Community News

by Karli Schmelzer, NEICAC Operations & Development Director

America was built on the promise that every family should have the opportunity for success. Whether our neighbors are experiencing a temporary setback or face a continuous challenge to meet their needs, too many struggle to achieve a good quality of life. On a national level, nearly 40 million people are living in poverty and even more are just one missed paycheck away from hardship.

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met twice within a week this past week. A special session was held Tuesday, September 29 at the former JCPenney/Tierney’s building in downtown Waukon and the council’s regular session was held Monday, October 5 at Waukon City Hall. Coverage of both meetings is provided below.

Kee High School seniors Chris Wagner (left) and Emily Darling (right) were crowned Kee High School's 2020 Homecoming King and Queen at halftime of Kee’s Homecoming football game Friday evening, October 2. Additional photos of Kee High School's Homecoming festivities are featured on Page 35 of the October 7, 2020 issue of The Standard, along with coverage of the Hawks' Homecoming game on Page 10 inside this issue. Photo courtesy of the Kee High School Yearbook.

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TASC clients have been busy with art projects and will once again be having their Annual Art Show at the Robey Memorial Library in Waukon. Due to COVID-19, there will not be an open house; however, the art work will be on display from October 8-17. The public is invited and encouraged to view their creations. There will be a “comment box” at the library for those who wish to leave the artists a note. Pictured above with their art work are TASC artists: Left to right - first row: Shawn Tuttle, Laurie Goltz, Bruce Jones, Colby Suddendorf, Andrew Schroeder; Back row: Jayme Loftsgard. Submitted photo.
 

Friends of Yellow River State Forest is exploring the possibility of restoring Iowa’s first and only fire tower and making it accessible to the public. To that end, a volunteer with the Friends group, Vicky Peterson, is working with Jennifer Price of Price Preservation Research, a historic preservation consultant, and the Iowa State Historic Preservation Office to get the fire tower listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Friends group requests public input at either a Zoom meeting or a meeting at the fire tower itself. Both the Zoom meeting and the in-person meeting at the fire tower will provide information on the steps needed to prepare a National Register nomination of the fire tower and how the public can assist in the process. The history of the fire tower - from the year it was built in 1963 to the 1970s - will be the focus of the nomination.

Waukon Boy Scout Troop 64 will hold its Fall Omelet Breakfast Sunday, October 4 at the Waukon Banquet Center from 8 a.m.-12 noon. Meals will be carry-out only. Tickets can be purchased at the door; no advance tickets will be sold. The Omelet Breakfast is the Troop’s main fundraiser to support the purchase of new equipment, sending Scouts to summer camp and other troop activities. Submitted photo.
 

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, September 28 to address a variety of matters including the purchase of laptop computers for the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Department, the agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation for the Iowa River Drive (A26) construction project and the review of several plat requests.

During Public Comment, Executive Director Val Reinke of Allamakee County Economic Development (ACED) discussed being part of an interview relating to travel and tourism within the county during the Midwest Travel Network’s Facebook live session, with footage from that interview currently on YouTube and soon to be added to ACED’s website. Reinke further discussed the focus of the interview as being about promoting travel and tourism in the county and the role travel writers and bloggers have in that process in attracting tourists to the county.

Allamakee County experienced another double-digit total of confirmed cases of COVID-19 this past week, although at a slower rate than the previous three weeks had seen. The past week, from Tuesday, September 22 through Monday, September 28, has seen 17 new local cases reported by the State of Iowa.

Those cases began with three new cases reported that Tuesday, September 22, with just one new case Wednesday, three more cases Thursday and two cases reported Friday, September 25. The weekend saw eight new cases reported by the State of Iowa for Saturday and Sunday combined, with no additional cases reported into Monday, September 28 to leave the Allamakee County total at 264 cases as of Monday.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds visited Allamakee County Friday, September 18 as part of her annual 99-county tour, making a couple stops in Waukon. Gov. Reynolds began her Waukon visit at the Iron Ridge Church, the site of a food distribution event that day through the USDA’s Farms to Families Program. Reynolds next visited the S&D Café in downtown Waukon to meet with and listen to concerns from members of the public, being pictured above talking with S&D Café owner Sandy Halverson. Reynolds said that her 99-county tour is focusing on meeting with business owners to hear the challenges facing them, including the impact of COVID-19 mitigation efforts. Reynolds discussed grants available to businesses through the Iowa Economic Development Authority, which have helped to finance or bridge the gap while being shutdown.

The Allamakee County 4-H Youth Development Committee is proud to recognize Dan and Jane Sivesind of Waukon as the 2020 Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame inductees from Allamakee County. The 2020 Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame inductees were inducted this year by a virtual ceremony that can be viewed online at the Iowa 4-H Foundations website at https://www.iowa4hfoundation.org.

The Sivesinds have been active supporters of the Allamakee County 4-H program for over 30 years. Their family has competed in numerous county fairs, regional shows, as well as state shows over the years. Instilling the value of 4-H in their children, they have continued the family tradition of giving back to the 4-H community.