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by Joe Moses

Current State of Iowa Auditor and gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand held a Town Hall style meeting Tuesday, August 25 at Robey Memorial Library’s lower-level Community Room in Waukon. The Town Hall was open to the public and credentialed members of the press with all attendees required to RSVP prior to the event.

Approximately 70 individuals were present for the Allamakee County Town Hall included in Sand’s 100 Town Hall Tour taking place in each of Iowa’s 99 counties with two Town Hall meetings taking place in Lee County in the southeast corner of the state which has two county seats, Fort Madison and Keokuk, something that is unique to that county in comparison to the rest of the state.

by David M. Johnson

Usually there are not a whole lot of events at the local, city, or county level that attract national attention. Aside from something like a major fire that has recently happened at Agri Star in Postville, there is typically calm and little consternation in the neighborhoods of this local area.

Time is like constant rain and a strong wind; it comes and then moves on, and what happens that looks and seems important at the time will gradually fade from memory. The seemingly innocuous 1948 National Plowing Match at Dexter, IA is one of those events where, over time, it became a footnote, a blip or sidebar of history - until a recent local discovery of some photos by the Harpers Ferry Area Heritage Society.

The Works, located on Main Street in Lansing, announces a program with Alene Keenan entitled “One Extraordinary Day: What 9/11 Revealed About Humanity.” The program will take place Thursday, August 27 at 6 p.m. at The Works location at 274 Main Street, Lansing. 

Keenan is a Lansing native, and a Wine and Hospitality Educator who has been around the globe, serving as yacht chief stewardess for multiple lines. Her crew was docking in Manhattan September 11, 2001 when the unthinkable occurred, and many events she witnessed left her with a strong desire to share them with others. On the 25th anniversary of that fateful 9/11 this year, these memories continue to burn bright. Beyond the headlines and heartbreak, 9/11 revealed something extraordinary about people to Keenan. She’ll provide an inspiring presentation exploring courage, servant leadership, and the quiet acts of humanity that emerged when the world needed them most.

Hannah Hagen, the 18-year-old daughter of Erik and Lisa Hagen of Waterville, was crowned the 73rd Iowa Dairy Princess during an evening ceremony at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines Wednesday, August 12. Hagen is the ninth Allamakee County young lady to wear the crown of Iowa Dairy Princess, and she will spend the next year serving as a goodwill ambassador for Iowa’s dairy farmers.

Throughout her year-long reign, she will make public appearances to connect with consumers and help them understand the dedication of dairy farm families to their cows, their land and the milk they produce. Representing Allamakee County in the contest, Hagen will be a freshman at Iowa State University in Ames this fall where she will study Animal Science.

The annual Waukon Corn Days celebration was held Friday and Saturday, August 14-15, having to make some adjustments Friday evening due to weather that moved the community meal and all the inflatables, pedal tractor pull, music and other activities from downtown Waukon to the Allamakee County Fairgrounds so the meal could be held inside the Fairgrounds Pavilion (as pictured above). This year’s event also featured the return of the Corn Days Parade (pictured below), which featured a red, white and blue theme that celebrated America’s 250th birthday Saturday. Additional photos from this past weekend’s Waukon Corn Days events appear on Page 12 inside this week’s (August 19) print edition and e-edition of The Standard, and can also be found at the Photos link on The Standard’s website.

Behind the scenes, a dedicated group of local leaders who have named their group “Waukon Forward” is starting to build a new funding source meant to support the Waukon community for generations to come. The goal of the group is to jumpstart local projects, initially ones that improve health and wellness, upgrade outdoor recreation, and add amenities for families throughout the town. The effort got a major boost when Waukon resident Lee Rothchild McGovern provided a generous $400,000 lead gift, officially setting the stage for an upcoming community challenge match. While the public roll-out is still a little ways off, team members are already starting to chat with neighbors and residents to share the vision and gather feedback. More details on the challenge match and how to get involved will be shared soon.

A Wausau, WI man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Madison, WI in early June to wire fraud and money laundering, according to Chadwick M. Elgersma,  United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin. Stanley Pophal, age 64, of Wausau, WI, pleaded guilty to defrauding investors out of $14.25 million and using investor funds to fund his lifestyle, and it was an initial investment meeting staged in February 2025 in Allamakee County by State of Iowa officials that started the wheels in motion toward Pophal’s eventual arrest and his entering of a guilty plea on those federal charges.

Two young ladies are pictured trying their luck in the Youth Fishing Tournament held along the riverfront Saturday morning as part of the 2026 Lansing Fish Days celebration that took place this past weekend, Friday-Sunday, August 7-9. Despite stormy weather challenges that arose several times throughout the weekend, the annual event featured a variety of great opportunities to catch some fun and good times. Photo by Julie Berg-Raymond, with more of her photos of this year’s celebration printed on Pages 12-13 inside this week’s edition of the Standard and available at the Photos link on this webpage.

Pick up the Wednesday, August 12, 2026 print edition of The Standard or subscribe to our e-edition or print edition by clicking here.

The Lansing man facing seven different charges in connection with a May 17 incident that ultimately involved a high speed chase and exchanging gun fire with an Allamakee County Sheriff’s Deputy has been declared competent to stand trial and will do so October 7 of this year, according to documents filed in Allamakee County District Court. Andrew Wayne Weber of Lansing faces charges of Attempted Murder of a Peace Officer, Kidnapping in the Second Degree, Domestic Abuse Assault, Assault Causing Bodily Injury, Eluding, Use of a Dangerous Weapon in the Commission of a Crime, and Carrying Dangerous Weapons.

The evening of Sunday, May 17, the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from the residence at 330 Dodge Street in Lansing. It was reported that a male subject, alleged to be Weber, was assaulting a female in the residence.

by Sharon Drahn
Contributing Writer

As employees were making their way to work at the Agri Star Meat and Poultry processing plant early last Tuesday morning, July 28, smoke was seen coming from one of the buildings on the Agri Star grounds on the west edge of Postville. A news release from the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Clark Mellick stated that the Allamakee County Dispatch Center received notification of a potential fire at the Postville facility at approximately 3:50 a.m.

The Postville Fire Department was dispatched to the plant and immediately responded to the call at 220 West Street. Upon arrival, it was evident that a major fire was ensuing and appeared to be coming from the laundry room area of the facility. It was later confirmed that the fire did, indeed, start in the laundry room and was deemed accidental in nature after further investigation that included on-site cameras viewed by fire officials.