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by Bob Beach

by Bob Beach

Governor Tom Vilsack declared 2005 as the Year of the Barn and Family Farm, and a farm survey project was begun in the state of Iowa. The Iowa Historic Preservation Alliance (IHPA) felt this was “an exciting opportunity for Iowans to photo-document a rapidly disappearing part of our heritage.”
IHPA board member and program director Rod Scott said, “One hundred years from now people will want to study the state’s history and connect with farmsteads of the past. The survey project will leave a permanent history of rural Iowa Architecture.”

Due to excessive abuse at the Dalby rural dumpsite located near Waterville, Allamakee County officials have decided to close the site, effective May 1. The current rural site will be replaced with a once-per-week drop-off and pick-up service located at the Waterville County Shop, 955 Waterville Road.
The new service will consist of a waste and recycling truck stationed at the Waterville County Shop from 1-5 p.m. each Friday afternoon only. The truck will receive regular household trash and recycling from rural residents during that Friday afternoon timeframe only.

Despite the measurements of the Mississippi River at Lansing coming up just shy of the official flood stage of 18 feet, there are still some obvious difficulties caused by the high water levels the river has reached during the recent period of spring thaw mixed with spring showers and thunderstorms. The City Marina in Lansing pictured above shows just one example of the high water problems, as fuel tanks, restroom facilities and T.J.'s Tiki Bar were all surrounded as of Sunday, April 17.

Senator Charles Grassley will be in Waukon Tuesday, April 19 as part of his annual 99-County tour. Senator Grassley will meet with area residents from 2:30-3:30 p.m. at the Allamakee County Farm Bureau building, located at 14 First Avenue NE in Waukon.

The National Weather Service (NWS) forecast for the Mississippi River has the river working its way toward its official flood stage of 18 feet throughout this week, ultimately forecasted to level out at 17.4 feet in Lansing toward the end of this week. That 17.4-foot forecast is nearly two feet higher than the river's latest recording of 15.6 feet as of  9 a.m. Tuesday, April 12.

by Bob Beach

by Brianne Eilers

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has established Tax Day this year as Monday, April 18, moving the date from the traditional April 15 date because that day falls on Emancipation Day, a Washington, D.C. holiday in observance of citizens' rights and the end of slavery.