Community News

Midwest Veterans of America will be hosting a special recognition event this Saturday, March 29 at AJ’s Bar & Grill in Waukon to celebrate National Vietnam War Veterans Day, which is observed March 29 each year honoring the signing of the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act into law in 2017.
An awards presentation will begin at 1 p.m. recognizing 36 U.S. Military Veterans from the local area, with the full menu available to order from as well at the event location. The public is invited to attend the event. Those who have further questions may call 563-568-5275.

Veterans who were nominated by local residents for honoring at this Saturday’s Vietnam Day event include the following (as reported by Midwest Veterans of America):

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in special session Monday, March 24. The council first held a Public Hearing for the Fiscal-Year 2026 Proposed Tax Levy prior to the regular session meeting of the council that had been rescheduled from its original third-Monday date of March 17 to better accommodate the public hearing process on the proposed tax levy.

Teamsters Union Local 238 distributed a press release Monday afternoon, March 24 in regard to an online survey the Teamsters Union conducted this past weekend that was answered by 12 employees of the City of Waukon Police Department and Public Works Department. The release states that the survey consisted of only a single question: “Do you have confidence that Gary Boden can manage the City of Waukon in a manner that is effective and beneficial overall to the residents of the city?”

The release further shares that the results of that survey were reportedly unanimous, stating, “The vote was 12-0 that employees do not have confidence in the City Manager.” In addition to media, the release was also distributed to members of the Waukon City Council and the Waukon Mayor just a couple hours prior to the March 24 Waukon City Council meeting. The matter was not addressed during that March 24 public meeting.

Bleeding injuries can happen anytime, anywhere. If let uncontrolled, severe bleeding injuries could claim a person’s life in as little as five minutes.

With that in mind, Emplify Health by Gundersen will be offering a STOP THE BLEED® training event Tuesday, March 25 at Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library, located at 515 Main Street in Lansing, from 5-6 p.m. Anyone may participate in this training, which is being offered free of charge to the first 10 participants to register by the March 24 at 12 noon registration deadline.

Kristi Hager of Waukon will be the featured speaker at the Women’s Lenten Breakfast scheduled to be held at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon Friday, April 4. She will be sharing “The Weight of the Cross” and focus primarily on the last two weeks of the life of her late husband, Bob, and the spiritual message that she received during that time.

Bob and Kristi were married for 38 years before Bob’s passing February 5 of this year. They are the parents of three daughters, Aubree, Alyssa and Alaina, and two grandchildren, Kaden and Kinley.

Coffee, rolls and fruit will be served starting at 6:30 a.m. with the program starting at 7 a.m., hopefully allowing women to attend before starting their schedule for the day. All area women are invited to attend.
 

Anyone interested in being appointed to the current At-Large vacancy on the Waukon City Council created by the recent passing of council member Kevin Johnson will need to complete an Expression of Interest Letter available through the Waukon City Hall or on the City of Waukon website at https://www.cityofwaukon.com/. This completed form should then be returned to the Waukon City Clerk’s office either by emailing cityclerk@cityofwaukon.com or dropping it off at City Hall.

Leon Pleasant served in the United States Air Force (USAF) as a photographer beginning at the end of World War II. During his long career, he took many photographs of historical and experimental aircraft, including those flown by famed USAF pilot Chuck Yeager, who was the first human to break the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 in 1947. Yeager also had a cameo appearance in the movie “The Right Stuff” which recounted his service as a mentor to the NASA astronaut program.

A portion of Pleasant’s personal collection has been donated to the Allamakee County Veterans Museum. The collection of 150 photos has been converted to digital images which can be better displayed and viewed on a large video screen. His collection will be presented for viewing Friday, March 14 at 1:30 p.m.

The Veterans Museum is located at 105 Allamakee Street in Waukon. The public is invited to attend. There is no admission or membership charge. The facility is handicapped accessible.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, March 10 to address a full agenda of matters including the Resolution for Allamakee County to be the applicant/passthrough for Veterans Memorial Hospital’s application for the Fiscal-Year 2026 (FY26) Hinson Community Project Fund Grant, the Public Hearing for Amendment #15 to Zoning Ordinance L relating to Solar Utility, and the consideration of the Embargo Resolution for some asphalt Secondary Roads. The meeting was called to order by Board of Supervisors Chairperson Dan Byrnes with Supervisors Dennis Keatley and Tom Clark present.

State Representative Jason Gearhart of Iowa House District 64 will hold a legislative forum this Friday, March 14 at 10 a.m. in Harpers Ferry at the Ethel Robinson Meehan Community Center. Area residents are invited to attend to hear Representative Gearhart discuss local and broader issues, as well as field questions from those in attendance at the forum.
 

Join the Allamakee County Conservation Board (ACCB) and the Friends of Yellow River State Forest for a Moonlight Hike Friday, March 14 at 7 p.m. This is a rescheduled hike for the previously scheduled and postponed February hike.

Meet at the Yellow River State Forest Headquarters and hike or snowshoe to the only fire tower in the state of Iowa. If snowshoes are needed,  the ACCB will provide them and trekking poles free of charge. For more information call the Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center at 563-538-0403.