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Possible May or June dates being considered for event rescheduling

The Friends of Pool 9 Board of Directors has made the decision to postpone the Annual Pool 9 River Clean-Up because of higher than normal water levels on the Mississippi River. The board will select a date when river conditions are safe for those venturing out onto the river.

The Mississippi River at the Lansing gauge station reached almost 18 feet in early April and has been dropping slowly. The presence or absence of spring rains will dictate when and if there is a clean-up of Pool 9 this year. The board is considering a possible clean-up date in May or June of this year.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, April 15 to address a full agenda of items including the consideration of bids for road rock resurfacing, discussion of Sheriff’s Office use of the County credit card for the purchase of a chlorimeter and consideration of changes relating to the Planning and Zoning Administrator’s contract and driver status.

During Public Comment, Jack Sweeney of Waukon addressed the Supervisors by speakerphone and discussed the recent Board of Adjustment meeting held April 10 at the Allamakee County Courthouse. Sweeney discussed concerns relating to how Chairperson Bernard Pratte conducted the public hearing for the proposed Wennes Communications tower. Sweeney indicated that he was interrupted after 30 seconds and not allowed sufficient time to present information, with Pratte indicating at the beginning of the hearing that everyone would be allowed two minutes to speak.

Work continues on the 2019 Department of Transportation (DOT) Street Project in Waukon with sidewalk removal and replacement on Allamakee Street (pictured in its early stages at right and more complete below two weeks later) heading south toward the Allamakee County Courthouse. As this segment is completed, DOT officials advise that sidewalk work will next shift to West Main Street moving east from its four-way stop sign intersection with Ninth Street West (near Quillin’s) toward the downtown area of Waukon. Curb and gutter replacement is scheduled to take place in conjunction with sidewalk replacement on West Main Street.

After temperatures soared to 70 degrees Monday, April 8, Mother Nature proved that she is still in charge by cutting those temperatures more than in half just two days later, as winter weather returned to the area. As depicted in the photo above, along with that drop in temperatures came a dose of snow, as reports of anywhere from a trace up to five inches fell throughout various parts of Allamakee County Wednesday afternoon and evening, April 10 as part of a storm system that swept through Iowa but hit neighboring Minnesota and Wisconsin much harder with reports up to 10” of snow. A wintry mix and rain followed throughout most of Thursday, with sustained winds between 20 and 30 mph blowing fairly consistently throughout late last week and including gusts into the 50 mph range that led to electrical outages and various reports of tree and other property damage being received throughout Allamakee County as part of a more widespread issue throughout the Upper Midwest.

A bridge repair project to remove and replace several structural steel pieces on the Iowa 9 (Black Hawk) Bridge over the Mississippi River at Lansing requires closing the bridge for approximately one week this week, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT). Motorists will have to drive south to the bridge crossing at Marquette or north to the bridge crossing in La Crescent, MN while the Black Hawk Bridge is being repaired. The bridge is anticipated to be open again late Sunday evening, April 21, according to DOT reports, weather permitting the completion of the repair project.

Motorists are also reminded that another popular route for local travelers to access the La Crosse/Onalaska, WI area via Lycurgus Road and Iowa River Drive (A26) also currently has a bridge closure at Irish Hollow Creek that features a detour via nearby gravel roads.

Early Saturday afternoon, April 6, a Waukon Police Department Officer responded to 409 First Avenue NW for a report of a domestic assault of a juvenile phoned in by the juvenile, according to court documents. While in the downstairs area of the residence, the officer attempted to make contact with the suspect, who was located in the upstairs of the residence, at which time the suspect made a comment about someone dying.

The suspect then fired a .45 caliber gun one time, but no one was injured as a result of the firearm discharge. The suspect then came downstairs and turned himself in to law enforcement without further incident, admitting that he did aggressively grab and restrain his juvenile daughter, according to court documents.

Thursday, April 4 at approximately 1 p.m., the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Postville Police Department with the execution of a search warrant for a residence located at 2117 Cota Drive, Harpers Ferry. The search of the residence was in connection with a burglary at a business in the town of Postville, the investigation of which is ongoing. During the search, a .22 caliber rifle was located in plain sight within the residence, according to court documents.

As a result of the search, Mitchell Joseph Kubik, age 31, of rural Harpers Ferry was arrested without incident at the scene and charged with Possession/Control of a Firearm by a Felon, a class D felony. A criminal charge is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed not guilty unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
 

The 2019 Kee High School Prom is scheduled for this Saturday, April 13. Pictured above are the senior class Queen and King candidates for the annual event. Left to right - Front row: Queen candidates Sahreya Dodd, Michelle Walleser and Keirsten Mathis. Back row: King candidates Logan West, Ryan Whalen and Shawn Wild. The annual banquet will be held at TJ Hunter’s Banquet Hall on Main Street in Lansing at 5:30 p.m. The dance will take place from 8 p.m. to 12 midnight in the banquet hall. The public is invited to attend the Grand March which is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m., with doors opening to the public at 7:15 p.m. and a free-will donation being taken. Following the Grand March, this year’s Prom King and Queen will be crowned. Post Prom festivities will follow the dance until 4 a.m. at the former Lansing Middle School gymnasium. Photo courtesy of the Kee High School Yearbook.
 

A bridge repair project to remove and replace several structural steel pieces on the Iowa 9 (Black Hawk) Bridge over the Mississippi River at Lansing will require closing the bridge for approximately one week beginning at 8 a.m. Monday, April 15, weather permitting, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. (DOT). Motorists are also reminded that another popular route for local travelers to access the La Crosse/Onalaska, WI area via Lycurgus Road and Iowa River Drive (A26) also currently has a bridge closure at Irish Hollow Creek that features a detour via nearby gravel roads. The latest traveler information is available anytime through the Iowa DOT 511 system. Visit 511ia.org or call 511 (within Iowa) or 800-288-1047 (nationwide).

While the National Weather Service (NWS) river gauge for the Mississippi River in Lansing was the only one in the state of Iowa along the “Mighty Mississippi” to not raise above minor flood stage throughout the first week of April, the pictures above and below still show some pretty major water in the Lansing area Thursday and Friday, April 4-5. Although that NWS gauge seemed to become nonoperational during the latter portion of that week, it had registered just above the minor flood stage of 17 feet before - like other neighboring NWS-gauged areas - the river crested just prior to the weekend, topping out a few inches over that 17-foot mark at Lansing before falling below that 17-foot minor flood stage Monday morning, April 8.