Community News

The Standard newspaper office in Waukon hosted some special visitors Wednesday, April 12. First grade students from the classrooms of Ms. Deb Hauber and Mrs. Thea Troendle at St. Patrick School in Waukon toured The Standard office for a field trip to learn more about the newspaper and its importance to the community, along with the jobs and processes involved in publishing a newspaper. Students in the two classrooms (pictured in the photos above and below) had a chance to ask questions and also helped contribute to and edit their own newspaper front page to print and take with them. Standard photos by Joe Moses.
 

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, April 17 to address a full agenda of matters including the Resolution relating to LOST Legislation/Senate File 550, the Public Hearing on the Budget for Fiscal-Year Ending June 30, 2024, and discussion of the CDBG Upper Story Housing Grant Program.

Mayor Pat Stone called the meeting to order, with the meeting then moving into Department Reports with Street Superintendent Keith Burrett providing an update. Burrett discussed ongoing projects including tree trimming and removal as necessary. He noted some storm sewer intakes that may require replacement or repair. Burrett added that the water retention basin will be burned in the near future as part of regular maintenance.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met twice within less than a week’s time this past week with a special session Thursday, April 6 and a regular session Monday, April 10. Coverage of both meetings appears below.

THURSDAY, APRIL 6
The Thursday, April 6 special meeting was called to order by Board of Supervisors Chairperson Dan Byrnes with Supervisors Mark Reiser and Dennis Keatley present.

The Friends of Pool 9 Directors have tentatively scheduled a Pool 9 Mississippi River Clean-Up Day for Saturday, April 22. Because of the possibility of excessive spring flooding, volunteers should stay abreast of water levels on the Mississippi River as the clean-up date approaches.

There will be no mass meetings of individuals at the Lansing VFW building and there will not be a lunch following. Lansing volunteers should gather at the waterfront area below the VFW building next to the river to sign the 2023 Friends of Pool 9 Release of Liability form before participating in the event.
FOP9 Directors Alex Galema, Bob Henkel, Bruce ReVoir and Mike Conway will be available to hand out garbage bags, gloves and water, as well as to assign collection areas. Directors will also be available at most launch sites in Pool 9 including Big Slough Landing (Shelly Galema and Jerry Boardman), Black Hawk Park (Ric Zarwell) and Ferryville (Larry Quamme and John Mitchell).

Helping Services for Youth & Families is proud to share about the community’s support of the 2023 Youth Mentoring Bowl-A-Thon held March 26 at King Pin Entertainment Center in Decorah. Local sponsors and 52 bowlers raised $8,400 to help provide adult role models for youth in Allamakee, Howard and Winneshiek Counties. Appreciation goes out to all the bowlers and their donors. There were many cheers as bowlers experienced strikes, spares, and even gutter balls. Pictured in the submitted photo above is the team of Hattie, Martha, Kaden and Tim preparing to take part in the 2023 Youth Mentoring Bowl-A-Thon

The celebration of the 30th year of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter at Waukon High School this year got even more special after the chapter won its third consecutive Lloyd V. Douglas Chapter of the Year Award at the 2023 Iowa FBLA State Leadership Conference held March 30-April 1 in Coralville.

For the second consecutive year, the Waukon High School chapter defended that same title earned during each of the last two State Leadership Conferences in 2021 and 2022. With a Chapter of the Year “three-peat” being unprecedented in program history, the Waukon chapter has achieved one other previous championship repeat, at the 2015 and 2016 State Leadership Conferences. The Waukon chapter has finished as either the State Chapter of the Year or Runner-Up Chapter of the Year each season for nearly the past decade, with the 2020 State Leadership Conference canceled by COVID-19 just before it was slated to take place.

Both the Waukon and Waterville communities will be hosting their respective Easter Egg Hunts this Saturday, April 8. Both events begin at 10 a.m., with those attending encouraged to arrive within the half-hour before that start time to register for prizes.

WAUKON
The Easter Egg Hunt in Waukon will take place this Saturday at Green Valley Getaway for kids age 12 and under. Registration for prizes will take place between 9:30-9:45 a.m., with the hunt to begin at 10 a.m. There will be prizes awarded in each age group. Donations for the event are still being accepted and can be made by contacting Linda Mahr at 563-794-1663.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, April 3 to address a full agenda of matters including an appointment to the Board of Adjustment, consideration of bids for gravel road rock, and the Proclamation of April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Allamakee County. The meeting was called to order by Board of Supervisors Chairperson Dan Byrnes with Supervisors Dennis Keatley and Mark Reiser present.

During Public Comment, Allamakee County Assessor Ann Burckart provided an update relating to valuations noting that assessment notices have been sent out to property owners (see Front Page article in this week’s edition of The Standard). Burckart explained that Iowa Code requires that assessments are to be at 100-percent of market value on residential and commercial property. She advised that if the assessments are between 95-percent to 105-percent of market value, no adjustments are necessary.

by Julie Berg-Raymond

This year, the International Transgender Day of Visibility - created by transgender activist Rachel Crandall of Michigan in 2009 - coincided locally with what the National Weather Service has described as “an intense storm system (that) tracked across the state of Iowa on Friday, March 31 … (creating) quite the volatile environment for severe thunderstorms” (weather.com).

Outdoor events throughout the state, intended to commemorate the Day of Visibility - like a rally on the courthouse steps in Decorah, for example, were postponed until Saturday.

by David M. Johnson

Amish communities have established their identity with the horse drawn buggies, no electricity, and late 19th/early 20th century farming techniques. One local member of the Amish neighborhood has recently decided to move on to something a little different, developing his own meat processing business.

Elmer Miller, 26, of rural Waukon is very enthusiastic about his promising new business endeavor. He, with his dad, had dabbled in construction, farming and a sawmill but over the past few years had tried his hand at butchering livestock. He had done some meat processing the last 10 years with his father before expanding to where he is today as a true business venture.