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I learned of the death of Geraldine Haun. I’ll never forget how kind and caring she was to my daughter, Karan. My sympathy to her families.

Martha Callo families have our sympathy, also. Martha was always such a nice lady-no matter where you saw her she would speak to you and made inquiries to our families.

On Thursday, the DeSoto Lutheran WELCA had a quilting day for World Relief. There were five of us and we tied and sewed up ten quilts that day. We had our business meeting and our usual potluck meal.

Violet Beneke, Violet Stehr, Maudie Syhlman and Bev Dresselhaus were the hostess at St. Peter’s U.C.C. Women’s Fellowship on Tuesday, April 5th. Marilyn Oitzman was in charge of the program. A video was shown on the Food Resource Bank. The U.C.C. and Disciples have formed relationships with the F.R.B. work to provide food and growing supplies to people in need. St. Peter’s W.F. have decided to support the program for a year.

The birthday song was sung for Alice Meyer who is on our Honorary list and lives in her apartment in Prairie du Chein.

On Easter Sunday, the Sunday school children of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Lansing, under the direction of Pastor Laura Gentry, presented a clowning performance to dramatize the Easter story. Jesus, played by Ethan Libke, took the sorrows of each character upon himself to the cross. To symbolize this, he physically took the sign of saddness from around each person’s neck. He was, then, carried to the tomb by the other clowns. Then, he was resurrected and brought with him tranformation for each character.

The Northeast Iowa Full Strut Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will be holding its 13th annual membership banquet Saturday, April 16, at the Waukon Reception and Banquet Center. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and a catered meal by Clancy’s will be served at 7 p.m.

Drawings, raffles, games, and the largest live and silent auction in northeast Iowa will also be part of the event. Many of the items are exclusive to NWTF events and can only be obtained by attending.

The image many associate with All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) is often that of speeding four wheels through forests and over sand dunes. However, this is more the exception than the rule.

ATV sales have been on the rise for more than 12 consecutive years largely due to their increasing popularity as workhorses. No longer just toys, ATVs have become essential tools for many Americans.

Randy Frescoln, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Business and Cooperative Services Program Director in Iowa, today announced that applications for the Section 9006 Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Program need to be postmarked by June 27, 2005.

"If you’re an agricultural producer or rural small business looking to finance a renewable energy or energy efficiency project in 2005, we encourage you to consider applying for this renewable energy and energy efficiency program," Frescoln said.

The Northeast Iowa Community-Based Dairy Foundation will soon be polling Iowa dairy producers. The 2005 Iowa Dairy Farm Poll is a questionnaire designed to gather information about the experiences and perspectives of Iowa's dairy farm families. Its objective is to determine what value added activities would be effective in maintaining and growing Iowa's share of the National milk supply through existing dairy producers.

Grants and loans, the grease with which our rural economy often runs, are being improved through initiatives announced last week by USDA Secretary Mike Johanns. Under Section 9006 of the 2002 Farm Bill, small rural producers and businesses are the target of $22.8 million in newly allocated funds. That ain't hay!

Soybean Rust Video
The Iowa Soybean Rust Team hosted a satellite program on March 11 to give a status report on Asian Soybean Rust. The program was taped and is available for checkout from the Allamakee County Extension Office. If you wish to view the program on your computer, you can find the archived program at:
www.extension.iastate.edu/
webcast/archive.htm.
You can also bookmark the following two websites for current information on the disease:
• Iowa Soybean Rust Team

by Sandra Knebel