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At its Monday, May 3 regular meeting, the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to adopt a new comprehensive plan for the County, called “All in Allamakee”, or the “All-In Plan” for short. The plan’s origins lie in 2018, when Allamakee County contracted with Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC) to develop a completely new plan and vision for the County - the previous plan having been completed in 2002. UERPC Senior Transportation Planner Aaron Detter, AICP was project manager for the new planning effort.

The 2021 Allamakee County Dairy Banquet is scheduled to be held Saturday, June 12 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon. The meal will be served from 7-8:30 p.m. with the program starting at 8 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the door.

The event is traditionally held in March each year, but the Allamakee County Dairy Promotion Board decided to wait and see what developed with the COVID-19 pandemic this year, with vaccinations and lower positive case numbers leading to the decision to hold the in-person event in June. The banquet was called off entirely last year as the pandemic reared its head locally just before the event’s scheduled March date.

Roll of Honor display seeks photos of local veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty

Remodeling of the former Vets Club Building on Allamakee Street in Waukon will be completed this summer for use as a Veterans Museum. Designing and setting up of displays and exhibits will follow as time and resources permit.

Help is needed in preserving the memories and stories of Allamakee County’s military veterans from all conflicts and service. One special project is to collect photos of all county service members who died in the line of duty for use in a Roll of Honor display.

Anyone who has any photos, stories, letters, documents, posters, maps, uniforms, equipment or memorabilia to share or donate should contact Jim Garrett at 563-568-7606, John Bauercamper at 563-568-7526 or johnbauercamper@gmail.com, or the Allamakee Historical Society at P.O. Box 95, Waukon, IA 52172.

MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCE IN WAUKON - MONDAY, MAY 31
• Memorial Day Parade will line up at 9:15 a.m. and begins at 9:45 a.m. in front of Allamakee County Courthouse on Allamakee Street and travels south down Rossville Road to Oakland Cemetery (weather permitting)
• Memorial Day Observance Program follows parade, approximately 10 a.m. at Oakland Cemetery (at Waukon Banquet Center in the event of rain):
• Invocation - Pastor Bryan Mincks, Iron Ridge Church
• National Anthem - Bailey Sherman
• Pledge of Allegiance - Children volunteers
• General Logan’s Orders - Ethan Hooten
• Band Selection - Waukon High School Band
• Memorial Wreath Laying - Lindsey & Ella Lund and Grace Murphy
• POW/MIA Recognition - Moment of Silence
• Mrs. Poppy - Lisa Hagen
• Miss Poppy - Katherine and Hannah Hagen
• God Bless America - Waukon High School Band

Ozzie Quandahl selected as Grand Marshal in Waukon

After being modified - or even canceled altogether - last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the Memorial Day observances in the local area will return to their traditional format this year in honor of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in serving their country. With the exception of the community of New Albin and its yet modified observance this year, the traditions of parades, full cemetery programs and wreath laying will be returning to area communities.

Memorial Day 2021 observances in the area communities of Waukon, Lansing, Harpers Ferry and New Albin are further detailed in the boxed listings surrounding this article. All are scheduled for Monday, May 31.

The Allamakee County Dairy Promotion Board has scheduled its 2021 Allamakee County Dairy Banquet for Saturday, June 12 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion. The meal will be served from 7-8:30 p.m. and the awards program starts at 8 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the door.

The annual Allamakee County Dairy Banquet celebration recognizes the importance of the dairy industry in Allamakee County and the contributions dairy families make to the industry. Every year top producers from the county are recognized at the banquet. In addition, several other awards are presented that evening. The 2021 Allamakee County Dairy Princess will also be crowned.

by Julie Berg-Raymond

Lesya Ryzhenkova - originally from Ukraine and co-owner with her partner, Mike Kolsrud, of The Good Life Gallery and Frame Shop in Lansing - recently turned in the green card she has been carrying for nine years and became a citizen of the United States.
“But I still have my Ukranian soul inside of me,” Lesya says.

When visitors and locals head to Lansing’s annual “Taste of Lansing” Thursday, May 27, they’ll find Lesya, body and soul, serving her homemade vareniki - a dumpling stuffed with meat, potato or cabbage filling, and a national dish of her birth country.

“Taste of Lansing” is Thursday, May 27, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. One ticket allows the purchaser to walk to the community businesses and taste the food they have to offer. Tickets will be available at Main Street Lansing, Red Geranium, and Kerndt Brothers Bank. Each ticket purchase is entered into a drawing for a $100 prize.

Waukon native Paul Osterholm has an inspiring story to tell in regard to organ donation, and that story is now part of a book that not only became available in late April of this year but also climbed to Best Seller status on Amazon just a few days following its release. Osterholm will be returning to his native hometown Saturday, May 29 with the woman he shares that story and - as of October 2018 - one of his kidneys with for a book donation presentation and signing event at Robey Memorial Library.

“Because of Organ Donation: A Collection of Inspiring Stories Celebrating the Gift of Life” is a collection of 25 organ donation stories from a variety of individuals, including NASCAR Cup driver Joey Gase telling his late mother’s story, with a forward written by Bill Ryan, President and CEO of Transplant Games of America and the Transplant Life Foundation.

As of Monday, May 17 both the Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) and the Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD) are no longer requiring the wearing of masks by students or staff in their school buildings. Those decisions were announced this past weekend by each district’s Superintendent in released statements following Iowa Department of Public Health guidance issued Friday, May 14 that was based on a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announcement Thursday, May 13 that those fully vaccinated do not need to wear masks outdoors nor in many indoor settings.

Flatland Ridge will open Friday’s music performance; Full slate of new and traditional activities planned

For the many who were disappointed that the headline musical grandstand act at the 2020 Allamakee County Fair was one of the many events that fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic this past year, this year’s Fair will offer that same opportunity to rock with the next best thing to legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Bon Jovi. That musical headliner is just part of the planned full Fair experience the Allamakee County Fair Board is working to return to this year after last year’s modified version due to the pandemic.