Community News

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, September 19 to address a full agenda of matters including discussion of City Hall repair estimates, a Merchandise Display Policy relating to sidewalks and a vehicle purchase for the Park and Recreation Department. Mayor Pro-Tem Kevin Johnson called the meeting to order with Mayor Pat Stone attending the meeting via Zoom web-conferencing.

Council member Arvid Hatlan, also attending the meeting via Zoom, and Stone discussed a matter listed on the Consent Agenda relating to the approval of a temporary road blockage on 3rd Avenue NW October 1 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for an estate sale. Hatlan discussed concerns that this could set a precedent for future estate sale road closures to become commonplace. Stone said the matter was a public safety measure.

As part of its Live & Learn: enriching lives through monthly learning series, Robey Memorial Library in Waukon is offering African Adventures with Rod and Barb Smed Thursday, September 29 at 5:30 p.m. in the lower level Community Room of the library.

The Smeds will be sharing their recent travel and service trip to Africa. Tour destinations included Cape Town, South Africa for a tour of the prison where Nelson Mandela was held and an African drumming dinner; game drives at the Phinda Game Reserve in South Africa; the penguin colony at Simon’s Town, South Africa; and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.

The Smeds will also be sharing the volunteer work they took part in through Worldmaker International. That work included two days of service to the people of Zimbabwe and participation in the International Resilience Symposium.

The Waukon Park & Recreation Department is conducting a survey to help determine what kinds of new recreation programs could be offered within the Waukon community. The public is encouraged to fill out the survey to provide input that will be used in determining future recreation programming within the community. The survey can be found online by typing in the following Uniform Resource Locator (URL) in any web browser: https://forms.gle/AhovhAiYSvkyaK5aA.

The survey does have questions regarding certain suggested programs, such as pickleball or fishing. There are also some demographic questions, as well as a section for leaving suggestions or comments regarding Park & Recreation programming.

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Tuesday, September 6 following the closure of Waukon City Hall in observance of the Labor Day holiday on the council’s usual meeting day of Monday, September 5. The council addressed a full agenda of matters including the Public Hearing relating to a proposal to enter into an amended Sewer Revenue Loan and Disbursement Agreement, the review and discussion of the Park Comprehensive Plan and discussion of repairs to signage.

Allamakee County 4-H members’ static exhibits were on display last month in the 4-H Exhibits Building at the Iowa State Fair, which was held August 11-21 in Des Moines. The exhibits were displayed this year, showcasing excellence in project area learning by 4-H members across the state of Iowa.

Divisions young people who are 4-H members may exhibit in include Agriculture and Natural Resources, Creative Arts, Family and Consumer Sciences, Personal Development, and Science, Mechanics and Engineering. The static exhibits display at the Iowa State Fair is meant to be a celebration of the educational and personal accomplishments of Iowa 4-H members. It is a way for 4-H members to share what they’ve learned with the public in completing their exhibits to such degree of success.

What is one thing all successful people have in common? They get comfortable making mistakes - and learn from them!

Allamakee County residents are invited to attend “The Secret of Success: Learning from Mistakes”, a free community workshop co-hosted by Mental Health Today - a Matt Howe Tribute (MHT) and the nonprofit, Worldmaker.

“This session offers practical ways to set and communicate high expectations using the three elements of growth,” says Dr. Mollie Marti, Worldmaker CEO and developer of the THRIVE Resilience Model that serves as the foundation for the program. “Importantly, this includes action steps for learning how to use mistakes to improve relationships and outcomes.”

This year at the Iowa State Fair held in Des Moines August 11-21, a total of 213 youth from 63 Iowa counties participated in Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach Skillathons for dairy, meat goat, sheep and swine. Each skillathon team was comprised of three individuals and included five stations where youth worked together to solve problems and identify dairy, meat goat, swine or sheep production components. Participants identified feed samples, breeds and meat cuts while also answering questions about genetics, nutrients, quality assurance, handling and biosecurity.

The Allamakee County 4-H trio of (left to right in above photo) Sophia Palmer, Keagan Palmer and Emma Palmer participated in the Skillathon event and finished as the top team in the Dairy division of the competition. They are the children of Stephanie and Eric Palmer of Waukon and are members of the Elon PMC 4-H Club.

A trio of Allamakee County 4-H members earned recognition as communicators at the Iowa State Fair held August 11-21 in Des Moines. Earning advancement from their respective county fairs, 4-H members can compete in three categories of oral communication: educational presentations, working exhibits and extemporaneous speaking, as well as in one category of visual communication.

In Educational Presentations, the 4-H members teach their audience about a topic they selected and researched. In Working Exhibits, the exhibitors invite passers-by to try a skill they demonstrate. In Extemporaneous Speaking, the 4-H members prepare a speech in 30 minutes and deliver it to an audience. Share-the-Fun participants perform vocal or instrumental music, dance, humorous skits, monologues, and specialty acts for fun. In Poster Communication, they convey a message visually.

by Joe Moses

Waukon City Manager Gary Boden recently met with The Standard to provide an update relating to ongoing projects and a variety of other matters relating to the City of Waukon.

The discussion with Boden began with an update relating to the water retention/wetland area north of the Waukon City Park along 2nd Street SW. That project is one of six projects near the City Park and the new Pladsen Subdivision included as part of the Storm Water Quality Improvement Project, which is a side benefit of the funding associated with the new Wastewater Treatment Plant, a project mandated by the State of Iowa.

Local veterans were recognized by retired U.S. Navy Admiral Michael Franken during a dinner event sponsored by the Allamakee County Democrats Sunday, August 27. Admiral Franken served in the U.S. Navy for 39 years and is now a candidate for the U.S. Senate. Pictured above, left to right, are Al Hanson, Dale Osterhaus, Ric Zarwell, George Blair, Michael Franken, Lanny Fields, Dan Hanson. Submitted photo.