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Wed
05
Aug

COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Allamakee County

A slow but steady increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases within Allamakee County continued this past week, with six new cases being reported by the State of Iowa. That case increase leaves the Allamakee County case total at 151 as of Monday, August 3, according to information shared by the State of Iowa on its daily updated website, www.coronavirus.iowa.gov.

Wed
29
Jul

Allamakee Community School District intends to begin school year with in-person learning at each school but has alternate plans in place as well

School year is scheduled to begin August 24, with registration beginning next week

by Brianne Eilers

As the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year approaches, parents and students are wondering what the new school year will look like. While the Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) has not made a firm declaration as to how learning will take place yet, the district did have to submit a Return to Learn plan to the State of Iowa by the beginning of the month of July addressing on-site learning, continuous (or virtual/online) learning and a hybrid of both.

Wed
29
Jul

Five new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Allamakee County this past week

Allamakee County continued to see a slow increase in new confirmed cases of COVID-19 this past week, according to information gathered from both the Iowa Department of Public Health and Allamakee County Public Health as of Monday, July 27. That slower increase in this past week’s timeframe from Tuesday, July 21 through Monday, July 27 saw five new cases reported in the county.

The past week began with three cases reported early in the week, including two new cases Tuesday, July 21 and one more the following day. One more case was reported near the end of last week’s work week, Friday, July 24, with the State of Iowa adding one more new case to the county total Monday, July 27.

This past week’s slower increase leaves Allamakee County with 145 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since those numbers first began being reported in mid-March this year. Allamakee County Public Health officials say that as of Monday, July 27 seven of those cases remain in isolation.
 

Wed
29
Jul

Saturday morning motorcycle accident near Harpers Ferry claims life of Minnesota man

A late Saturday morning, July 25 motorcycle accident near Harpers Ferry claimed the life of a Minnesota man. At approximately 11:38 a.m. Saturday, the Allamakee County Sheriff’s 911 Dispatch Center received a report of a single-occupant motorcycle crash on County Road X52 (Great River Road) approximately three miles north of Harpers Ferry.

An accident report released by the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office explains that Gary Lee Thomforde, age 69, of Red Wing, MN was traveling southbound on County Road X52 and failed to negotiate a curve in the road. Thomforde was thrown from the motorcycle at the time of the accident.

Thomforde was transported to a La Crosse, WI hospital by ambulance. He died of injuries he sustained in the crash.

Wed
29
Jul

DNR investigates fish kill resulting from yeast spill at Aveka Nutra Processing, pump failure at Waukon wastewater treatment plant

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) investigated and continues to assess a fish kill in a tributary of Paint Creek south of Waukon which was found to be the result of a pair of incidents that took place in succession Monday, July 20, according to an initial media release from the DNR.

Shortly after 11 a.m. that Monday, operators at the City of Waukon Wastewater Treatment Plant on the southeast edge of Waukon reported to the DNR that Aveka Nutra Processing in north Waukon spilled approximately 76,000 pounds of yeast, which was running into the treatment plant through the City’s sanitary sewer system. Normally, the treatment plant routes such spills into a lagoon before being treated in the plant.

Wed
22
Jul

Monday update by Allamakee County Public Health reveals two positive COVID-19 cases this past week

Following the first two weeks of July that combined for a double-digit increase in confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 - with 15 new cases reported from July 1-13, Allamakee County was originally reported by the State of Iowa as having just one new case confirmed during this past week, July 14-20, on the State’s daily website update at www.coronavirus.iowa.gov.

However, a late Monday, July 20 update from the Allamakee County Public Health Department reported notification of another new case being confirmed that day. Prior to that Monday, July 20 update by Allamakee County Public Health, the single new confirmed case for the previous week was reported Thursday, July 16 and was a midpoint blemish between four days prior and four days following where no new confirmed cases had been reported for Allamakee County.

