Community News

by Joe Moses

Those who are concerned about preserving the Mississippi River as a host for recreation and nature-lovers, both now and in the future, should consider participating in the Friends of Pool 9 River Clean-Up scheduled for Saturday, April 13 from 8 a.m. to noon.

People interested in helping with this clean-up should contact the group leaders at the following towns to get their assignments and sign-up sheets. Those group leaders are:
• De Soto, WI - Jerry Boardman, 563-419-7968
• Ferryville, WI - Larry Quamme, 920-948-2245
• Lynxville, WI - Mark Schneden, 608-412-0483
• New Albin - Jim Erbe, 563-419-1085
• Lansing - Alex Galema, 563-568-7294.

Each individual must sign a liability waiver. Those under the age of 18 must have signed parental permission to participate. Volunteers will receive gloves, garbage bags and water when they arrive. Dumpsters will be placed at strategic places on both sides of the river.

Saturday, April 20 at 10 a.m., the Allamakee County Veterans Museum will present another program from its Veterans History Project at its museum located at 105 Allamakee Street in Waukon.

A video interview by Chuck Bloxham with U.S. Army veteran Marvin “Bud” Strike will be played. Strike will also be present to share comments and answer questions.

Staff Sgt. Marvin Strike joined the U.S. Army in 1953 during the Korean Conflict, serving 16 months in Korea until returning to the U.S. in 1955 to complete his obligation. In Korea, he was assigned to the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, clearing land mines, repairing roads and bridges. While in Korea, he was promoted to Sergeant and was re-assigned to company clerk duties.

A total of 110 participants ages 10 and under took part in the Annual 4-H Toppers Easter Egg Hunt held Saturday, March 30 at the Waterville Community Center, Waterville. The 4-H club and other event organizers appreciate the support provided to the event by the Waterville Community Foundation, 4-H Toppers 4-H club families, Allamakee Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP), Fareway, the Allamakee County Fair Board, Midwest Dental, Nita Grangaard, Waterville Fire Department, Dunkin’ Donuts, Allamakee County Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and the Waterville Community Center and City of Waterville.

Midwest Veterans of America will be hosting its 2024 Midwest Pie Championship from 1-3 p.m. Sunday, April 14 in the Community Room of FreedomBank in Waukon. The event will feature both a pie judging and a pie eating contest, along with an auction.

The  pie judging will take place at 1 p.m. and will feature competition classes for apple, pumpkin, raisin cream, nuts, fruits and berries, meat and best decorated pies. Judging will be based on taste and flavor, creativity and overall impression, with ribbons distributed for first-, second- and third-place winners. All pies to be judged must be accompanied by their recipe and delivered on site by 1 p.m.

A pie eating contest will take place at 2 p.m. with some local celebrities competing in the event. Anyone attending the event can also enjoy all the pie they can eat for a $5 fee, with ice cream, whipped cream and fruit available to go along with any pie. Pies will also be auctioned off at 3 p.m.

A total of 27 area military veterans from the Vietnam War era were honored during an event hosted Saturday, March 30 at AJ Bar & Grill in Waukon. The event was hosted by Midwest Veterans of America and included each of those veterans receiving a plaque and small American flag, in addition to rounds of applause and gratitude from the many in attendance for their years of service to their country. Many of those honored veterans are pictured in the photo at right, standing on the staircase at AJ Bar & Grill for a group photo, and many of their family members, friends and acquaintances were also in attendance to witness and share in their honoring. The event was emceed by retired U.S. Army Master Sergeant Kevin Herman, a 1984 graduate of Waukon High School, who is pictured standing among the honored veterans in the middle of the top row of the photo. Standard photo by Joe Moses.
 

The 12th Rusty Rides Run scheduled for this Saturday, April 6 will benefit Vera Ahlstrom, five-year-old daughter of Justin and Ashley Ahlstrom of Waukon. In June of 2018, at the age of six months old, Vera was diagnosed with Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood (AHC), a rare, life-threatening neurological disease affecting approximately one in one million people.

AHC impacts Vera in a number of ways, with the most common episode being paralysis (hemiplegia) to her left or right side and her most severe episodes involving bouts of full body paralysis and severe dystonia, which is a movement disorder that causes the muscles to contract involuntarily. When working through episodes of this type, she is unable to eat or drink anything other than a small syringe of water at a time. Anything more and she could aspirate as her esophagus, larynx and trachea do not function correctly.

Tuesday, March 12, Cub Scout Pack 64 in Waukon went “Scouting for Food” around Waukon. In just an hour and a half, the Scouts collected 724 pounds of food and $28 in donations (such as pictured above), resulting in a record amount of food the Scouts have donated to the Allamakee County Food Shelf. “The Waukon community came out to help like always and made it a successful food drive for the Scouts!” local Scout leaders shared. “Some even dropped food off at the Allamakee Farm Bureau office to make sure the Scouts got their donation!” Submitted photos.
 

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met Wednesday, March 27 for the required Public Hearing for the County’s Proposed Property Tax Levy for Fiscal-Year 2025 (FY25).

The meeting was called to order by Board of Supervisors Chairperson Dan Byrnes with Supervisors Dennis Keatley and Mark Reiser present. Members of the public in attendance included Tom Clark, John Sweeney and Executive Director Val Reinke of Allamakee County Economic Development (ACED).

The Public Hearing was opened with County Auditor Denise Beyer providing an overview of the letter that taxpayers received prior to the date of this meeting and hearing relating to the County’s proposed FY25 (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025) property tax levy. Beyer advised that this public hearing is a new requirement relating to Iowa House File 718 (HF718), legislation relating to local government property taxes, financial authority and budgets, among other matters.

Midwest Veterans of America will be hosting an event honoring Vietnam era veterans this Saturday, March 30 at AJ Bar & Grill (previously called AJ Steakhouse) in Waukon, beginning at 1 p.m. Midwest Veterans of America will be honoring more than two dozen local veterans who served their country during the Vietnam War era at the event.