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Representative Bob Hager of Dorchester will be hosting a series of Town Hall meetings throughout northeast Iowa during the next two weekends. This Saturday, March 3, Hager will be in the Winnebago Room at the New Albin Community Center at 8 a.m. before hosting a meeting at 10 a.m. at the Kerndt Brothers Community Center in Lansing. At 12 noon, Hager will be at the Ethel Robinson Meehan Community Center in Harpers Ferry. He has also invited members of the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors to participate in these Town Hall meeting sessions.

Jason Meyer, Postville, has formally announced his candidacy for a seat on the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors. One of the three seats on the Board, the seat currently held by Lennie Burke, will have its term expiring at the end of this year. In a June 14 special election last year, Burke was returned to the Board to fill out that term following the unexpected death of Supervisor Cloy Kuhse. Meyer will be seeking the Republican nomination during the June 5 primary election.

by Bob Beach

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met several times last week to put the finishing touches on the County’s budget for the next fiscal year, beginning Tuesday, February 21 due to the Presidents Day holiday, and returning to regular session Monday, February 27.

All members of the community are invited to participate in a second discussion about the future of downtown Waukon. The first forum was held January 31, with 76 people in attendance. All community members are encouraged to attend these forums and participate in improving Waukon.
Allamakee County Economic Development, the Waukon Chamber of Commerce and Waukon Economic Development Corporation are hosting the second downtown forum Tuesday, February 28 from 6-8 p.m. at the Farmers and Merchants Savings Bank Community Room. Light refreshments will be served.

Usage of the Robey Memorial Library in Waukon has grown dramatically over the past few years, according to documentation by Library Director Rick Meyer.

One year after a change in Iowa law required county sheriffs to issue concealed weapons permits, without restriction, to anyone who applies and meets certain requirements, the number of permits issued in Allamakee County has more than doubled. Allamakee County Sheriff Tim Heiderscheit said that prior to the passage of the new law, 256 concealed weapons permits had been issued in Allamakee County, while after the passage of the law, 312 new permits were also issued.

According to Live Healthy Iowa Outreach Coordinator John Stevens, 1,713 Allamakee County residents are participating in the Governor’s 100 Day Wellness Challenge. The 1,713 adult and youth participants represent 12.8% of the county population (age five and above), and that percentage places Allamakee County third among all counties in the state of Iowa participating in the Challenge.

Patti Ruff of McGregor has announced that she will run for the Iowa House of Representatives in the new House District 56, which includes all of Allamakee County and part of Clayton County.
“As a working mother of three, I know the challenges middle class families face every day. We need world class schools and thriving local communities to keep young people in rural communities like ours,” said Ruff. “Working with farmers every day, I also understand how critical a strong ag economy is to our community.”

A judge has thrown out 50 of the 51 counts alleging open meetings violations against Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC), which maintains offices in Decorah and Postville.
The Commission had filed a motion with the court, asking for dismissal of all counts. Plaintiffs in the case are the City of Postville and Jason Meyer, owner/publisher of The Postville Herald newspaper.

Recent discovery of a garbage bag along an Allamakee County highway which was full of used insulin syringes has prompted area health officials to raise awareness of improper, dangerous methods of disposal for used needles. A simple, inexpensive disposal program for used needles was developed locally over 15 years ago and remains very useful and accessible yet today.