Community News

The best Iowa produced butters and cheeses were chosen in the Iowa Quality Dairy Products competition, judged prior to the start of the 2022 Iowa State Fair and on display during the Fair at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. WW Homestead Dairy of Waukon dominated the competition by placing within the top three in all the divisions the family-owned dairy competed in, including sweeping the top three placewinnings in the Cheese Curd division, doing likewise with the top two spots in the Cow Cheese division and winning Best of Show honors with the dairy’s Ranch Peppercorn cheese curds (as depicted in the submitted photo above).

Judging is not on a head-to head competition basis, but is based on set quality criteria for each of first, second and third places. The Best of Show award is given to one product out of all the products submitted to the competition.

As of early July of this year, U.S. Cellular can now be found at a new location in Waukon and under new ownership. Just one block west and a half block north from its previous location, the new store can be found at 108 2nd Street NW in Waukon and is now under the ownership of Gary Fox, marking the tenth northeast/north central Iowa community where his third-generation family-owned business, Appliance Plus of Oelwein, Inc., now owns and operates a U.S. Cellular location.

“We’re happy for the opportunity with U.S. Cellular to be able to be in the Waukon community,” Fox said. “Being a local company in northeast Iowa, the opportunity to expand into the Waukon area is something we couldn’t say no to.”

As part of its Live & Learn: enriching lives through monthly learning series, Robey Memorial Library in Waukon is offering Climbing Mount Everest with Jen Loeb Thursday, August 25 at 5:30 p.m. in the lower level Community Room of the library. Loeb was born and raised in Jesup and attended Wartburg College, graduating with a Biology degree. She currently lives in Marengo and works in Cedar Rapids.

Nearly 100 people attended the Veterans Memorial Hospital Medical Clinic-Postville Open House held Thursday, August 11 from 5-7 p.m. All were able to visit with clinic providers, who are pictured below and include Michelle Crary, Nurse Practitioner (at left); Dr. Thomas McMullan, Family Practice Physician (at right); and Katy Maker (center), the new Nurse Midwife and Nurse Practitioner who recently joined both the hospital’s Postville and Waukon medical clinics.

Waukon area native Joe Byrnes, a 1971 graduate of Waukon High School, was honored with a Governor’s Service Award through the State of Wisconsin earlier this summer. Byrnes was bestowed the Volunteer of the Year Award for Southwest Wisconsin for his work with Goodwill of South Central Wisconsin’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program.

The Governor’s Service Awards are described as honoring “outstanding national service members, volunteers and programs that have helped to address serious social needs in their communities. Those honored by these awards will have made significant contributions to the state of Wisconsin through their service efforts, with their generous service impacting the lives of countless Wisconsinites.” The 2022 Governor’s Service Awards ceremony took place May 26 of this year at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, WI.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, August 8 to address a full agenda of matters including the County Auditor’s Quarterly Report, the consideration of a Resolution for a new fund for Opioid Litigation Proceeds, and consideration of bids for concrete patching for paved Secondary Roads within the county.

During the Public Comment portion of the meeting, the Supervisors and Coordinator Jean Bossom with Allamakee Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) discussed the requirements associated with the Iowa Businesses Against Trafficking (IBAT) Proclamation. IBAT is a statewide recognition and education program from the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office that empowers organizations, businesses and government to assist in fighting human trafficking. The Supervisors recommended that Bossom work with Allamakee County Sheriff Clark Mellick in developing the educational and action plans associated with this program.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds made recent announcement of appointments she has made to a variety of 40 State of Iowa boards and commissions this year. Among those appointments announced were appointments made by March 1 of this year and requiring confirmation from the Iowa Senate by May 1.

Within those appointments that required confirmation by the Iowa Senate, John Sweeney of Sweeney Real Estate in Waukon was appointed as the newest member to the five-person Real Estate Commission for the State of Iowa, which is made up of real estate brokers and salespersons from throughout the state of Iowa. Sweeney will serve a three-year term on the Commission, his term beginning May 1 of this year and running through April 30, 2025.

There are many combinations that just work well together; peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, and bread and butter, to name a few. A winning local combination is ice cream and kids. This sweet collaboration involves Youth Mentoring at Helping Services for Youth & Families and Sugar Bowl for an event scheduled to be hosted this Thursday, August 11.

Every second Thursday of the month, Youth Mentoring hosts a special hour called Tasty Thursday. The hour invites all mentors, mentees, their families, and those wishing to find out more about mentoring to gather for a sweet treat and fun on the west side of Decorah, College Drive, at The Landing Market Sugar Bowl site. Those attending can come for the entire hour or for a shorter time that fits their schedule. A highlight involves enjoying a scoop of ice cream donated by Sugar Bowl.

by Joe Moses

Assistant Director Jarrod Olson of Allamakee County Conservation provided a tour and an update Tuesday, July 26 relating to ongoing improvements being made at two sites within the county including the County Pond and the Red Bud Landing Canoe Access. Both are under the care of the Allamakee County Conservation Department.

COUNTY POND – COUNTY HOME PARK
The tour began with the County Pond, part of County Home Park located north of Waukon off of Highway 9, just prior to the Allamakee County Solid Waste and Recycling location and Allamakee County Public Safety Center. Olson discussed fish habitat improvements that have been made to the County Pond as the result of competitive grants being awarded through a six-district conservation area. Olson noted that this competitive grant funding is supported through a portion of fishing license sales within this multi-district area.

Pursuing something that she’s always loved, Waukon native Tatum Miller has recently opened her own photography studio at 7 West Main Street in Waukon. That location that previously housed Bodensteiner Insurance and was the long-time office of Ewing Real Estate prior to that, has now been transformed into the new home of Tatum Miller Photography.

“I’ve always loved photography,” the former Tatum Tierney shared. “It would be one regret that I would have if I never gave it a try.”

Miller wants the end result for her customers to be more than just the photos the camera produces - she wants them to take away a complete experience. It is that aspect that she wants to build on in making her photography business unique.