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The 2016 Allamakee County Dairy Banquet will be held this Saturday, March 19 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon. The meal will be served from 7-8:30 p.m. with the program starting at 8 p.m.
The annual celebration recognizes the importance of the dairy industry in Allamakee County and the contributions dairy families make to this important industry. Every year, top producers from the county are recognized at the banquet. In addition, several other awards are presented that evening, some of which include the following:
• Outstanding Young Dairy Family Award
• Pioneer Dairyman Award
• Distinguished Dairy Family Award
• Service to Dairy Industry Award
• Golden Butter Knife Award.

by Brianne Eilers

The final local forum for the 2016 Iowa legislative session is scheduled to be held this Saturday, March 19 at the Allamakee County Farm Bureau building in Waukon, beginning at 11:15 a.m. Representative Patti Ruff and Senator Michael Breitbach are both scheduled to be at this final legislative forum. Area residents are invited to attend the event to discuss issues of concern and other matters with their two area governmental representatives.

State Representative Patti Ruff of McGregor has announced that she will seek re-election to the Iowa House of Representatives in District 56, which includes Allamakee and Clayton Counties.
“I’m honored to serve the people of Clayton and Allamakee Counties in the Iowa House and I’m proud of the work we’ve done so far creating new jobs and growing Iowa’s economy,” said Ruff. “As a former school board member, I understand the challenges our local schools face and I’ll keep working to make public schools our top priority again.”
Ruff is currently serving her second term in the Iowa House and is the Ranking Member of the House Education Committee. She also serves on Agriculture, Natural Resources, Ways & Means, and the Agriculture and Natural Resources Budget Subcommittee.

The annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in Waukon has been scheduled for Sunday, March 13 and will begin at 1 p.m. with many of the same festivities taking place as in years past throughout the community.
The parade route will be the same as in past years, beginning from the southeast edge of town and heading up Rossville Road and Spring Avenue to the stoplight intersection with Main Street. Turning left on to West Main Street, the parade will venture west to Second Street SW, where the entries will turn left at the Post Office intersection, travel one block south to First Avenue SW, and then east back to Spring Avenue, turning right at Kwik Star to head back south to its point of origin.

by Kelli Boylen
freelance writer

by Lissa Blake

by Brianne Eilers

Local businessman Howard Van Ruler and his wife, Dorothy, are pictured displaying the award he received for being named Waukon’s 2016 “Person of the Year” at the Waukon Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet Friday, February 26. Previous “Person of the Year” awardee and fellow Waukon Economic Development (WEDC) colleague Joe Cunningham introduced Van Ruler as this year’s “Person of the Year” award winner, noting not only his contributions to the Waukon community as a member of WEDC, the Waukon City Council and other organizations over the years, but also his own investment of time, resources and finances to improve and keep the Waukon community moving forward.

Jack Sweeney of Sweeney Real Estate in Waukon was honored as the “Realtor of the Year” by the Northeast Iowa Regional Board of Realtors at the board's December meeting held in Waterloo. The board serves 15 counties of northeast Iowa and recognizes one member each year for having the highest of ethical standards and for outstanding service to the Realtors associations and the real estate industry.
Sweeney has served as a director on the Northeast Iowa Regional Board of Realtors and is a member of the board's finance committee. He is also serving as a director as well as a member of the executive committee for the Iowa Association of Realtors during 2016, representing the members of the Northeast Iowa Regional Board.