Patrick School in Waukon has qualified for the virtual FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Lego League Challenge State Championship to be hosted by the College of Engineering at Iowa State University. Under the guidance of St. Patrick School fourth grade teacher Loretta Schafer, the RoboCats will be one of 31 teams from across the state of Iowa competing in this virtual event being held this Saturday, March 27, with the RoboCats team scheduled for an 11:30 a.m. competition time with Judge 4, according to Schafer. FIRST® Lego League officials say only about 25% of teams from across the state get the opportunity to compete in the State competition.
