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Saturday, December 9, the St. Patrick School RoboCats robotics team competed in a First Lego League (FLL)  regional competition held at the Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School in Dubuque. The theme of the 2017 First Lego League season is Hydrodynamics.

Thirty teams of students, ranging in age from nine to 16, competed in the three major areas of First Lego League including Core Values, Robot Design and Robot Game, and Hydrodynamics Project.  Teams were judged in the areas of Core Values, Robot Design and Hydrodynamics Project, and they received points for each mission that was completed during the Robot Game matches. At the end of the competition, the judges tabulate points and choose teams to advance to the state competition held on the campus of the Iowa State University College of Engineering in Ames January 13-14.

Students in Kindergarten through fifth grade in the Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) under the direction of art instructor Carlyn Lechtenberg had their artwork selected to be put on display at the Keystone Area Education Agency (AEA) building in Elkader during the months of January and February. The art displays are open to the public for viewing during office hours. Students whose artwork was selected for the display include Kaleb Finn, Ada Iverson, Roland Melcher, Laryn Bulman, Raleigh Lonning, Emma Retallick, Sutton Jones, Mariesa Gibbs and Kelby Cahalan. Their artwork is pictured above and labeled accordingly. Submitted images.
 

Prairie Industries' Lansing location donated to the Allamakee Giving Tree sponsored by the Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation (NEICAC) Allamakee County Family Service Office. Staff members of Prairie Industries collected and donated $1,590 and several boxes of new toys and canned food items (all pictured above) to give to families in need in Allamakee County. The items were donated to the Northeast Iowa Community Action Family Service Office in Waukon so that office could provide gifts and food to families in Allamakee County in time for the holidays. Submitted photo.
 

The top three winners of the viewer’s choice Gingerbread House Decorating Contest sponsored by the Robey Memorial Library Foundation were recently announced. A total of 17 displays were entered in the contest in early December and library patrons voted on their top choices over a several week period. The entries that received the top three vote totals are pictured above and at left in the surrounding photos with the individuals who created them, including Ashlee Thorstenson (top far left), Diana Torres (immediate left) and Natalie Byrnes (top right above). Each of the three top vote recipients received an Amazon Fire 7 tablet from the Robey Memorial Library Foundation. Submitted photos.
 

Both the Kee and Waukon athletic teams will be returning to competition following the holiday break, starting that return shortly after the new year begins. That schedule for both the Hawks’ and Indians’ returns to competition in the initial weeks of January is slated as follows:

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The Kee boys and girls basketball teams will return from their holiday break with competition toward the end of the week following the New Year holiday, beginning Thursday, January 4 with the Kee boys playing host to Houston, MN. Both the boys and girls will then play at Clayton Ridge Friday, January 5 before both host Starmont Tuesday, January 9 and then play at MFL/MarMac Friday, January 12.

In its lone competition prior to entering the current holiday break, the Waukon boys basketball team rode a bit of a rollercoaster before finally coming away with a 67-59 home victory over Decorah in Northeast Iowa Conference play Thursday, December 21. Much like any teenager would try and do with such a ride, the basketball Indians took advantage of as many free rides as they could get in racking up a 27-7 scoring advantage at the free throw line over the visiting Vikings, nearly half of those freebies providing 13 of the Tribe’s 16 points in the final frame to help seal the victory.

Just like many holiday travelers, the Waukon girls basketball team was on the road this past week, wrapping up the 2017 portion of this season’s schedule with a pair of final pre-holiday contests. Unlike many during the holiday season, however, the basketball Indians were better at receiving than giving, as they handed out a pair of losses to their guests and came home with an undefeated week of competition, first unwrapping a 62-43 win at Clayton Ridge Monday, December 18 before gifting a 37-32 Viking defeat to the Decorah girls Thursday, December 21.

Entering the holiday break with a 6-3 season record, including a 4-1 mark in Northeast Iowa Conference play, Waukon will return to action after the holidays with a pair of home games, Tuesday, January 2 against MFL/MarMac and Friday, January 5 against Charles City.

The Kee girls basketball team brought the 2017 portion of this season’s schedule to completion in strong defensive fashion with a pair of non-conference victories over teams from different states, likely reaching a defensive effort of record proportions in its final game before the holiday break. The Hawks opened the week with a 52-23 home triumph over Mabel-Canton, MN Tuesday, December 19 before posting that epic defensive stifling two nights later in a 59-9 hammering of De Soto, WI Thursday, December 21, also at home, to extend Kee’s current winning streak to six games.

That six-game streak of success has the Hawks entering the holiday break with a 9-1 season record, including an undefeated mark of 5-0 in Upper Iowa Conference play. Kee is scheduled to return to action following the current holiday break with a Friday, January 5 road game at Clayton Ridge before hosting Starmont Tuesday, January 9, both of those games being Upper Iowa Conference contests.

Donna Mae Radloff, age 95, passed away peacefully at home in Alexandria, MN under the care of Knute Nelson Hospice Saturday, December 16, 2017. A Celebration of Life and a private burial will take place at a later date.

Donna Mae Radloff was born August 9, 1922, the daughter of Donald and Lillian (Vogt) Oleke, in Farmersburg. She was confirmed at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Farmersburg in 1936.

After high school Donna married Homer Moritz. They were blessed with three children, David, Paul and Mary. Homer passed away in 1950. Donna later married Charles Dohrer; this union was blessed with one daughter, Kathrine. In 1963 Chuck passed away. Ten years later she married James (Bud) Courtney, who passed away four years later. February 2, 1979, Donna married school classmate Ken Radloff. They were married 37 years until his passing in August 2016.

Alice Irene Harberts of Ankeny, formerly of Postville, Oelwein and Waterloo, died Sunday, December 3, 2017 at Grandview Healthcare Center in Oelwein. Funeral Services were held Saturday, December 16 at Community Presbyterian Church, Postville with Rev. Cathy Young as the Officiant.

Alice was born February 8, 1951 to Upton and Goldie (Barrett) Peck in Decorah. She graduated from Postville High School, earned her BA in Social Work from the University of Northern Iowa in 1988 and her MSW from the University of Iowa in 1995.

Alice was united in marriage with Sidney Harberts November 22, 1969.  They had two children, Richard and Amy. They divorced in 2001 and Alice was united in marriage with Diane Kent December 18, 2011 in Ankeny.