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Bon Jovi Tribute Band to headline Friday's grandstand; Variety of activities and events planned

After having to be held in modified form last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Allamakee County Fair is expected to return in full force for its 168th year this week, July 21-25 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds in Waukon. A wide variety of entertainment is in place to headline this year’s fair at the grandstand, along with a great deal of other activities for everyone to enjoy each and every day throughout the five-day event.

GRANDSTAND STAR POWER AND HORSE POWER

Kicking off this year’s grandstand entertainment line-up Wednesday, July 21 at 7 p.m. will be a Truck and Tractor Pull featuring local trucks and tractors as well as some powered-up regional competitors in a variety of high-revving classes. Free admission is being granted to all local military veterans for that truck and tractor pull event.

State of Iowa Auditor Rob Sand will be hosting a town hall meeting for Allamakee County residents this Friday, July 23 in Waukon. Auditor Sand will be in the Waukon City Park, located at 1240 Rossville Road, at the Allamakee Freedom Rock location from 4-5 p.m.

Those attending are invited to bring a lawn chair. Auditor Sand will talk about what his State Auditor office has been up to and will also offer time for a question and answer (Q&A) session.

The 14th annual North Iowa Tractor Ride will be making its way through the tri-state area during the three-day event this week, Thursday, July 22 through Saturday, July 24. Approximately 200 vintage and restored tractors will be traveling two different day-routes along some of Allamakee County’s roadways, crossing over just a bit into Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Those tractors and their drivers and support crews will begin arriving at Waukon High School Thursday afternoon, July 22 in preparation to begin their ride routes each of the following two days from that parking lot location, arriving back there those same evenings.

July 20 coronation event and Youth Showcase will kick off the 168th Allamakee County Fair

Two Allamakee County young ladies are vying for the title of 2021 Allamakee County Fair Queen. Those two candidates for this year's crown include Madelyn Moser and Morgan Stortz, both of them being students at Waukon High School this past school year.

The crown of Allamakee County Fair Queen and all the honors and responsibilities that accompany it will be bestowed upon one of those two candidates Tuesday evening, July 20 during the Allamakee County Fair Queen Coronation event being held at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon to kick off the 168th Allamakee County Fair.

The 14th annual North Iowa Tractor Ride presented by Klapperich Farm Systems and hosted by radio stations 98.7 KISS Country, 103.7 The Fox and 95.1 The Bull will be making its way through the tri-state area during the three-day event late next week, Thursday, July 22 through Saturday, July 24.

Approximately 200 vintage and restored tractors will be traveling two different day-routes along some of Allamakee County’s roadways, crossing over just a bit into Wisconsin and Minnesota along the way.

Those tractors and their drivers and support crews will begin arriving at the Waukon High School parking lot Thursday afternoon, July 22 to get signed in and participate in an initial driver safety meeting and evening meal. Those tractors will then begin their ride routes each of the following two days from that parking lot location, arriving back there those same evenings after their ride route is complete for each day.

The Transportation Policy Board for Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC)/Regional Planning Affiliation 1 (RPA-1) will hold a public hearing at its upcoming meeting to receive comments on the draft RPA-1 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for federal fiscal years (FFY) 2022-2025. The meeting will take place Wednesday, July 21 at 11 a.m. at UERPC’s offices in Postville, 134 West Greene Street.

The RPA-1 TIP document identifies the multimodal transportation projects - street, transit, highway, bridge, planning, and pedestrian and bicycle facilities - on which State and Federal funding will be used over the next four years within Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, Howard and Winneshiek Counties.

by Lissa Blake

Many visitors to Yellow River State Forest are less than happy about the recent reassignment of longtime Park Ranger Rylan Retallick to the Volga River Recreation Area. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently announced Retallick’s time would be redistributed, with him spending 75 percent of his time at Volga and only 25 percent at Yellow River. Local residents, including members of the Friends of Yellow River State Forest (YRSF), have expressed concerns about the future safety of Yellow River State Forest users in light of the reassignment. The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors and Allamakee County Sheriff Clark Mellick also penned separate letters to the Iowa DNR, questioning the decision to cut Retallick’s hours at Yellow River State Forest.

SAFETY FIRST

“Kee Connect” will help students whose learning is impacted by social-emotional, behavioral factors

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

The Eastern Allamakee School District (EACSD) is one of six districts in the state of Iowa to win a competitive grant to establish a therapeutic classroom in the district. The EACSD, the smallest school district to receive the grant, will receive $216,000 to support the programming this year.

The therapeutic classrooms will be for learners whose social-emotional or behavioral needs impact their ability to be successful in their current learning environment. The grant was written by the administrative team of New Albin Elementary School Principal Donna Thomas and Kee High School and Middle School Principal Dr. Sarah Updegraff, with support from Keystone Area Education Agency (AEA), specifically Chami DeLong, Carissa Otto, Joleen Doyle and Laura Smith.

Allamakee County Sheriff’s Deputy Ross Kolsrud and K9 Tyr, pictured above, recently participated in the United States Police Canine Association (USPCA) Region 12 trials in St. Cloud, MN. Deputy Kolsrud and Tyr, along with police canines from Sheriff’s Departments in Houston County, Wright County and Sherburne County in Minnesota, as well as the Austin, MN Police Department, joined forces to win Top Region Team honors at this year’s event, signified by the event trophy pictured in front of Tyr above.

Police canines were judged on six categories consisting of obedience, physical agility, area searches for humans, article searches, criminal apprehension and criminal apprehension with gun fire. USPCA Region 12 consists of police canines from Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota in the United States, as well as Manitoba, Canada. Submitted photo.
 

The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) recently announced $2.6 million in grant funding to help 26 communities across the state revitalize their downtown districts. The grants were awarded through the Community Catalyst Building Remediation program. Each community was awarded a $100,000 grant to help redevelop or rehabilitate underused buildings as a way to stimulate economic growth and reinvestment in the community. Among those $100,000 grant recipients was the City of Waukon for use in a proposed development agreement and renovation project for the former JCPenney/Tierney’s building (pictured above) on the corner of Main Street and Spring Avenue in the heart of downtown Waukon to be transformed into a steakhouse restaurant.