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​Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian Pacific (CP) will donate to food banks in communities along its network and host a virtual concert in lieu of its regular Holiday Train program. The modified program will draw attention to food security issues, while ensuring donations go to all food banks that would ordinarily receive them, including those that typically host a Holiday Train event in alternating years.

The Holiday Train has been a holiday season favorite for area residents in its northeast Iowa stops in Marquette, Lansing and New Albin. Those events have resulted in generous monetary and food donations from both Canadian Pacific and the general public that have benefited the Allamakee County Food Shelf, Lansing Iowa Food Trust (LIFT) and the Way Station in New Albin.

The past week saw the recent rise in new confirmed COVID-19 cases for Allamakee County continue to climb toward the all-time local high for a single week’s timeframe since the pandemic began. The Tuesday to Monday timeframe utilized by The Standard in an effort to provide the latest possible update in case numbers prior to printing each week saw 31 new cases reported by the State of Iowa for Allamakee County during this most recent week, Tuesday through Monday, October 13-19.

Allamakee County Economic Development (ACED) named Shep’s Riverside Bar & Grill in Lansing the winner of the 2020 Cloy Kuhse Positive Impact Award at its annual meeting held virtually via Zoom software Thursday, October 8. This award was created to highlight and recognize a business that is making a positive impact in Allamakee County, as well as to honor the memory of the late Cloy Kuhse, who was a member of the ACED Board of Directors.

Recipients of this award have shown an exceptional devotion to their community and served as excellent role models that anyone can look up to. Past winners of the award have included WW Homestead Dairy, Growing Bear Daycare and Preschool, New Albin Savings Bank, Waukon Dental, Mike Ferring Construction, TASC, the New Albin Meat Market, and Norplex-Micarta.

A new drop box has been installed outside the Allamakee County Courthouse in Waukon at the south entrance to the courthouse along the initial block of First Avenue NW. Completed absentee ballots can be dropped off in the black box to the right of the south entrance door, pictured below, and in a closer view in the photo above. Standard photos by Joe Moses.

As of Monday, October 12, Winneshiek Medical Center (WMC) in Decorah is hosting a Test Iowa site for people in northeast Iowa. Winneshiek Medical Center staff will administer the COVID-19 tests on behalf of Test Iowa.

Test Iowa is a statewide initiative to expand COVID-19 testing, with sites/clinics available across the state. Local clinic sites are partnerships between the State of Iowa and local health care providers to increase access to testing in their communities. Local clinics operate and staff the test sites. The State provides testing supplies and processes the samples through the State Hygienic Lab.

This week, Iowa Democrats will continue the Early Vote Express, a multi-stop, statewide bus tour from now through Election Day aimed at laying out the choices in this election and encouraging Iowans to make a plan and vote early. The Early Vote Express will make stops at college campuses, libraries, and other satellite voting locations throughout the state to distribute voter education materials and discuss the importance of voting. Early voting in Iowa started Monday, October 5 and runs through Election Day November 3. Iowans can make a plan to vote at iwillvote.com/IA. The tour will be making its way through northeast Iowa according to the following schedule Tuesday, October 13:

Decorah Early Vote Express Stop — 9:00 AM WHERE: 2042 State Highway 9, Decorah, IA 52101 WHO: Lauren Dillon, Biden for President Iowa State Director

Beginning Monday, October 12, Winneshiek Medical Center (WMC) in Decorah will become a Test Iowa site for people in northeast Iowa.
Test Iowa is a statewide initiative to expand COVID-19 testing, with sites/clinics available across the state. Local clinic sites are partnerships between the State of Iowa and local health care providers to increase access to testing in their communities. Local clinics operate and staff the test sites. The state provides testing supplies and processes the samples through the State Hygienic Lab.
Any Iowan can visit www.testiowa.com to complete the short online assessment and schedule an appointment for testing. For Iowans wanting to be tested at Winneshiek Medical Center in Decorah, the website will direct them to call 563-382-1505 (the Test Iowa dedicated line at WMC) or 563-382-2911 to schedule their appointment.

Tuesday, November 3 is scheduled as the General Election to determine which candidates will be elected by voters to leadership positions at the national, state and local levels of government. Although polling sites will be open at eight different locations that Election Day for in-person voting, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a strong demand for absentee voting again for this General Election, as it had for the Primary Election held earlier this year.

INFORMED CHOICES - EARLIER
Absentee voting was able to begin Monday, October 5 and the Allamakee County Auditor’s Office was able to begin mailing out requested absentee ballots that day as well, with Allamakee County Auditor Denise Beyer reporting that her office has received nearly 2,800 requests for absentee ballots for the upcoming General Election.

Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon offers a COVID-19 Phone Line for triage every Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Anyone with questions about COVID-19 is encouraged to call the hospital at 563-568-3411 during those hours and request the COVID line to speak one-on-one to a nurse about symptoms and testing options. The nurse then triages the caller based on the wide variety of information that is collected during the visit.

Members of the Kee High School Homecoming Court for this week’s 2020 celebration of the event include the King and Queen candidates from the Senior class pictured above, as well as the underclassman attendants pictured below. Pictured above are, left to right: Front row - Senior Class Homecoming Queen candidates Jada Mitchell, Macy Manning, Emily Darling and Jazmyne Pace; Back row - Senior Class Homecoming King candidates Will Mooney, Chris Wagner, Clayton Little and Hunter McKee. Pictured at left, front to back and left to right, are: Freshman Attendants Kaylee Hawes and Andrew Kolsrud, Sophomore Attendants Brooklyn Bakewell and Jacob Rolfs, and Junior Attendants Laurel Scott and Thomas Rethwisch. Details of this week's Homecoming events at Kee High School, along with celebratory pages, can be found on Pages 14A and 15A inside the September 30, 2020 print edition and e-edition of the Standard. Photos courtesy of the Kee High School Yearbook.