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The inaugural Driftless Half-Marathon Relay and 5K event held October 13 between Harpers Ferry and Lansing had more than 220 runners registered, with 187 of those actually finishing the event. The first-year event, under the direction of Amanda Hess, raised a total of $3,600 that has since been donated to area non-profit organizations such as the Lansing Fire Department, Lansing Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Harpers Ferry Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Lansing Lions Club, Lansing Swimming Pool Water Aerobics, Friends of Pool 9, Kee High School/Middle School Activities and the Waukon High School Girls Cross Country Club.

The Kee High School Post Prom Committee will host Bingo Sunday, December 2 in the Kee High School cafeteria in Lansing. Games will start at 4 p.m., with doors opening at 3:30 p.m.

Participants can bring a non-perishable food item or $1 donation and play an extra Bingo card free. All donations will be given to LIFT (Lansing Iowa Food Trust). All players will be eligible for a door prize drawing at intermission. Proceeds will be used to fund 2019 Post Prom prizes and entertainment.
 

The Allamakee County Conservation Board and filmmakers from Untamed Science will host the Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center premier of “Decoding the Driftless” Saturday, December 15. There will be two showings at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center in Lansing. “Decoding the Driftless” is the sequel to the popular Emmy award winning “Mysteries of the Driftless.”

The documentary will take viewers on a wild ride of adventure through the air, across rugged landscapes, on and under water, through a secret underworld, and across time itself to explore and decipher ancient clues of the Driftless Region, with its captivating scenic beauty. The premier will begin with an introduction from writer and producer George Howe and be followed by the 62-minute “Decoding the Driftless.”

Seats are limited and anyone interested in attending the premier must register in advance by calling 563-538-0401.

A Friday, December 7 event will see the Waukon High School gymnasium dedicated in honor and in the name of a man who likely spent more time and touched more lives in that same gym and during his coaching and teaching career than anyone else. During that Friday, December 7 home game series against Oelwein for the Waukon girls basketball team, a ceremony will be held between the junior varsity and varsity contests to unveil what will be the newly dedicated Dave Schoeberlein Gymnasium at Waukon High School.

In a reversal of recent trends for the two teams, the end result of the last four years was also reversed as the now Class 3A top 10-rated Waukon girls basketball team came away with a 50-37 victory against a Kee girls basketball team working to overcome the graduation loss of a majority of the leadership from its own top 10-rated seasons in recent years. Having swept the Indians in each of the past four seasons since their intra-county match-up has been renewed, the host Hawks held a lead midway through the third quarter before the Indians ended that frame with a 9-0 run on the way to a 21-4 final outscoring that secured the Kee defeat.

The two teams traded blows and leads through the game’s first two and a half quarters, each squad’s pressure defense giving the other team fits at various times throughout the contest. The Indians ultimately came away with 20 steals, shooting nearly 50% from the field, with Kee not having any other statistics reported by press time.

The Kee boys basketball team will look to reap the benefits of veteran experience as seven returning letterwinners return for Coach Pat Sullivan for the 2018-2019 season. That veteran crew includes at least four of the Hawks’ top five contributors in every statistical category from last winter’s campaign that yielded a 4-19 overall record, including a 3-10 mark in Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) play that placed Kee in ninth place in the final 10-team UIC standings.

Those seven returning letterwinners include five seniors in Jacob Berns, Dylan Walleser, Josh Walleser, Ryan Whalen and Shawn Wild, with juniors Lewis Peters and Cade Rasque also returning with varsity letterwinning experience. “I look to them to have a winning attitude, to pick each other up when we’re down, to keep working when we’re up, to compete every day in practice, and to set the tone for the entire program,” Coach Sullivan said of his letterwinning returnees.

The Waukon boys basketball team will return four letterwinners for its 2018-2019 season, that experience running the spectrum of including this season’s three seniors all the way down to just one sophomore. That veteran crew leads a group of 34 young men hitting the hardcourt for the Indians’ boys program this season and returns from a squad that played to the Tribe’s best season record in nearly a dozen years at 14-9 overall, including a 7-5 mark in Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) play that placed the Indians in a tie for third place in the final NEIC standings.

Those returning letterwinners include the senior trio of Michael Headington, Pryce Hesse and Michael Sweeney, along with sophomore Creed Welch. Sweeney was the only one of that quartet who was consistently in the Tribe’s starting line-up, as graduation took away nine seniors from last winter’s squad.

The Waukon bowling teams got their 2018-2019 seasons underway hosting Waverly-Shell Rock Tuesday, November 20. Despite each of them fielding the top individual scorers in the competition, both the girls team and the boys team lost to the Go-Hawks, the Lady Indians falling by a final result of 1844-2126 and the Waukon boys surrendering a margin of 2482-2623.

The Indians were next scheduled to host Tripoli Friday, November 30. The bowling Tribe will then hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to North Iowa Friday, December 7.

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James L. Klemp, 70, of rural Waukon died Friday, November 23, 2018 at his home. Private family services will be held later at Oakland Cemetery in Waukon. Martin Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements.

James Lee Klemp was born December 12, 1947 in rural Tripoli, the son of Lester and Esther (Schneider) Klemp. Jim grew up in the Readlyn area and graduated from Sumner High School. A farmer for most of his life, Jim moved around with his parents, renting farms throughout northeast Iowa, and he also worked with other farmers. He liked doing crop work and raising dairy cows. Jim also loved having other animals on the farm, particularly cats and dogs.

December 11, 1990, Jim married Sharon (Rubendall) Goeke at her sister’s house in Frankville. For 21 years, he also worked at the Decorah Walmart, retiring in 2012. Though he mostly liked spending time at home, Jim did enjoy visiting with friends and playing dominoes.

The 2018 Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation’s Christmas Fantasy was held last weekend, November 9-12 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon and was a huge success thanks to all of the overwhelming community involvement. A record number of auction items were donated to this year’s Fantasy by area businesses and individuals.  The 114 auction items were displayed and auctioned on a silent auction bid to the highest bidder Monday night at 7 p.m.