Education

Robey Memorial Library, in collaboration with the Oneota Valley Literary Foundation (OVLS), is inviting families to take part in the Main Street Story Walk throughout downtown Waukon this June. This year’s featured book is “I’m Trying to Love Spiders” by Bethany Barton. Families can enjoy the humorous and fact-filled story as it unfolds page by page in the windows of six participating local businesses along West Main Street. The Story Walk encourages families to spend time outdoors, read together, and explore downtown Waukon in a fun and interactive way.

Participants will visit six stops along West Main Street in downtown Waukon, with each location displaying a portion of the story. As families move from one business to the next, they’ll continue following the adventure of “I’m Trying to Love Spiders”.

Six Waukon Middle School students were honored Friday, May 21 for their qualities in citizenship observed throughout the school year. This award is voted on by teachers, administration and other staff based on a series of qualities listed below:
• An Unbeatable Attitude: They come to school focused on their goals, enthusiastic about learning, and always respectful of school policies and procedures.
• Dedication to Academics: They understand the value of hard work. While they might not get straight A’s every time, they put in 100% effort to maintain a strong grade point average (GPA) and push themselves to succeed.
• Exceptional Character: They are the students who perform random acts of kindness when no one is watching. They maintain a warm, friendly rapport with peers and teachers, serving as excellent role models for the entire student body.

Karl Peters, graduated senior from Postville High School, was recognized by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Lt. Governor Chris Cournoyer for outstanding academic achievement at the 24th Annual Governor’s Scholar Recognition Ceremony held April 26 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. Also receiving the honor this year but unable to make the trip to Des Moines to have her photo taken is Kee High School graduated senior Addison Winters.

The statewide program, sponsored by the Iowa Governor’s Office, Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) and its title sponsor the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF), honored 429 high school seniors from across the state of Iowa.

Emma O’Neill, graduated senior from Waukon High School and the daughter of Tom and Christy O’Neill of Waukon, was recognized by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Lt. Governor Chris Cournoyer for outstanding academic achievement at the 24th Annual Governor’s Scholar Recognition Ceremony held April 26 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. The statewide program, sponsored by the Iowa Governor’s Office, Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) and its title sponsor the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF), honored 429 high school seniors from across the state of Iowa.

Alaina Gebel of Allamakee County was awarded the Campbell Determan Endowed 4-H Scholarship through the Iowa 4-H Foundation at a recognition ceremony held Sunday, April 26 in Ames.

One hundred and twenty-seven Iowa 4-H scholarships valued at over $155,000 were awarded as a part of the Foundation’s scholarship recognition ceremony. Over 450 applications were submitted, and scholarships have been awarded to recipients from 60 counties across the state of Iowa.

Iowa Girls State sponsored by The American Legion Auxiliary of Iowa is scheduled to be held June 14-19 this year on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines. American Legion Auxiliary Scenic Unit #722 of Harpers Ferry has selected Waukon High School junior Katie Regan, daughter of Maury and Stacey Regan of Waukon, as its Girls  State Citizen for this year’s event.

In addition to attending school, her interests also include Future Business Leaders of America, Speech and the American Sign Language Club. She is also an active member of the Allamakee County Democrats who enjoys volunteering in political campaigns.

American Legion Auxiliary Iowa Girls State is one of the premier programs sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary and was started by a dream of four women over 75 years ago in hopes of teaching young women about the political process. Girls State is a “learning by doing” program, which takes the girls through the political process.

Upper Iowa University (UIU) in Fayette celebrated academic excellence during its annual Honors & Awards Banquet Saturday, April 11, at the Fayette Campus. More than $500,000 in scholarships were awarded through 252 individual recognitions. These funds will support students during the 2026–2027 academic year.

Among those honored individuals were a pair of students from the Lansing area. Dalton Dibert was awarded the Northeast Iowa Charitable Foundation Scholarship, which is an endowed scholarship awarded annually to deserving students from the northeast Iowa area. Emma Munson was awarded the Kenneth J. & Sharon L. (Reisch) Erickson Scholarship Fund, which is awarded to students majoring in either Accounting or Finance who have successfully completed their first year of study and are maintaining a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0.

The annual P.E.O. reception for girls from the graduating classes at Waukon High School and Kee High School in Lansing was held Monday, April 13 at the Waukon Wellness Center Senior Center. This year marked the 63rd anniversary of the event.

The evening began with refreshments served. After a welcome by Chapter EK President Linda Carstens, introductions were made by members of Chapter EK and guests. Chapter EK member Bridget Ronan presented the program on “Lessons learned from the Hokey Pokey.” The senior girls in attendance (pictured above) then shared memories from their high school years. Submitted photo.
 

by Brianne Grimstad

The Allamakee Community School District Board of Directors met in regular session Monday night, April 20. The meeting began with a public hearing on the proposed 2026-2027 budget, followed by a public hearing amending the 2025-2026 budget. There were no written or oral comments on either issue.

Under the Consent Agenda, the board approved the following personnel hires (pending a satisfactory background check): Katelyn Theissen, 9th Grade Volleyball Coach; Ben Pline, Carter Schellsmidt, and Josh Stigler, Volunteer Baseball Coaches; Brad Krambeer, Volunteer Softball Coach; Devin-James Beckert, 6-12 Vocal Music Teacher and Assistant Musical Director; Sara Retallick, Summer Tech Assistant; Bailey Wise, 6-8 ELA/Reading Teacher; Lynn Larson, Credit Recovery Para; Colton O’Neill, Summer Custodial Help; and Luke Zezulka, Middle School Night Custodian.

The Kee High School Drama Department will be presenting the musical production “Willy Wonka Jr.” on stage this weekend in the Kee High School gymnasium through special arrangement with Music Theatre International with words and music by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newly and the production adapted for the stage by Leslie Bricusse and Timothy A. McDonald. “Willy Wonka Jr.” is based off of the novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” by Roald Dahl, and the musical represents many of the classic songs from the original movie starring Gene Wilder.

The production is scheduled for two performances, including this Saturday, April 11 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 12 at 2 p.m. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door, and there will also be a sweets and cotton candy shop available to purchase treats from.