Top Stories

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.
 

Allamakee County Treasurer Lori Hesse would like to remind property owners the second installment of property taxes is due by Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Those payments may be made at the Allamakee County Treasurer’s office at 110 Allamakee Street in Waukon between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Taxpayers are reminded to bring their tax stubs with their payment to insure proper credit. To avoid penalty on the second installment, payment must be received in the Treasurer’s Office before Thursday, April 1, 2021. Due to social distancing requirements, only two customers will be allowed in the office at one time.

E-check and credit card payments are also accepted online at www.iowatreasurers.org. Anyone paying by E-check will need their receipt number. That receipt number can be found on their tax statement.

The streets of Waukon were lined with Irish spirit for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade Sunday, March 14 in Waukon. Under a bit chilly weather conditions with overcast skies, a cool breeze and temperatures hovering in the 40s, the event took approximately 45 minutes to display the wide variety of this year’s nearly 130 parade entries. Additional photos from this year’s parade can be found on Page 17 of the March 17, 2021 print edition and e-edition of The Standard. Standard photos by Joe Moses. All of the parade photos found in this issue, along with many more from Sunday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, are available for viewing/purchase by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this webpage. A video of this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade can be found on The Standard Newspaper’s Facebook page.

by Joe Moses

The Waukon Police Station remodeling project was recently completed with the Waukon Police Department transitioning its operations back into its building on the 100 block of First Street NW, a location that has been home for the Waukon Police Department since the early 1990s.

In preparation for the remodeling project, the Waukon Police Department’s office space was temporarily relocated to its one-time former location in the lower level of Waukon City Hall. Last fall, Police Chief Paul Wagner shared with The Standard that the temporary office space was previously used by the Waukon Police Department prior to the early 1990s purchase of the current Police Station structure.

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.
 

The annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in Waukon has been scheduled for this Sunday, March 14 and will begin at 1 p.m. with many of the same festivities taking place as in years past throughout the community. Those attending are reminded to practice social distancing and wear face masks per current guidelines or per their own and others’ comfort levels where not required. EARL Public Transit will not be offering its Leprechaun Loop Shuttle system this year, as it has in years past, but another shuttle bus system will reportedly be in place to help those celebrating reach entertainment destinations.