News Center newsletter

Allamakee County Economic Development (ACED) is seeking nominations for the 2019 “Cloy Kuhse Positive Impact Award”.

To be eligible, the recipient must be a business located in Allamakee County.  ACED will accept nominations until Tuesday, September 10. Award winner announcement and ceremony will be at the ACED Annual Banquet October 10. The Award Recipient will receive a plaque and will be added to the Award Plaque that is displayed at the ACED office.

Growing Bear Daycare in Waukon was the 2018 Cloy Kuhse Positive Impact Award winner, and ACED looks forward to announcing another business that is making a positive impact at its annual meeting this October.

What does the future hold for downtown Lansing?

Community residents and business persons will have a chance to chime in as part of the Downtown Lansing Market Study project being orchestrated by Main Street Lansing.

Andy Kelleher, Main Street Lansing Executive Director, said a special project team assembled by Main Street Lansing initiated work on the project last month. Main Street Lansing, the local non-profit group spearheading downtown Lansing revitalization efforts, is performing the study to fine-tune and enhance downtown business development and marketing strategies. Kelleher said the study will include an in-depth analysis of input collected from local business and consumer surveys to be conducted throughout the month of August (see shaded sidebar box accompanying this article).

Main Street Lansing is currently undergoing a market study, and input is needed from locals, tourists and business owners. Anyone who has ever stepped foot in Lansing is invited to provide input through a survey being conducted during the month of August.

Individuals are invited to take ten minutes (or less) to complete a simple survey and help improve downtown Lansing. Survey insights and suggestions will be used by Main Street Lansing to fine-tune strategies to enhance downtown Lansing.

The survey will only be available until August 30, so participants are urged to act now to complete the survey, and also encouraged to invite others to participate. The survey can be found at the following link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MS_Lansing
 

Waukon High School 1970 graduate Gary Schwartzhoff, a long-time music educator and retired Director of Choral Activities at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, conducted the Paris Choral Festival Concert at Eglise de la Madeleine in Paris, France Monday, July 8 in celebration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Schwartzhoff was listed as the Artistic Director for that Paris Choral Festival, and he conducted more than 350 vocalists involving 13 separate choirs from across the United States during the concert, including his own UW-Eau Claire Alumni Choir. He can be seen in the top submitted photo at right in the center of the photo foreground facing the choir he conducted.

The family of former Allamakee County Sheriff Leonard J. Bulman recently donated a memorial bench to the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office in memory of their late father, Leonard J. Bulman, who was killed in the line of duty as Allamakee County Sheriff January 19, 1946. Sheriff Bulman’s daughters, Charlotte Reeder and the late Edith Feuerhelm, and son, the late Charles Bulman, made the memorial bench donation possible, and Stacey Quam was also instrumental in procurement of the bench. Pictured above is the bench plaque memorializing Sheriff Bulman and pictured at right with the bench, left to right, are Charlotte Reeder and her daughter, Lori Quam.

“The Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office very much appreciates this donation and as a reminder of the service and sacrifice by Sheriff Leonard J. Bulman and his family,” Allamakee County Sheriff Clark Mellick shared. Submitted photo.
 

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, August 5 to address a full agenda of items including discussion of downtown trash cans, a potential police department building remodel and the city manager position. During Public Comment, Director Ardie Kuhse of Waukon Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) thanked City Manager Dean Hilgerson for his work for the City and assistance with WEDC and invited those in attendance to stay after adjournment for cookies and punch in honor of Hilgerson’s upcoming retirement.

John Kerndt with Trees Forever discussed that efforts should be made to save the trees that will be removed for the sidewalk project along the industrial park area and suggested transplanting them elsewhere within Waukon. Council member John Ellingson discussed the use of a tree spade as a possibility in transplanting trees if utilities are not an issue.

The Hartig Drug Waukon location hosted an open house event Thursday morning, August 1 that allowed members of the local community to meet three members of the Hartig family - Dick and his sons, Charlie and Wes - involved in the business and in a current transition within the company’s corporate leadership. Pictured in the photo above during the open house, left to right, are: Front row - Waukon Hartig Drug Pharmacists Samantha Collins and Erin Iverson; Back row: Waukon Hartig Drug Store Manager Casey Larson, newly appointed Hartig Drug Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Charlie Hartig, Hartig Drug Chairman Dick Hartig, and Wes Hartig, CEO of MedOne, a pharmacy benefit administration business founded by Dick Hartig.

The school gardens at two Waukon schools are flourishing thanks to the green thumbs of the young gardeners involved in the Summer Food and Fitness program hosted by the Iowa 4-H AmeriCorps program, ISU Extension and Outreach and the Allamakee Community School District (ACSD). In June, club members planted and tended the garden at the Waukon Middle School. Nine raised beds were filled with cucumbers, tomatoes, ground cherries, kohlrabi, peppers, peas, cauliflower and sunflowers. Some of the yield from this garden will be shared with students taking part in the ACSD summer feeding program in August.

Mental illness affects the whole family, not just the one with the diagnosis. No one is ever ready for the arrival of mental illness in a loved one. Family members can often feel overwhelmed as they try to learn more about the illness, treatment options, and how to adjust to this new reality in their lives.

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) of Northeast Iowa is presenting a free one-day course, Hope for Recovery, designed for family members who have a loved one dealing with mental illness. The course is also open to the general public. Participants will learn about types of mental illnesses, treatments and recovery, coping strategies, communication tools, the mental health system, and local resources.

The course will be held Saturday, August 10 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. in Cresco at Regional Health Services of Howard County, located at 235 Eighth Avenue West. Call Susan Friedrich at 563-422-7882 for more information and to register for this course.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach offers ServSafe® food safety certification classes. ServSafe® meets the criteria for an individual to become a “Certified Food Protection Manager” (CFPM).

Iowa’s Food Code (as of January 1, 2014) requires that: “at least one food establishment employee with management and supervisory responsibility be a CFPM.”

The ServSafe® program blends the latest FDA Food Code, food safety research and years of food sanitation training experience. Managers learn to implement essential food safety practices and create a culture of food safety. All content and materials are based on actual job tasks identified by foodservice industry experts.

The class will be taught by Jill Weber, Human Sciences Specialist, Nutrition and Wellness and Registered ServSafe® Proctor & Certified ServSafe® Instructor. Training will be offered at the Allamakee County Extension Office in Waukon Monday, September 16 from 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.