Year in Review - Part II: Top local news stories printed from July-December 2024

The items below summarize the top news stories that appeared in The Standard during the last six months of 2024, July-December.

JULY
The second annual PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) Awareness Walk was held in Waukon Saturday, June 29, as nearly three dozen individuals made the trek from an initial gathering location of the Allamakee County Freedom Rock in Waukon City Park down through Waukon via Rossville Road to the lawn of the Allamakee County Courthouse and the Allamakee County Veterans Museum, where information and resources were available for individuals, or their family and friends, whose lives have been impacted by PTSD. The event was part of the Veterans Administration’s National Center for PTSD program observing June as PTSD Awareness Month, with June 27 being designated as National PTSD Awareness Day.

The setting of a new trial date has been put on hold in the First Degree Murder case of Brandon Kasemeier, the 40-year-old man from Waukon charged in the January 21 death of his estranged wife, Jami Kasemeier. That delay came as a result of action taken during a Monday, July 1 review hearing in Allamakee County District Court.

That delay stems from the fact that Kasemeier had to have a new public defender appointed to him after his original public defender, Aaron Hawbaker of Waterloo, filed a motion to withdraw as legal counsel for Kasemeier. Hawbaker filed that motion June 18, following ensuing discussions with his client after Kasemeier had withdrawn a plea of guilty to Murder in the Second Degree in the case at a June 10 hearing. In that motion document filed in Allamakee County District Court, Hawbaker cited a phone conversation with Kasemeier of more than 30 minutes that June 18 morning, noting that “it is clear from this conversation that there has been a serious breakdown in the attorney-client relationship.”

A review hearing scheduled for Monday, July 1 in Allamakee County District Court for a third attempt at setting a third trial date in the arson case against Mindy Jo Jones ended up not being formally needed, as legal counsel on each side of the case agreed to a trial date through phone conversations prior to Monday’s scheduled hearing time. That trial date has now been scheduled for Wednesday, February 26, 2025 with a pretrial conference having also been set for Monday, February 10, 2025, according to court documents.

The last month or so has been something of a whirlwind in the Rosendahl household. Conrad Rosendahl, Lansing Chief of Police since 2016, recently resigned his position and accepted a job as chief of police in New Hampton.

The new job comes with a significant pay increase, and new hours - Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The family’s move to New Hampton adds only four minutes to Kristin’s current work commute, so she doesn’t have to look for a new job - which is great, Conrad says, because she loves her job as a registered nurse at WinnMed (the former Winneshiek Medical Center) in Decorah.

Most important, the new job brings Conrad and Kristin closer to daughter Alexyess and granddaughter Kaya-Lynn, age 2, who live in the northeast Iowa community of Denver (Alexyess works at MercyOne Medical Center in Waterloo). It’s only a half-hour drive from New Hampton to Denver; from Lansing, the trip was almost two hours long. “This change will give us a lot more time to spend with them,” Conrad says.

The pageantry of the Allamakee County Fair will add another level this year, as the traditional Allamakee County Fair Queen Contest will be complemented by the inaugural celebration of the Allamakee County Fair Little Miss Contest for younger ages. The coronation event for both of those competitions, featuring a total of 11 Allamakee County young ladies, will take place Wednesday, July 17 at 5 p.m. at the Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon to help kick off the 171st Allamakee County Fair, running July 17-21.

Five Allamakee County young ladies, ranging in age from 17 to 18 years old, are vying for the title of 2024 Allamakee County Fair Queen. Those five candidates seeking this year’s Queen crown include Mallory Berns of Harpers Ferry, Mari Delaney of Waukon, Lily Howe of Lansing, Mia Kurth of Lansing and Molly Peake of Waukon.

Perhaps providing a stepping stone to that Fair Queen pageantry is a new contest this year for those younger in age, as six girls ranging in age from seven to nine years old are seeking the inaugural title of Allamakee County Fair Little Miss. Those six Little Miss hopefuls include Quinn Bieber of Waukon, Everly Cota of Waukon, Mallory Kurth of Lansing, Ezra McCormick of Waterville, Leirah Onsager of Waukon and Ivanna Rodriguez of Waukon.

The Allamakee County Sheriff’s Department has been called upon by the communities of Lansing and New Albin to assist in providing temporary law enforcement coverage in those two communities following the recent resignation of Chief of Police Conrad Rosendahl, and more recently, the resignations of the two remaining officers in the department, Darby Stone and Troy Riehm. Chief Rosendahl’s resignation became effective June 26, as he began a new job as Chief of Police for the City of New Hampton July 1.

Both Officer Stone and Officer Riehm formally submitted their resignations at the July 8 meeting of the New Albin City Council, with those resignations both being effective as of Friday, July 26. City officials reported that both officers have other employment opportunities they will be undertaking.

This week, July 17-21,  the 171st Allamakee County Fair will be held for all to enjoy at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds in Waukon. A wide variety of entertainment is in place to headline this year’s Fair at the grandstand, along with a great deal of other activities for everyone to enjoy each and every day throughout the five-day event.

A documentary on the history of Lansing’s Black Hawk Bridge and the process of replacing it will be shown at the Kee High School gymnasium in Lansing at 4 p.m. Saturday, August 10, coinciding with this year’s Lansing Fish Days celebration, August 9-11.

The film, “Bridging Generations: The Story of the Black Hawk Bridge,” was commissioned by the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) as part of its responsibility to mitigate the loss of the bridge. The new bridge now under construction will provide a physical transport over the Mississippi River, but the documentary is a way to preserve some of the cultural heritage of the Black Hawk Bridge for the community that has loved it for generations.

IDOT hired Loras College creative media professor Craig Schaefer and his team to create the documentary. They told the story of the bridge and the people it has served through historical research done by Ray Werner of Tallgrass Archeology of Iowa City and through interviews with area residents, bridge workers and IDOT planners.

U.S. farmers and their communities are serving locally and making a global impact in partnership with Growing Hope Globally. The year 2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the organization. To date, growing projects have raised over $47 million to support agricultural development programs around the world helping those struggling with hunger to help themselves through farming. These programs have served over 2.3 million people across the globe, with the Allamakee County-based Corner of Hope being part of that mission since the beginning of that local effort in 2005.

“The impact these programs are making is amazing. I have had the opportunity to hear firsthand from those who have participated about the way it has changed the quality of their life and the lives of their children,“ said Julie Vulk of the Winneshiek County Community of Hope Growing Project.

Growing Projects bring together farmers, businesses, churches, FFA chapters and communities to grow crops or raise animals, giving everyone the chance to contribute. Money generated locally through the sale of the crops and animals is used to support agricultural development programs, helping families around the world to find lasting solutions to hunger.

Woodcarver Dan Campbell, of Waukon Junction, had been carving for almost 40 years when a friend talked him into entering his first competition - and it was a big one: The 56th annual International Woodcarvers Congress, held from June 10-15 at the Jackson County Fairgrounds in Maquoketa.
“I took seven carvings to the show, and they all won a ribbon,” Campbell says. Recalling the event, he says, “It was kind of surreal.”

When he walked around the area where entries were displayed following the judging he noticed that his pieces had won ribbons, and he was pleased about that; but he couldn’t find his carving of an otter and its habitat. He eventually found it near the front of the display area and saw it had won ribbons for Best of Show and People’s Choice - he’d gone right past it when he walked in. “I was flabbergasted,” he says.

To read the full article, pick up the Wednesday, January 8, 2025 print edition of The Standard or subscribe to our e-edition or print edition by clicking here.