Community News

The Waukon High School Choir will travel around the area on its 26th Annual Christmas Church Tour this Sunday, December 5.

The choir sings at seven churches each year. Those churches are selected based on a number of factors, including church proximity to the high school, accessibility for school buses, the physical size of the church, the membership size of the congregation, and whether the worship service is broadcast.

Under the direction of Sarah Bieber, the choir will be singing during the worship services at these Waukon area churches according to the following time schedule:

St John’s Lutheran
8:30-8:45 a.m.

Old West Lutheran
9-9:15 a.m.

First Presbyterian
9:30-9:45 a.m.

St Patrick Catholic
10-10:15 a.m.

First Baptist
10:30-10:45 a.m.

Zalmona Presbyterian
11-11:15 a.m.

Plans are being made for the Annual Lighted Holiday Parade to be held in downtown Waukon and scheduled for Monday, December 6, beginning at 6 p.m. The event coincides with extended Monday night business hours of some Waukon retailers, along with other events being planned that same evening.

The parade will begin with entries lining up around the East Elementary School playground before they travel Fifth Street NW south to West Main Street. Turning left onto West Main Street, the parade entries will venture to the stoplight intersection downtown, where they will then turn south on to Spring Avenue for one block before turning right on to First Avenue SW and heading west up to Sixth Street SW. The entries will then turn right and head north back to the East Elementary playground.

The Waukon Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its “Ringing in the Holidays” promotional event November 1 through December 12 of this year in an effort to keep business local for the holiday season. A drawing for prizes will be held Monday, December 13 for three winners of prizes of $25, $50 and $100 in Waukon Dollars.

Those shopping in local participating businesses during that promotional timeframe are invited to fill up as many $100 Punch Cards as they can with purchases from one or more Waukon Chamber of Commerce merchants found on the back of the punch cards. Participating merchants will punch or initial above the punch image to confirm the punch card’s $5 incremental value of purchase total.

During the month of November, Allamakee County Farm Bureau (ACFB) is collecting hats and mittens. Items will need to be new or gently used with no tears or holes.

The items will then be donated to the Allamakee County Relief Office. The Relief Office will then distribute the items to those in need in the local community.

A container will be placed in the ACFB office, located at 14 First Avenue NE in Waukon, where items can be dropped off. Hats and mittens of all sizes can be donated. ACFB office hours are Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Donations will be accepted until December 3.

A lifelong love of animals for Waukon native Tracey Tepesch is now something she can share with customers - both human and fur-bearing - in her new business venture, Paws Up Pet Supplies, located at 11 Allamakee Street in Waukon.

First opening for business November 6 in the long-time Cotécolor Photography building, Paws Up Pet Supplies accomplishes three aspirations for the 1989 graduate of Waukon High School. “Number one, my love/passion for animals; number two, I’ve always wanted to be a part of the business community; and number three, I’ve always wanted to restore a building back to its original state,” Tepesch explained.

Veterans Day at Thornton Manor in Lansing was celebrated by presenting two residents with the honored Quilt of Valor. Eileen Smith (pictured standing above) from Lansing gave a sentimental presentation to Charlie Matlock and Don Anderson (seated left to right in photo above), honoring the veterans with the Quilt of Valor and framed certificates. A Quilt of Valor is a quality, handmade quilt that is machine or hand quilted. It is awarded to a Service Member or Veteran who has been touched by war. The quilt says unequivocally, “Thank you for your service and sacrifice in serving our nation.” The two quilts were locally made by a special group of women to honor local veterans. Photo and write-up submitted by Karen Ulrich, Recreation Therapy Director at Thornton Manor. Submitted photo.

The Allamakee County Veterans Museum will observe Pearl Harbor Day Tuesday, December 7 by offering a program to the public in the Program Room of its new museum in the former Vet’s Club building in Waukon.

Tuesday, December 7 at 6:30 p.m. a video documentary will be presented about the Japanese air raid on the U.S. Naval and Air Bases at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Islands, which marked the entry of the United States into the Second World War.

The Pearl Harbor documentary will be preceded by a video that museum staff are calling “The last summer of peace in Waukon before the War.” It includes movie footage filmed in downtown Waukon in the summers of 1940-1941 by the Cote family for entertainment viewing in their newly opened Town Theatre on Main Street in Waukon.

by Julie Berg-Raymond

Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa, 1st) visited Lansing Wednesday, November 10, when Main Street Lansing held a ribbon cutting event for Lansing Office Works at its newly-opened location at 274 Main Street.

Lansing Office Works, which opened September 20, is a co-working space that offers a collaborative office environment for remote workers, small business owners and entrepreneurs. Amenities include high-speed wireless internet access, private meeting spaces, a breakroom/kitchen area, common areas, and virtual business coaching.

Following a tour of the premises, Hinson spoke with attendees about post-pandemic changes and challenges in the workforce.  Hinson said people have been forced to re-assess what they really value - including how they want to work. “We’ve got to be reactive to the ‘new normal,’” she said.

In honor and appreciation of their service and sacrifices, the Waukon Patriot Quilters awarded quilts to local veterans at a Veterans Day ceremony held Thursday, November 11 at the Sweeney Shelter in the Waukon City Park near the Allamakee County Freedom Rock. Pictured above at the quilt presentations are, left to right: Front row - Charles Byrnes, Wayne Howe, Gus Berger; Back row - Norman Borcherding, Kelli McGriff, Dick Hermanson, Kenneth Mark, Norman Peterson. Jean Brink had also received her quilt the previous week, as noted in the November 10 edition of The Standard. Submitted photo.

The Iowa State Patrol has released information regarding the October 14 single-vehicle crash that claimed the life of Waukon native and Iowa State Patrol Trooper Ted Benda, age 37. The report indicates that Trooper Benda swerved to miss a deer and could not regain control of his vehicle, resulting in the crash that critically injured him and ultimately claimed his life October 20.

The report shared Friday, November 12 by the Iowa State Patrol says that a deer ran on to the roadway from the west in front of Trooper Benda’s Dodge Charger patrol car as he was traveling southbound on State Highway 51 about six miles north of Postville around 11:30 p.m. that mid-October night. The report further explains that Trooper Benda took evasive driving action to avoid the deer but his vehicle lost traction, entering the roadway ditch to the east, hitting an embankment on the driver side and rolling before coming to rest on the vehicle’s driver side.