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Members of the Waukon High School chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) gather around and display the Chapter of the Year trophy they were awarded at the State Leadership Conference held in Coralville Thursday through Saturday, March 30-April 1. Despite having to safely wait out the tornadoes that descended upon the Coralville area the Friday evening of the Conference, the Waukon FBLA chapter earned the 2023 Iowa FBLA State Leadership Conference Lloyd V. Douglas Chapter of the Year Award in honor of the chapter’s first-place team finish among all teams competing. Additional details will be printed in a future edition of The Standard. Submitted photo.
 

by Dwight Jones

For those who own property in Allamakee County and recently received an assessment roll in the mail from the Allamakee County Assessor’s Office showing an updated valuation, there’s a very good chance that assessment went up, many at a far higher percentage than what has been experienced in previous years.

This has undoubtedly been a hot topic of conversation around dinner tables and over social media, but what prompted the increases? Allamakee County Auditor Ann Burckart was recently interviewed to try and help understand why this has happened.

According to Iowa Code, assessments are to be at 100% of market value. Burckart explained that every other year within the State of Iowa, Iowa Code Section 441.21 mandates a process called “equalization” wherein property assessments are required to be adjusted, up or down, to be within 95%-105% of what is determined to be “fair market value”.

Elizabeth Fossum (center in photo), daughter of Kevin and Julie Fossum of Waterville, was crowned the 2023 Allamakee County Dairy Princess at the annual Allamakee County Dairy Banquet held Saturday, March 25 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon. Pictured above following their coronation, left to right, are Allamakee County Alternate Dairy Princess Claire Opperman, daughter of Amy Opperman of Waukon; Allamakee County Dairy Princess Elizabeth Fossum; and Allamakee County Alternate Dairy Princess Cassidy Gibbs, daughter of Shawn and Danette Gibbs of Waterville. Additional photos of award winners and other recognition from the 2023 Allamakee County Dairy Banquet will appear in a future edition of The Standard. Photo by Paula Enyart.
 

The Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance in regard to a pair of February incidents involving vandalism and attempted arson at a rural Allamakee County swine facility. Reward money in the amount of $15,000 is currently being offered in regard to the case.

Sunday, February 5 of this year the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a suspicious item at a swine unit located on Dry Ridge Drive in rural Lansing. Deputies did respond to the location and recovered an incendiary item, reportedly a molotov cocktail, that had been placed on the building.

Upon further investigation it was determined that the item was placed with the intent to start the building unit on fire. The building unit was occupied with numerous swine at the time of the incident. The item did not ignite the building and minimal damage was observed.

Allamakee County Treasurer Jennifer O’Neill would like to remind property owners that the second installment of property taxes is due by Friday, March 31.

Property tax payments can be made in the Allamakee County Treasurer’s office in the Allamakee County Courthouse at 110 Allamakee Street in Waukon between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tax payers are reminded to bring their tax stubs with their payment to insure proper credit. To avoid penalty on the second installment, payment must be received in the Treasurer’s Office by Friday, March 31. Penalty will apply April 1, 2023.

E-check and credit card payments are also accepted online at www.iowatreasurers.org. Tax payers will need their receipt number to pay by E-check. This can be found on their tax statement.

The Allamakee County Emergency Management Agency wants to take this opportunity to notify the public of the intent to conduct a county-wide Tornado Drill and test of all city emergency warning sirens next Wednesday, March 29 at 10 a.m. This will allow Allamakee County to participate in the State of Iowa Tornado Drill as part of Severe Weather Awareness Week, which is scheduled for March 27-31 this year. At approximately 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 29, warning sirens in all six cities in the county will be activated and National Weather Service NOAA Weather Radios will be sent the drill as a Required Weekly Test (RWT) with normal alert tones followed by drill verbiage.

Tuesday, March 21, nearly three dozen school districts across the state of Iowa received what are being referred to as “swatting” telephone calls, which are described as messages of what turn out to be fake threats of school shootings or other harm. The calls are made in an effort to try and get a large police gathering at one location, and they have been occurring across the nation over the past several months.

Although many of the schools reacted accordingly throughout the state of Iowa on that March 21 date, no threats were ever realized or any harm reported. Two area school districts, Decorah and MFL/MarMac, each received such threatening messages at their respective high schools, prompting action by local authorities in each case, with no threats realized in either scenario.

The streets of Waukon were lined with those pulling for the spirit of the Irish, much like the mules and horses that pulled the Patterson Creek Social Club during the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade Sunday, March 19 in Waukon. With cooler than normal weather conditions that featured sunny skies, a slight breeze and temperatures in the lower 30s, the event took approximately 45 minutes to display the wide variety of this year’s nearly 150 parade entries. Additional photos by Standard Assistant Editor Joe Moses from this year’s parade can be found on Page 16 inside the March 22, 2023 print and e-edition of The Standard. All of the parade photos found in this issue, along with many more from Sunday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, are available for viewing/purchase by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on The Standard’s website at www.waukonstandard.com. A video of this year’s St.

The 2023 Allamakee County Dairy Banquet is scheduled to be held this Saturday, March 25 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon. Food service will start at 7 p.m. and the program will begin at 8 p.m. Banquet tickets can be purchased at the door.

The annual celebration recognizes the importance of the dairy industry in Allamakee County and the contributions dairy families make to this important industry. Every year, top producers from the county are recognized at the banquet. In addition, several other awards are presented that evening, some of which include the following:

• Outstanding Young Dairy Family Award
• Pioneer Dairyman
• Distinguished Dairy Family Award
• Service to Dairy Industry Award
• Golden Butter Knife Award.

The Allamakee County Community Foundation (ACCF) Board is celebrating a milestone in its campaign to raise $450,000 toward a permanent endowment that will help address local needs for years to come. Thanks to gifts from board members and community leaders, and the support of an anonymous donor, over $225,000 has been raised for the Allamakee Forever Endowment Fund.

The initiative will help the Foundation build its endowment and provide an annual payout that will help address emerging needs and opportunities in communities across Allamakee County.

“The Forever Fund presents an opportunity for each of us to invest in the Foundation and thus the success of our communities,” says Betty Steege, foundation coordinator. “As an endowment, it will continue growing forever, and the flexible dollars it will provide can help address critical and emerging needs.”