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WHS 1978 graduate to be honored at MSU induction ceremony this weekend

by David M. Johnson

A decorated high school and college athlete, a successful Division I college softball coach, an author and a mentor, Waukon native Holly Hesse has blazed a trail of achievement since her days of living within the hills and valleys of Waukon and Allamakee County, with that trail leading to a storied career of more than three decades as head coach of the Missouri State University softball program. With a laser-like focus on goals and career targets that lofted her to new heights both playing and coaching, Hesse has now retired this past year knowing she will leave at the top of her game - a game that she’s loved for so long and shared with so many others.

Tuesday, January 14, at 10:32 a.m., the Allamakee County Sheriff’s E911 Center received a report of a single-vehicle semi tractor-trailer rollover at the intersection of Iowa Highway 26 and Wisconsin Highway 82 on the west end of the Black Hawk Bridge in Lansing. An initial statement released by the Allamakee County Sheriff’s office reported that the semi tractor and livestock trailer heading westbound from Wisconsin was exiting the Black Hawk Bridge to the north onto Iowa 26, failing to negotiate the right-hand turn and rolling onto its side. Allamakee County Sheriff Clark Mellick further reported that the driver, who was not injured in the crash, stated that the brakes on the semi tractor appeared to have malfunctioned, causing the turn to be made at a less controlled rate of speed and resulting in the momentum of the trailer load of cattle overturning the entire vehicle (as pictured in each of the photos above and below provided by the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office).

by Lissa Blake

Most parents place their highest priority on finding someone they trust to care for their children while they work.

But in Iowa, statistics show that child care providers are one of the lowest-paid professions in the state, making it difficult to not only find the quality of child care desired by parents, but in many cases even the quantity of child care needed.

“We need to move the needle on this,” said Val Reinke, executive director, Allamakee County Economic Development, in regard to the availability, accessibility and affordability of child care.

Reinke explained that state and local initiatives, such as the Wage Enhancement Program (WEP), are really helping to attract and maintain qualified child care workers in the county, but much more needs to be done. She said in retaining Allamakee County families, access to child care is a “huge piece of the puzzle.”

Veterans Memorial Hospital physicians and staff announce that the First Baby of the Year born at the hospital for 2025 is Zion Jo Sanders, son of Trevyn Sanders and Cheyenne Decorah Strasser of Waukon. Zion was born Saturday, January 4 at 4:43 a.m. He weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces and measured 21 inches long at the time of his birth.

He joins three siblings at home: Ezra, age 9; Zane, age 7; and Royal, age 6. Katy Maker was the provider assisting with the delivery.

Grandparents are Kelly Sanders of Waukon, Amanda McCloud of Sparta, WI, and Robert Bonner and Raliegh Decorah, both of La Crosse, WI. Great-grandparents are Jim and Dee Von Haden of Tomah, WI and Marilyn Amundson of West Salem, WI.

The items below summarize the top news stories that appeared in The Standard during the last six months of 2024, July-December.

JULY
The second annual PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) Awareness Walk was held in Waukon Saturday, June 29, as nearly three dozen individuals made the trek from an initial gathering location of the Allamakee County Freedom Rock in Waukon City Park down through Waukon via Rossville Road to the lawn of the Allamakee County Courthouse and the Allamakee County Veterans Museum, where information and resources were available for individuals, or their family and friends, whose lives have been impacted by PTSD. The event was part of the Veterans Administration’s National Center for PTSD program observing June as PTSD Awareness Month, with June 27 being designated as National PTSD Awareness Day.

The items below summarize the top news stories that appeared in The Standard during the first six months of 2024, January-June.

JANUARY
Veterans Memorial Hospital physicians and staff announce that the First Baby of the Year born at the hospital for 2024 is Ivan Henry Christen, son of Seth and Allison Christen of rural Decorah. Ivan was born Tuesday, January 9 at 4:08 a.m. He weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces and was 20.75 inches long. Grandparents are Bill and Linda Dotseth and Laurie and Bernie Christen, all of Decorah.

by Joe Moses

To George Brainard of Waukon, bicycling has become more than a hobby. It has become a life-changing pursuit that has yielded many health-related benefits. At 80 years of age, Brainard has become famous locally for his dedication to bicycling and for traveling long distances by bicycle that have reached 100 miles within a day, at times.

Brainard’s interest in bicycling goes back to early in his life when, as a child and teenager, he enjoyed this activity until reaching 18 years of age. In high school and shortly after, he had been working and saving for his first car in anticipation of moving forward with his career plans. Owning that first car moved him away from bicycling, an activity he did not return to until the mid-1990s when he decided to purchase a mountain bicycle which for many years was only used on a very limited basis due to his work and travel schedule which kept him away from home during the week.

The Iowa Department of Corrections (DOC) recently announced that Allamakee County was one of six counties in the state of Iowa being recognized as having a top-performing jail following completion of the department’s annual jail inspections. The recognition celebrates jails that demonstrate excellence in operations and management, ensuring the safety and well-being of both prisoners and staff.

The DOC evaluates jails across three categories based on capacity for housing inmates. Allamakee County was one of two jails in the state of Iowa recognized for the top honor in the Medium Jail category, which includes facilities with 31-100 beds. Wayne County, along Iowa’s south central border with Missouri, also received the “Best of the Best” recognition for medium-sized jails. In the Small Jails category (up to 30 beds), Fremont and Ringgold Counties were recognized. The honors in the Large Jails division (101 beds or more) were bestowed upon Black Hawk and Warren Counties.

Defense Attorney Aaron Hawbaker of the State of Iowa Public Defenders Office in Waterloo has filed a Motion for a New Trial on behalf of Mindy Jones, who was found guilty by a jury in Allamakee County District Court nearly a month ago on charges of Arson in the First Degree and Animal Abuse.

Court documents indicate the motion was filed by Hawbaker Tuesday morning, December 10 and a hearing on that motion has now been scheduled for February 3, 2025, the same day Jones was scheduled to be sentenced following the guilty verdict an Allamakee County jury returned in the case stemming from a February 2022 fire in the initial eastside block of Allamakee Street in Waukon that destroyed the building housing Jones’ Tin, Rust & Harmony business, along with an adjacent business building, while also causing damage to other buildings on that same block.

As the calendar closes in on one month prior to the scheduled trial date in the First Degree Murder case of Brandon Kasemeier, the 40-year-old man from Waukon charged in the January 21 death of his estranged wife, Jami Kasemeier, the defense team for Kasemeier has filed a Motion for a Change of Venue in the case. That motion was filed late Friday, December 6 by Kasemeier’s defense team of Raya Dimitrova and Erin Carr of Carr Law Firm, P.L.C., Des Moines, citing “the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed…” guaranteed by the Constitutions of both the United States and the State of Iowa.