Community News

Wed
05
Apr

Easter Egg Hunts to be held in Waukon and Waterville this Saturday

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.

Wed
05
Apr

Supervisors award pair of projects, open bids for gravel road rock

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.

Wed
05
Apr

Event celebrating International Transgender Day of Visibility held in Lansing March 31: “We want to build bridges, not walls”


Transgender Day of Visibility event held in Lansing ... Ian Zahren (standing in photo center), faculty advisor for the Inclusivity Club at Kee High School in Lansing, introduces student speaker Isabelle Hammell (seated at far right) to attendees at the Transgender Day of Visibility event held Friday, March 31 at Lansing Office Works. In 2021, Hammell founded the Kee High Inclusivity Club, which was the host of the Day of Visibility event. Photo by Julie Berg-Raymond.

Some of the speakers and supporters ... The Inclusivity Club at Kee High School hosted a celebration of International Transgender Day of Visibility Friday, March 31. Pictured, left to right, are Ian Zahren, faculty advisor to the Inclusivity Club; the family of Nick, student speaker Isabelle and Melissa Hammell; and Evan Graham, high school junior who spoke at the event about his experience as a transgender youth and about how SF 538 will negatively affect his and his family’s ability to continue the medical treatment he is undergoing through the University of Iowa. Photo by Julie Berg-Raymond.

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.

Wed
05
Apr

Local Amish farmer ventures into processing meat for the community


Home of Country View Locker ... Elmer Miller of rural Waukon opened the doors to his new Country View Locker meat processing business in December of this past year. Miller took the experience he gained over the past 10 years butchering livestock for family and friends and turned it into his new full-time business venture, constructing this new building at the home of the business at 1288 Grant Road, rural Waukon.

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.

Wed
29
Mar

Local band members to reunite after 45 years for Mother’s Day Weekend performance in Waukon to benefit the efforts of the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation


Blast from the past looks to benefit VMH Health Care Foundation ... Forty-five years later, original members of three local bands, Rising Sun, Horizon and Jackson Junction, will be reuniting Mother’s Day Weekend, Friday evening, May 12, for one night in downtown Waukon, with proceeds from that event benefiting the Veterans Memorial Hospital Health Care Foundation. Eleven of the 12 original members of those bands will be returning and forming the group, “Bandmates, Brothers and Friends,” or “BBF.” Some of the band members in the current day photo above include, left to right, Gary Hesla, Jim Withers, Bill Withers, Joel Anderson and Bob Bechtel. Members pictured in the image below in this original 1990s-era poster of the band Jackson Junction include, front to back, Jim Withers, Bill Withers, Keel Clemmens, the late Pat Dougherty, and Gary Hesla. Submitted photos.
Submitted photo.
Submitted photo.

Original members of three local bands will be reuniting Friday evening of Mother’s Day Weekend, May 12, for one night in downtown Waukon, with proceeds from the event benefiting the Veterans Memorial Hospital Health Care Foundation. This benefit event features a reunion of 11 mostly local musicians, two of whom played together 45 years ago in a number of area bands including Rising Sun, Horizon and Jackson Junction.

Many of the returning musicians are from Waukon including brothers Bill Withers, Jim Withers and John Withers, along with Gary Hesla, Bob Bechtel, Dave Dougherty, Brad Prestemon, Todd Pickett and Joel Anderson. They will be joined by Keel Clemmens and Jamey Lideen, longtime band members over the years. Of the original 12 musicians, the late Pat Dougherty will also be remembered during the event, with his brother, Dave, joining the band at times throughout the evening.

Wed
29
Mar

Supervisors set April 17 as public hearing date for FY24 County Budget

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, March 27 to address a full agenda of matters including the Public Hearing for the County Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Maximum Levy/Property Tax Dollars, consideration of a vehicle purchase for Environmental Health, and consideration of bids for an asphalt project on Yellow River Drive. The meeting was called to order by Board of Supervisors Chairperson Dan Byrnes with Supervisors Mark Reiser and Dennis Keatley present.

Wed
29
Mar

ACPI performing “Crazytown” at Dinner Theatre at Empty Nest Winery this weekend ...

Submitted photo.
Submitted photo.

Allamakee Community Players, Inc. (ACPI) is once again teaming up with Empty Nest Winery to present a Dinner Theatre event this Friday, March 31 and Saturday, April 1 from 6-9 p.m. each evening. This year’s production will be “Crazytown”, a comedy presentation that will be presented throughout a three-course dinner being served at Empty Nest Winery. Additional information, including ticket availability, can be found on the Empty Nest Winery website, https://emptynestwinery.com/, under the Upcoming Events tab.

“Crazytown” will take those in attendance on a tour of the most messed up town in America, from the police interrogation room where the nicest guy in town is issued a strange ultimatum, to the elementary school for a heated political debate on critical issues like tater tots. Welcome to Crazytown, where the town’s motto is: “Welcome to Crazytown!”

Wed
29
Mar

Forest Mills Quilt Shop sisters to present at Northeast Iowa Quilters’ Guild meeting April 4

Diane Rissman and Carolyn Clark of Forest Mills Quilt Shop ...
Diane Rissman and Carolyn Clark of Forest Mills Quilt Shop ...

The Northeast Iowa Quilters’ Guild will next meet at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the Community Room of the Luana Savings Bank Tuesday, April 4. Sisters Carolyn Clark and Dianne Rissman from the Forest Mills Quilt Shop located between Waukon and Luana will speak about the history of preprinted panels and their evolution to the products available today.

Special events and honors are often commemorated with a quilt. Fabric panels have made this practice much less time-consuming. Clark and Rissman will have many samples from the 1970s to the present, and will set up a mini-boutique with panels and patterns.

For more information, contact Mike Ellingsen at 507-602-0322, Nancy Sojka at 563-419-1828, or check out the NEIQG home page (www.neiqg.com) and the NEIQG Facebook page (NorthEast Iowa Quilters’ Guild).

Wed
22
Mar

Allamakee County Veterans Museum to present program on “Saturday Morning Cartoons of World War II” this Saturday

The Allamakee County Veterans Museum will be offering “Saturday Morning Cartoons of World War II” to the public in the meeting room of its museum in the former Vet’s Club building at 105 Allamakee Street in Waukon this Saturday March 25. Cartoons will play on the big screen continuously from 9 a.m.-noon.

These are the cartoons from before TV that helped train the troops, support the war effort and keep up morale. Those attending may come and go anytime they wish.

Museum winter hours include tours each Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon, and by appointment for groups of all kinds. There is no admission charge, and the museum is wheelchair accessible.
 

Wed
22
Mar

Midwest Veterans of America hosting Vietnam Day Fellowship March 29

The Midwest Veterans of America will be hosting a Vietnam Day Fellowship event in honor of National Vietnam Veterans Day, which is observed March 29. That Wednesday, March 29, from 3-6:30 p.m., the Midwest Veterans of America will be hosting an all-you-can-eat Soup Supper at the Allamakee County Farm Bureau building, located at 14 1st Avenue NE in Waukon.

A raffle will also take place, with raffle winners announced at 5 p.m. and awards distributed to Vietnam Veterans also taking place at that time. Everyone is welcome to attend, especially surviving spouses of Vietnam Veterans. For additional information, call 563-568-5275.
 

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - Community News