Wed
22
Jul

Allamakee County to get its Freedom Rock


Allamakee County Freedom Rock now in place ... A large boulder was placed by crews from Bruening Rock Products early Friday morning, July 17 in the Waukon City Park to serve as the canvas for Allamakee County’s Freedom Rock to be painted by famed artist Ray “Bubba” Sorenson in mid-August. After several years of organizing and the last couple years spent searching for a suitable rock, this large piece of Iowa’s geographic history soon to honor Allamakee County Veterans’ history was found in a Mason City quarry and hauled to its new home in Allamakee County by Caledonia Haulers, with driver Ken Mark of Waukon also donating his time to haul the rock. The rock will become part of Sorenson’s Freedom Rock Tour in all 99 Iowa counties that serves to both honor America’s Veterans and also promote tourism in Iowa, with plans to further enhance the area surrounding the rock with suitable landscaping and other aspects honoring Allamakee County Veterans and promoting additional area attractions. Noticeable in the background of the above photo, one of the most honorable aspects of the Allamakee County Freedom Rock location is its proximity to Oakland Cemetery just across the State Highway 9/76 entrance into Waukon, where many such area veterans these Freedom Rocks are designed to honor now lie in rest following their contributions to this nation’s freedoms, and where the Waukon Memorial Day program is held each year. Standard photo by Joe Moses.

“Canvas” for Iowa artist Bubba Sorenson arrives at Waukon City Park, painting to begin in August

After years of waiting, this year marks Allamakee County’s turn to get its Freedom Rock as part of an overall honoring and tourism idea formulated by Iowa artist Ray Sorenson.

Back in 1999, Ray Sorensen (better known as Bubba) painted his first Freedom Rock in Menlo, which is located in Adair County in Iowa. He was encouraged to continue with the project, which really took off after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Sorenson decided to paint 99 Freedom Rocks across the state of Iowa - one for each county. As he was traveling from county to county painting the rocks, he came up with the idea to work with the State of Iowa to create a tourism draw with the rocks by promoting the “Freedom Rock” Tour.

Wed
22
Jul

Dollar Fresh opens its doors ...

Thursday evening, July 16, leaders from the Waukon community and Allamakee County were invited by Hy-Vee and Dollar Fresh officials to a “sneak-peek” ribbon cutting event at the new Dollar Fresh store that held its grand opening for the public the very next morning, Friday, July 17 in the former Shopko store location in southwest Waukon. Pictured above at that ribbon cutting are a number of those community and county leaders standing with Dollar Fresh Waukon store manager Matt Kundert as he cuts the ribbon, along with Hy-Vee District Director Jeremy Low and members of the Waukon store’s management team.

Wed
15
Jul

Royal recognition ...

As part of the Allamakee County Fair each year, area “royalty” is recognized along with the announcement of the Allamakee County Fair Royalty Team that serves in various capacities throughout the fair and throughout the next year. During the Thursday evening, July 9 performance of The Caminos at this year’s modified Allamakee County Fair due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the local young ladies pictured at right were recognized for the service they’ve provided to their various organizations as their 2020 royal representatives. Pictured above, left to right, are Allamakee County Beef Queen Soraya Reyes, Miss Iowa Angus Allie Bieber, Iowa Miss Teen United States Agriculture Diana Davison, Allamakee County Alternate Dairy Princess Kaylee Gibbs, event emcee Laurie Wild of WQPC Q94 Radio, Allamakee County Dairy Princess Faith Palmer, and 2020 Allamakee County Fair Royalty Team members Madelyn Moser and Shara Cota.

Wed
15
Jul

Allamakee County Public Health reports that seven new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed within the county this past week

Allamakee County continued to follow the recent nationwide trend of increasing confirmed COVID-19 cases as summer activity has increased and restrictions that had been in place over the past several months have been lessened. After the Allamakee County Department of Public Health reported a total of eight new confirmed cases during the first week in July, Allamakee County’s new case numbers remained right within that same range this past week with seven new confirmed cases from Tuesday, July 7 through Monday, July 13.

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