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After more than a year’s worth of investigation by local, State of Iowa and Federal authorities into the February 13, 2022 fire at 9 Allamakee Street in Waukon (pictured above) that destroyed two business buildings and damaged others located in adjacent structures, authorities arrested property owner Mindy Jo Jones, age 43, Monday afternoon, March 13 in Waterloo, her latest known residence location. According to a release from the Waukon Police Department, Jones is being charged with Arson-First Degree (a Class B felony) and is also being charged with Animal Abuse (an aggravated misdemeanor) for the death of a canine as a result of the fire.

by Joe Moses

Iowa Second District Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of the U.S. House of Representatives met with representatives of Postville’s Community Heart & Soul Program at the Postville Public Library Friday, March 3 as part of a series of visits in northeast Iowa. Brenda Hackman, Manager/Economic Development & Community Relations for Allamakee-Clayton Electric Cooperative, and Crystal Duffy, Community Developer/Library Director initially discussed Postville’s Heart & Soul Program with Hinson, and Postville Mayor Dennis Koenig later joined the meeting.

by Ellen Modersohn

Rural Lansing property owners near the site of a proposed large-scale extraction pit filled a meeting room at the Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center Thursday evening, March 2 for a public hearing about the site.

Ames Construction of Burnsville, MN has applied to the Allamakee County Planning and Zoning Office for a conditional use permit to operate a “borrow pit” at a farm at 2074 Lafayette Ridge Drive, south of Lansing. Ames would be removing 307,000 cubic yards of fill and trucking it seven miles to fill and cap the Alliant Energy ash ponds at Power Plant Road, south of Lansing. The project would last approximately from May through November this year. Randy and Kristy Gaunitz are the extraction pit site landowners.

Funding from an anonymous donor, skills learned and implemented by Waukon High School students, and a willingness to try and take care of those who need it most all came together with the creation and installation of The Goodwill Box in the lower parking lot of the Allamakee County Courthouse in Waukon Tuesday, February 28.

Editor’s Note: The following article was written and recently submitted for publication by northeast Iowa native Clyde Cremer. Cremer and his family moved to the New Albin area when he was in fourth grade, and he went on to graduate from New Albin High School in 1960, the last graduating class for that high school before it merged to form Kee High School in Lansing as part of the Eastern Allamakee Community School District. After his high school graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army before he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from Stephen F. Austin State University and then a Master of Forestry degree from the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, graduating from Yale with its Class of 1973 that also include Bill and Hillary Clinton and Dr. Ben Carson. He and his wife, Gail, first founded their American Log Homes business (now American Log Brokers) in 1977 in Missouri before moving its headquarters to Pueblo West, CO in 1984.

The Waukon Fire Department was called to a house fire at 2315 Lycurgus Road in rural Lansing Wednesday afternoon, February 22, around 1:45 p.m., battling not only the roaring blaze pictured above but also the ice, wind and snow (evident in the photo as well) of the winter storm that gripped the area that day, creating very slippery road conditions.

Homeowner Michelle Welsh was home at the time of the blaze and was able to get herself and her pets safely out of the burning structure.

Felty Ervin Yoder, age 22, of Waterville has been sentenced to a maximum of 45 years in prison on a total of 10 counts of criminal activity regarding incidents that had taken place over the past two years, mainly against his wife. That sentence was handed down in Allamakee County District Court in Waukon Monday, February 13, according to documents filed in the case.

A jury of Allamakee County residents returned guilty verdicts against Yoder on all 10 counts of that criminal activity following a brief trial in mid-December of 2022. The jury found him guilty on four counts of Sexual Abuse Assault in the Third Degree (Class C Felony), five counts of Iowa Sex Offender Registry Violations as a Second Offense (Class D Felony), and one count of Domestic Abuse Assault as a Third Offense (Class D Felony).

Each year, payouts from endowment funds held by the Allamakee County Community Foundation support organizations’ missions and improve quality of life in local communities. One of those funds is a new endowment started by the Sweeney family of Waukon, which will support the Foundation’s own efforts to address Allamakee County’s greatest needs for generations to come.

Margo Sweeney and her late husband, Jim, are Waukon natives who returned to the community to raise their four children. “After a decade of living away, it felt good to return to our hometown,” Margo recalls. “We enjoyed living here for 40 years, working and raising our family.”

Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC) is updating the Passenger Transportation Plan (PTP) for the region consisting of Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, Howard and Winneshiek Counties in northeast Iowa. The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) requires that this region’s PTP be updated every five years. The current plan was adopted by the Upper Explorerland Transportation Policy Board in Spring of 2018.

Award nominations due by February 20; Dairy Banquet scheduled for March 25

The Allamakee County Dairy Promotion Board is asking for assistance from the general public in identifying worthy candidates to be recognized as this year’s top producers in Allamakee County at the2023 Allamakee County Dairy Banquet scheduled for Saturday, March 25. Every year, top producers and several other awards are nominated from members within the county. The Allamakee Dairy Promotion Board and the Allamakee County Extension office are accepting nominations for the following awards: