News Center newsletter

The family of Allen and Ella Mae Goeke of Waukon will be celebrating the couple’s 65th wedding anniversary with a card shower. They were married February 5, 1956 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Waukon, and they have three sons, two grandsons and one great-grandson.

In honor of the occasion, cards and well wishes may be sent to 408 Third Avenue NW, Waukon, IA 52172.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
February 12: CRP Signup
February 26: CFAP 1 & 2 Updates
March 5: WHIP Quality Loss Adjustment
March 15: 2021 ARCPLC Signup

Enrollment Begins for Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage Programs for 2021
Agricultural producers can now make elections and enroll in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2021 crop year. The signup period opened Tuesday, Oct. 13.  These key U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) safety-net programs help producers weather fluctuations in either revenue or price for certain crops, and more than $5 billion in payments are in the process of going out to producers who signed up for the 2019 crop year. Enrollment for the 2021 crop year closes March 15, 2021.

Topics include interseeding 60-inch corn, high tunnel storm protection, and pasture-finishing pigs

Practical Farmers of Iowa’s 2021 winter webinar series, referred to as “farminars,”  began Tuesday, Jan. 26, with a presentation on interseeding 60-inch corn for improved return on investment. This event is one of seven farminars offered through March 16 on issues relevant to beginning and experienced row crop, livestock and horticulture farmers, as well as landowners.

All farminars run weekly on Tuesdays from 7-8:30 p.m. CST and are free for anyone with an internet connection to participate. Each presentation focuses on a unique production or business management topic, and is led by a farmer or subject-matter expert. Attendees are able to ask questions in real-time using a chat box while they listen and watch a slideshow. Each farminar is recorded and archived at practicalfarmers.org for later viewing.

Climate change is impacting Iowa agriculture and negative impacts are expected to increasingly threaten agricultural productivity in the state. There are many ways, however, that farmers and landowners can increase the resiliency of production systems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and even capture carbon.

The 2020 Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll survey explored farmers’ perspectives on climate change and ways that farmers can address its impacts on agriculture. The project is supported by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station.

“We’ve asked questions about climate change three times over the last decade, so we can now look at changes in perspectives over time,” said project director J. Arbuckle, professor and extension sociologist at Iowa State University.

To the Editor:

The new year is a great time to make positive changes in your life, as one of life’s chapters close, another begins. Lasting positive change doesn’t typically happen overnight. In fact, the most impactful resolutions often are a journey.

Quitting tobacco is undoubtedly a very rewarding resolution but can also be very challenging. One way to initiate this change and increase your chances of success is by creating a “quit plan”. Quit plans help assist you on your journey to becoming tobacco free by establishing your underlying motivation for change, identifying your support options, understanding factors that can lead to a relapse, and learning how to address them.

To the Editor:

Donald Trump was the most untruthful president in American history. Fact checkers have documented 30,573 false or misleading statements made by him during his term in office.

The lies ranged from unimportant ones - like the size of his inauguration crowd, to serious ones - like the COVID virus would simply disappear on its own and we need not worry about it. His pandemic lies and mismanagement contributed substantially to the more than 400,000 COVID deaths.

His most dangerous falsehood, however, was the Big Lie:  that our national election was not fairly conducted and that he, not Joe Biden, had won the election. This lie was the worst, because, if true, it would destroy our democratic system. Democracy only works if the voters decide who will lead us.

To the Editor:

Slime molds are fascinating creatures. They have no hands, no feet, no eyes, no ears, no voice. And no brain. And yet they move through nature with purpose. They make decisions, solve problems, move toward preferred foods and away from danger. Slime molds learn.

Human mobs are kind of like slime molds. Oh, they keep their hands, feet, eyes, ears and voices. What they surrender to the mob are their intellect, education, reason and conscience.

Mobs move forward as one being and on January 6, 2021 that mob moved, flowing into sacred ground, our Capitol building. But here’s where the mob differs from the slime mold, they were controlled by insurrectionists. Violent, mostly white men (and a few white women) who stormed our Capitol building, battering down doors, smashing windows, attacking the overwhelmed Capitol police.

Award nominations due by February 22; Princess applications due by March 1

The Allamakee County Dairy Promotion Board has opted not to schedule the 2021 Allamakee County Dairy Banquet at this point in time, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the board is still seeking nominations to honor and recognize deserving producers and contributors to the dairy industry in Allamakee County. Should restrictions on gatherings and other mitigation procedures allow, the board may opt to schedule the banquet at a later date this year or, at the very least, will distribute this year’s awards during June Dairy Month, much like was done last year in light of the pandemic situation.

Allamakee County Public Health is asking for the public’s help in refraining from calling their office about COVID-19 vaccine shots. There is no sign-up list for individuals to add their name to for vaccinations in Allamakee County at this point in time.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) has issued an updated Phase 1B statement and tier categories that will include people aged 65 years and older. However, vaccine remains in short supply, and this means not everyone in Phase 1B will be able to get vaccinated right away.

Vaccine distribution will be prioritized due to vaccine shortage and not being able to vaccinate everyone at once. Planning is ongoing at the local level in regard to how to best distribute the vaccine within the local community following the phases and tiers established by IDPH and based on the limited amount of vaccine being allocated to Allamakee County at this time.

The Iowa 4-H Foundation has announced the honorees to be recognized at its Sixth Annual Iowa 4-H Legacy Awards Gala. The Legacy Awards celebrate Iowa 4-H and recognize those who have made a significant impact on the program.

This year’s all-virtual event will take place Friday, February 26. A special interactive showcase presented by current 4-H members kicks off the evening’s event at 6:30 p.m., with the awards ceremony beginning at 7 p.m.

Throughout the evening, four supporters of the 4-H Program will be honored. Among those honorees is Waukon High School senior Diana Davison, who will receive the Contributing Youth Award.