Top Stories

The annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade scheduled for Sunday, March 15 in Waukon ended up resulting in much more than its usual show of Irish spirit. Just over an hour before the parade was scheduled to begin, the Waukon City Council met in an emergency session that took some time to arrange due to open meetings quorum requirements and made the unanimous decision to revoke the parade permit based on recommendations for large gatherings made by the Iowa Governor’s Office and the Iowa Department of Public Health following the announcement late Saturday evening, March 14 that the first case had been reported in Iowa of COVID-19 due to community spread - meaning not knowing the origin and not attributable to travel as were the previous 17 cases in Iowa.

Waukon City Councilman John Ellingson provided the following statement in regard to the Waukon City Council’s actions in respect to revoking the parade permit:

At a special meeting held by the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors early Tuesday morning, March 17, the Supervisors discussed a decision to close the Allamakee County Courthouse to the general public in light of the health concerns posed by COVID-19 caused by the coronavirus. The following statement was released by Allamakee County officials following the Tuesday morning meeting:

Wednesday, March 25 at about 10 a.m., Allamakee County will be participating in the State of Iowa Tornado Drill as part of Severe Weather Awareness Week, which is observed March 23-27. The intent will be to activate the warning sirens in each of the towns in Allamakee County when the National Weather Service issues a test Tornado Warning around the 10 a.m. timeframe.

County facilities will be conducting a tornado drill at that same time and this will also allow the County 911 Dispatch Center to test its remote activation capability with each of these sirens in communities within the county. This function allows for a quick activation of warning sirens alerting of any tornado warning. In the event of actual or potential severe weather on that date, the test will be rescheduled.
 

The 2020 Allamakee County Dairy Banquet scheduled for this Saturday, March 21 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon has been postponed to a date yet to be determined. The annual celebration recognizes the importance of the dairy industry in Allamakee County and the contributions dairy families make to the industry and also awards top producers from the county, along with recognizing numerous award winners and crowning the Allamakee County Dairy Princess.
 

Beginning Wednesday, March 18, all visitors to Veterans Memorial hospital will be restricted. This is in an effort to stop the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus within the hospital.
In the event of a special circumstance, such as a terminal patient, family members may call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411 and speak with the charge nurse about the situation.
Anyone with flu-like symptoms that is requesting to be tested for COVID-19 must meet all criteria to qualify for a test. Screenings will be performed over the phone by calling the hospital at
563- 568-3411 and asking for the COVID-19 phone line.
Other restrictions have also been put into effect immediately at Veterans Memorial Hospital. All outpatients and visitors with special circumstances should enter through the hospital’s main entrance where they will be screened at the door.

Effective immediately and until further notice, Allamakee County has elected to close their offices to the public to limit the spread of COVID-19. The goal is to protect the citizens and employees of Allamakee County from further spread of this virus. Our employees will continue to work to perform essential county services. Please contact the appropriate Department by phone if you have questions regarding services. County Departments and phone numbers are listed below and can also be found on the county website, www.allamakee.us, allowing with additional information.
Board of Supervisors: 563.568.3522
Auditor: 563.568.3522
*No Passport services
*Filing deadlines remain in effect for elections – contact Auditor’s office to discuss options for you to meet the required deadline **ORIGINAL papers MUST BE RECEIVED** Someone else may drop papers off for you IF THE AFFIDAVIT IS ALREADY NOTARIZED

OFFICE CLOSED TEMPORARILY BUT STILL CONDUCTING BUSINESS
In the interest of helping prevent further spread of COVID-19 for the health of our customers, staff and the general public, The Standard office is STILL CONDUCTING BUSINESS but currently closed to the general public until further notice.
We are happy to continue to conduct business with you OVER THE TELEPHONE OR VIA EMAIL:
563-568-3431
news@waukonstandard.com
ads@waukonstandard.com
adsales@waukonstandard.com
We also have a drop box and drop slot at our office door in which subscription renewals or other items can be dropped off.
Or please tap on our office window or knock on the office door during office hours if you require further assistance.

Due to increasing flu and flu-like symptoms in the region, Veterans Memorial Hospital has implemented visitation restrictions effective immediately.

- Visitors are now limited to immediate family members only.

- Visitors must be older than 18 years of age.

- People experiencing flu-like symptoms or colds should not visit any patients.

The annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in Waukon has been scheduled for this Sunday, March 15 and will begin at 1 p.m. with many of the same festivities taking place as in years past throughout the community.

The parade route will be the same as in past years, beginning from the southeast edge of town and heading up Rossville Road and Spring Avenue to the stoplight intersection with Main Street. Turning left on to West Main Street at the stoplights, the parade will venture up to Second Street SW, where the entries will turn left at the Post Office intersection, travel one block south to First Avenue SW, and then east back to Spring Avenue, turning right at Kwik Star to head back south to its point of origin.

Person of the Year - Dr. Rick Hermeier ...  Nomination information for Dr. Hermeier centered around not only the funding endowments he has established in support of causes such as Waukon High School athletics, vulnerable youth in the local community and mental health matters within Allamakee County, but also in the care and compassion he exhibits by attending area events, meeting with local leaders and supporting individuals, organizations and causes with words of encouragement or thoughtful acts. Noted in letters supporting his nomination was his ample but quiet generosity in sharing his good fortune, directly benefiting many local and area entities.