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The 2022 Waukon High School Prom is scheduled to be held this Saturday, April 23 at the Waukon Middle School gymnasium. Doors will open to the public at 7:30 p.m. for the Grand March, which is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Parents and community members may view the Grand March either seated in the auditorium or standing in the gym.

The 2022 Kee High School Prom is scheduled for this Saturday, April 23. Pictured above are the senior class Queen and King candidates for the annual event. Left to right - Front row: Queen candidates Lydia Corwin and Cheyanne Troendle; Middle row: Queen candidates Faith Boland, Ashton Kolsrud and Kylie Troendle; Back row: King candidates Landon Reams, Whalen Hill, Tyson Cota and Damon Weber. Not pictured: King candidate Daniel Wagner.

Just as in past years, the annual banquet will be held at TJ Hunter’s Banquet Hall on Main Street in Lansing at 5:30 p.m. The Prom dance will also take place in the banquet hall this year from 8-11:30 p.m., following the Grand March and coronation of this year’s King and Queen.

by Julie Berg-Raymond

People who grew up on the lower Mississippi River - south of St. Louis, MO - tend to express astonishment and delight when they visit the upper part of the river. They notice the natural beauty of the landscape; but they notice something else, as well: People actually recreate - water-ski; jet-ski; fish; camp; boat for pleasure; even, sometimes, swim - on the river, up here.

Additionally, the upper river is home to the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge - described on its website as “a haven for migratory birds, fish, wildlife and people...”

More than 30 years after three young women were murdered, and another was assaulted but survived, the man responsible has reportedly been identified using investigative genealogy, according to information released last Tuesday, April 5 by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Field Office in Indianapolis, IN. The four cold case crimes took place from February 1987 through January 1990 at hotel locations in Kentucky and Indiana and have been dubbed the I-65 or Days Inn Murders, due to their location and proximity to Interstate 65 in those two states.

According to State and local authorities, the investigation continues into the cause of the Sunday, February 13 fire that destroyed a pair of buildings on the initial block of Allamakee Street in downtown Waukon and impacted adjacent buildings with smoke, water and other damage. The arrival of an excavator (pictured below) at the fire site during the first full week of April had many speculating that demolition and clean-up work were set to begin at the site. However, the machine was only on site for several days and was not utilized for clean-up purposes but was instead used only to allow for safer and more convenient access to the investigation site, as evident with the knocking down of the front wall and canopy area of the former Tin, Rust & Harmony building believed to be the point of origin of the blaze and which is now noticeably more open in the photo above.

by Julie Berg-Raymond

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley spoke to about 80 people Monday, April 11 at Robey Memorial Library in Waukon, as part of his 42nd annual “99-County Tour.” Grassley, 88, is in his seventh senate term, having first been elected in 1980.

Monday afternoon, Grassley addressed topics ranging from infrastructure (“Iowa’s bridges are the worst in the 50 states in the nation,” he noted) to Social Security and the cost of insulin.

“There are still two and a half trillion dollars in the Social Security trust fund that will keep your check at 100 percent until about 2034,” Grassley said, in response to a question about the program’s long-term viability. “When this is gone, your check will be around 77 percent.” Addressing “looming deficits,” he said, “will take bipartisan leadership. I won’t be in Congress in 2034,” he noted, drawing laughter from attendees; “but it will have to be bi-partisan.”

With the announcement made Sunday, March 27 of the complete route of RAGBRAI XLIX that will traverse the state of Iowa July 23-30 this year, the initial map presented by RAGBRAI organizers for the final day of the ride, Saturday, July 30, resulted in some initial questions regarding the actual route, mainly from Postville to Waukon, as far as road names and labels used on the initial map. Inquiries by local authorities resulted in a newly released map by RAGBRAI officials. From the final overnight town of West Union, riders will make their way through Elgin, Gunder, Postville and Waukon on the way to the final tire-dipping destination of Lansing Saturday, July 30, as indicated in the map above.

Pictured left to right in the photo at right, Kiersten Gibbs, daughter of Chris and Kerri Gibbs of Waterville, and Emma Palmer, daughter of Eric and Stephanie Palmer of Waukon, were crowned the 2022 Allamakee County Dairy Co-Princesses at the annual Allamakee County Dairy Banquet held Saturday, April 2 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon. The two will share the duties that are inherent with being crowned the Allamakee County Dairy Princess throughout their reign this next year. Additional photos of award winners and other recognition from the 2022 Allamakee County Dairy Banquet will appear in a future edition of The Standard. Photo courtesy of BMW Photography by Brittany Tilleraas.
 

The Allamakee County Cattleman’s Association has made a $6,000 donation to the Building New Traditions Campaign at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds in Waukon. The Building New Traditions Campaign is dedicated toward constructing a new, larger all-species youth livestock show barn centrally located at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds, a project that also involves relocation, elimination and transformation of some of the other livestock buildings at the Fairgrounds. Pictured above at the donation presentation are, left to right, McKayla Rethamel of the Allamakee County Fair Board, Tanner Deering of the Allamakee County Cattleman’s Association, Bobbi Baxter of the Allamakee County Fair Board, and Nick Tilleraas and Shane Gavin of the Allamakee County Cattleman’s Association.

Rising concerns over substance misuse, problem gambling, teen pregnancy and more led a group of concerned citizens and professionals to start meeting to address these difficult topics. Allamakee Prevention Advisory, formed in late 2021, has a mission to “advocate, educate and provide awareness to positively impact the health and wellness of Allamakee County.” The group provides valuable feedback on the county culture, trends and concerns while making recommendations on evidence-based practices and strategies to implement across the Allamakee County community.