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by Julie Berg-Raymond

Since May of 2020, Iron Ridge Church in Waukon has been part of a nationwide effort to get food to people in need, in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The church, along with food banks and other non-profit organizations throughout the country, has been receiving and distributing “Farmers to Families” food boxes - pre-approved boxes of fresh produce, dairy and meat products purchased by the USDA under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and as part of the $19 billion Coronavirus Food Assistance Program launched in April of 2020. Additional funding for the program was included in the COVID-19 relief package as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act passed December 21, 2020.

Committee seeking public assistance with site development in time for Memorial Day

With the onset of spring, the Allamakee County Freedom Rock Committee is ready to embark on the continuation of Phase II of the Freedom Rock project for Allamakee County.

Last August, the Freedom Rock became a reality when it was Allamakee County’s turn to have Freedom Rock artist Bubba Sorensen design and paint the rock, which is located at the Waukon City Park. At that time, a fundraising campaign was begun to help offset the costs for the painting of the rock, paint and supplies.

Now the Committee is looking to develop and finish the Freedom Rock site to be ready for summer tourists and visitors this year. The Phase II workplan had originally included the building of a shelter to help protect the rock from weather elements, along with security and lighting, landscaping, cement work and signage.

For the first time in more than nine months, the number of confirmed new cases of COVID-19 reported by the State of Iowa for a week’s timeframe in Allamakee County calculated out to zero, according to statistics updated daily at www.coronavirus.iowa.gov.

The past week’s timeframe of Monday, March 29 through Monday, April 5 saw the same number of confirmed positive total cases in Allamakee reported on each of those Mondays - 1,537 total cases since the COVID-19 pandemic began just over a year ago. That’s the first time the same number of total cases has been reported by the State of Iowa on consecutive Mondays since mid-June of last year, when the Allamakee County positive case total stood at just 121 confirmed cases both Monday, June 15 and Monday, June 22.

A rural Allamakee County couple has been named among the National Outstanding Young Farmers (NOYF) Awards Program finalists for 2021. The oldest farmer recognition program in the United States, NOYF honored eight finalists from across the nation and will announce four winners at the 2022 NOYF Awards Congress. The annual NOYF Awards Congress for 2021 has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jarred and Shelby Moose of rural Monona, near the Allamakee/Clayton County border, were among those eight finalists selected from the award nomination process. According to nomination information from the award, the couple raises soybeans, hay and cattle on the family farm. Throughout his farming career, Jarred Moose has worked to increase conservation practices such as no-till, terraces and manure spreading. Jarred is the son of Lesa and the late Jim Moose. Shelby is the daughter of Wayne Byrnes and Barb Byrnes.

Editor’s Note: The following article and accompanying image appeared in the March 2021 edition of Epic Outdoors® Western Hunting Magazine, a publication produced in Cedar City, UT and specializing in in-depth state-by-state, species-by-species analysis to aid in planning big game hunts in the western United States. The article features the first-hand experience of Waukon native Corey Welsh, whose Colorado mule deer hunt in late 2020 resulted in a cover story and photo for the magazine. Both the article and cover photo image are being reprinted here with permission from Epic Outdoors® Western Hunting Magazine.

Early in the year, I knew I was going to be limited on the amount of time I could spend out West in the fall, my fiance and I were getting married in early October.

Anyone ages 18-64 with underlying medical conditions now invited to sign up at single VMH website

Allamakee County COVID-19 vaccination partners, including Veterans Memorial Hospital, Gundersen Health System, Hartig Drug, Prescription Shoppe Pharmacy and Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care (Allamakee County Public Health), are going to begin working from a single list of people wanting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Anyone interested in being included on this list will need to access the hospital’s website, veteransmemorialhospital.com, to sign up. Those who are not able to sign up online can call 563-568-3411 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. and ask for the COVID line for assistance with this process.

The  Iowa Great River Road, which is part of a national scenic byway that runs 3,000 miles from Minnesota to Louisiana, has been designated an “All-American Road” by the Federal Highway Administration.

To receive an All-American Road designation, a road must possess multiple intrinsic qualities that are nationally significant and have one-of-a-kind features that do not exist elsewhere. The road or highway must also be considered a “destination unto itself.” That is, the road must provide an exceptional traveling experience so recognized by travelers that they would make a drive along the highway a primary reason for their trip. These roads are considered the very best of America’s National Scenic Byways.

Veterans Memorial Hospital and Allamakee County Public Health are asking anyone age 65 and older who has not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine to call their office at 563-568-3411 and schedule an appointment. Ask for the COVID line and a staff member will assist the caller in making an appointment to receive the vaccine.

Veterans Memorial Hospital and Allamakee County Public Health have been very busy the last two weeks vaccinating not only those 65 years of age and older, but also all those in manufacturing and ag-related professions after receiving a vaccine allotment designated specifically for those two industries. They are also now encouraging anyone ages 18-64 who has an underlying medical condition to go to the hospital’s website and fill out the form to be placed on the waiting list for the vaccine.

Floods, tornadoes, derecho winds; these are just some of the potential disasters seen throughout the state of Iowa in the past few years, and Allamakee County Emergency Management Coordinator Corey Snitker has to be prepared to deal with those hazards should they strike at the local level.  Now an even more deadly threat confronts the residents of Allamakee County: the virulent COVID-19 pandemic that has caused the death of dozens of residents and sickened hundreds.

That is why Snitker is seeking volunteers to help in disaster preparedness and response to cope with the wide array of natural and man-made disasters that could beset the communities and people of the county. He is being assisted in this recruitment project by AmeriCorps Northeast Iowa RSVP 55+ Initiative in recruiting and matching volunteers’ skills and abilities with the tasks that may be called on to perform in time of emergency.

Iowa’s Severe Weather Awareness Week for 2021 is scheduled to be observed from Monday, March 22 through Friday, March 26 and will include a statewide Tornado Drill to be conducted Wednesday morning, March 24 at 11 a.m. This drill will include Allamakee County sounding its warning sirens in all six cities of the county at that time.

It is the current understanding of Allamakee County Emergency Management that the National Weather Service will not issue any type of Watch or Warning prior to 11 a.m. as it has done in the past but will announce the drill as part of its weekly NOAA weather radio test that day.

During this time, Allamakee County Emergency Management urges everybody within the county, at a minimum, to make sure they have a plan for what they would do if an actual tornado warning were to be implemented, making sure that everyone within their family also understands what to do both at home and away in the event of a tornado.