News Center newsletter

Daniel J. Klees, 64, of Marion, formerly of Waukon, died Thursday, March 1, 2018 at this home. A visitation will be held Wednesday, March 7 from 4-7 p.m. at Martin Funeral Home in Waukon. Graveside services will be held at a later date.

Daniel Joel Klees was born December 6, 1953 in Waukon to Paul and Coral (Moose) Klees. He graduated from Waukon High School. After graduating, he worked at the local factory and on area farms. Later, he joined the Waukon Police Department and also drove school bus for many years. During that time, he married Laura Gallagher and had four children. The couple divorced and he moved to Lawler, where he ended his law enforcement career as Police Chief. He moved to Marion and continued working for Croell Redi-Mix and later ADM.

D. Laurayne Beisker, 84, of Waukon died Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Funeral services were held Friday, March 2 at Iron Ridge Church in Waukon with Pastor Bryan Mincks officiating. Laurayne has donated her body to Des Moines University following the service. Inurnment will be at a later date at Maple Hill “Bigfoot” Cemetery, rural Rossville.

Darlene Laurayne Beisker was born January 2, 1934 on her parents’ farm in Linton Township, Allamakee County, rural Monona; she was the daughter of Wesley and Greta (Palmer) Thias. Laurayne was baptized and confirmed at Rossville Presbyterian Church. She attended the “Bigfoot” rural school through fourth grade and in 1951 graduated from Waterville High School; she then attended NITI (now NICC) in Calmar.

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) completed a stakeholder survey earlier this year, which resulted in 193 total responses from students, teachers, support staff, parents, community members, administrators, and alumni. The results conveyed clear desired qualifications for the school district's new superintendent, which included:
• Builds school and community relations
• Visible in the school and community
• Effectively manages district resources
• Ability to lead school improvement efforts
• Strong communication skills.
The initial candidate pool included 18 total applicants. Seven candidates were from outside the state of Iowa, eight candidates had superintendent experience, and five candidates had an Ed.D. or Ph.D. degree. Based on application materials, references and screening interviews, the following finalists have been named as those who best fit the desired qualifications for the position:

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that there is an old saying that a fish out of water starts to rot from the head down.

That occurred to me as a result of all the bad publicity the once sacrosanct Federal Bureau of Investigation is inviting upon itself.

There has been a handful of top FBI officers who have expressed disdain for and dislike of the politics or personality of the duly-elected president, both when he was a candidate and since his election.

That is contrary to the expectation that such high ranking officials, and indeed even local agents, are supposed to keep their personal politics separate from their work activities.

And along comes the recent mass shooting at that school in Florida.

Federal, state and local law officers are fond of saying, “if you see something, say something” about suspicious individuals or activities.

In the February 14, 2018 issue of The Standard, there was a front page article about the car accident which claimed the lives of Joan Lyons and Mary Engrav. I was able to witness some of the outpouring of condolences and support given to their family members, and the community involvement in celebrating their lives.

There have been several tragic deaths in our area over the past few weeks. As one person said: “Our entire community is grieving.” Questions often asked are: “How do we get through this?”, and  “What can I do to help?” There are a variety of ways we can respond and help one another.

To the Editor:

Maybe we could talk more about how thankful we should be for toast: wimpy milk toast, toasted grill cheese, or trying to eat “just a piece of toast” when you’re not feeling well. Then there is always the possibility someone is not feeling well because they got toasted the night before.

We have garlic toast, French toast, BLTs on toast.  Oh, and the response a waiter or waitress loves when they serve a beautiful triple decker sandwich and the customer says, “Didn’t I say I wanted that on toast?”

Then, of course, there are toasted marshmallows that usually end up burned. I know I really appreciate it when some unexpected guest shows up commenting on how my house smells like burnt toast when they walk in the door.

Let’s not forget, peanut butter and jelly on toast, eggs and toast or creamed dried beef on toast. Since chemotherapy there have been many times my stomach could only handle plain toast.

by Jeremy Leitz, Allamakee County Executive Director (563) 568-2148

Submit Loan Requests for Financing Early
The Farm Loan team in Allamakee and Winneshiek Counties are already working on operating loans for spring 2018 so it is important that potential borrowers submit their requests early so they can be timely processed. The farm loan team can help determine which loan programs are best for applicants. 

FSA offers a wide range of low-interest loans that can meet the financial needs of any farm operation for just about any purpose. The traditional farm operating and farm ownership loans can help large and small farm operations take advantage of early purchasing discounts for spring inputs as well expenses throughout the year. 

A study conducted by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University explores the potential economic benefits to drinking water, recreation and health through meeting the targets of Iowa’s statewide strategy for reducing nutrients.

The study highlights that reducing nitrates and improving water quality in rivers and lakes would increase recreation benefits, and may reduce adverse health outcomes for people exposed to high nitrates in drinking water.

The study was led by Chuan Tang, a postdoctoral researcher, and Gabriel Lade, Assistant Professor of Economics, along with: David Keiser, Assistant Professor of Economics; Catherine Kling, Director of the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development and a Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Department of Economics; Yongjie Ji, an Assistant Scientist; and Yau-Huo Shr, a Postdoctoral Researcher.

Some 7,000 poultry and livestock producers who must file a manure management plan can now file their MMP electronically three years out of four.

Producers can learn how to “Save Money and Time - File your MMP Online,” at a 1 p.m., February 28 webinar.  Pre-register now on the DNR’s eMMP webpage.

DNR staff will discuss the benefits of online filing (including filing and paying fees from home, office or smart phone), creating a login ID, submitting the plan, paying fees and assigning rights to their consultants. Farmers and their consultants can file and pay fees for multiple plans at one time.

“One of the big benefits is eliminating the drive to county offices to get a signature in each county where manure will be applied,” said Ted Petersen, DNR supervisor. “If everyone uses the eMMP, DNR estimates the online solution will save driving at least 178,000 miles per year.”

Veterans Memorial Hospital began nuclear cardiac stress testing within its Cardiac Rehab unit in 2008. The convenience of having these nuclear tests offered on a local level has been well received by many in the community since it began.

Nuclear Cardiac Stress Testing offers two different methods, both highly effective in detecting heart disease. These two new forms of nuclear stress testing are called the Exercise Nuclear Stress Test and Lexiscan Nuclear Imaging. Both methods can increase the likelihood of finding heart disease by 20% when compared to traditional treadmill stress tests.