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Tuesday, August 27 at 7:15 p.m., the Allamakee County Sheriff’s 911 Dispatch Center received a report of a vehicle fire on Iron Mine Drive just north of Waukon. Upon arrival, Sheriff’s Deputies observed a 1999 Toyota Tacoma pick-up truck on fire and fully engulfed, according to a report issued by the Sheriff’s Office. The vehicle was unoccupied and the owner of the vehicle, Ryan Daniel Peters (formerly known as Ryan Troendle prior to a recent marriage and name change), age 34, of Waukon was not located at the scene. The vehicle fire was extinguished by the Waukon Fire Department.

Milling of the existing pavement on portions of Iowa Highways 9 and 76 through Waukon began to take place this past week, such as the milling process pictured above that cut away a four-inch depth of pavement on West Main Street from its intersection with Second Street all the way to the four-way stop sign intersection with Ninth Street near Quillin’s. Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) District 2 Field Services Coordinator Pete Hjelmstad said the plan is to begin the overlay paving process on that West Main Street portion of the project sometime this week, depending upon weather conditions. Hjelmstad also said the contractor will also be working on paving the roadway shoulders from the south junction of Iowa 9 and 76 (near Bodensteiner Implement) heading north into Waukon.

The sidewalk project currently in progress along the south end of Second Street SW and Eleventh Avenue SW in Waukon will complete a paved loop option for local residents and visitors to trek by connecting to a pair of trail entrances to the Waukon City Park. The project is in its foundational phase, with the sidewalk area being dug out and its gravel foundation being completed prior to the final paving and finishing process.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, August 26 to address a full agenda of items including a personnel matter in the County Auditor’s Office, consideration of bids for a County Sheriff’s Department patrol vehicle and the semi-annual insurance update with claims review.

During Public Comment, Executive Director Val Reinke with Allamakee County Economic Development (ACED) discussed that the recent drive-in movie night at WW Homestead Dairy was well attended with approximately 70 cars and that the grand opening for the Portside Bar and Supper Club over the weekend in Harpers Ferry went well. Reinke reported that the Driftless Super Slough kayak trek that took place on the Mississippi River and the Back to School 5K Run/Walk held in New Albin both took place Saturday, August 24 with the 5K Run/Walk having approximately 45 participants.

City and school elections will be conducted simultaneously this year, scheduled for Tuesday, November 5. A law passed by the Iowa Legislature in 2017 ended the longstanding tradition of holding school board elections in September, and Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate hopes the combined elections will increase voter participation.

“Turnout for city and school elections is usually not very high and I hope that changes this year,” Secretary Pate said. “A lot of voters might not realize that these local elections tend to have a much greater impact on their daily lives than the races for president and the U.S. Senate.”

Area citizens interested in the history and archaeology connected to the Black Hawk Bridge project are invited to attend another meeting with the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Lansing History Working Group Thursday, August 29 at 5:30 p.m. at the Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library in Lansing. This discussion will focus on the archaeology uncovered last fall as part of the planning for the bridge project.

Iowa DOT staffer Brennan Dolan will share information about the materials that were found and the analyses that were completed on the artifact assemblages. A select assemblage of materials will be available for viewing.

Anyone who is interested is encouraged to come and bring questions to ask. Goals are to share information, ask questions and understand how these issues affect project planning.
 

The annual Waukon Corn Days event was held Friday through Sunday, August 16-18 in Waukon, with a large crowd attending the sweet corn meal event pictured at right Friday evening. There were no entries for any of the Corn Days royalty crownings, but more photos from this year's event can be found on Page 2A of the August 21 print edition and e-edition, as well as in the Photo Gallery on this website. Standard photo by Joe Moses.

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by Brianne Eilers

There will be an open house for the newly created Allamakee Regional Welding Lab from 5 to 7 p.m. this Thursday, August 22 at the Waukon Middle School. Visitors are asked to enter through the auditorium entrance on the east side of the building, and parking can be found in the lot between the Middle School and West Elementary.

The Regional Welding Lab is a partnership between the Allamakee Community School District (ACSD), Allamakee County Economic Development (ACED) and Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC). ACSD Superintendent Jay Mathis said, “We are so appreciative of the partnership we have with NICC and their role in making this opportunity available to our students, especially the work of Erica Nosbisch. I would also like to give credit to Mr. Dave Herold, Mr. Caleb Ferring and our school board for their vision, hard work and support of this endeavor.”

by Brianne Eilers

Work continues on the renovations at the East Elementary school building in Waukon. The building is now sporting new windows, doors, flooring, LED lighting, new ceilings and also has a new VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow) heating and cooling system.

Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Superintendent Jay Mathis explained that when considering this project the district had to focus on the overall scope and what could realistically be completed during the summer break from the school year. East and West Elementary Schools Principal Joe Griffith noted that “we are where we thought we would be in this process,” as far as the timing.

The East Elementary library has been completed and the majority of the school’s windows have been installed. Several of the classrooms are also finished and staff has been moving things back into the completed rooms to get ready for the first day of school this Friday, August 23.