A little over a dozen people attended an in-person community meeting Tuesday, July 25 at the Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center in Lansing, aimed at identifying needs, desires and concerns that residents and visitors have for the Main Street/Highway 9 corridor through Lansing. The meeting was the fourth in a series of work sessions led by Aaron Detter, senior transportation planner with Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC) in Decorah, on the Main Street/Highway 9 Corridor Visioning Plan. Two earlier work sessions involved the Lansing City Council, and one involved business and property owners along the Main Street corridor.
Join the Allamakee County Conservation Board for a guided Mississippi River backwater paddling adventure August 17, starting at 6 p.m. and returning to the landing by sunset at the New Albin Army Road Boat Landing.
Participants are welcome to use their own canoe or kayak but must follow all rules and regulations in accordance with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). A limited number of solo and tandem kayaks will be available to use from the Allamakee County Conservation Board (ACCB) provided with paddles and life jackets.
Advanced registration is required for this series of programs. To register or reserve a kayak, call 563-538-0403. Solo participants are encouraged to register, but may be paired with other paddlers in a tandem kayak if using Allamakee County Conservation Board equipment.
To the Editor: What is “woke”? During the last political cycle, many politicians started to use the term “woke.” What does “woke” mean? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “woke” means “aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).”
Another definition of woke is: “Woke means awakened to the needs of others. To be well informed, thoughtful, compassionate, humble and kind. Eager to make the world a better place for all people.” (AudreyLovesParis)
What is bad or wrong about being “woke”? Shouldn’t we be aware of the facts and the needs of others around us - poverty, hunger, polluted water and air, educational needs, racial injustice, and inflation, to name a few.
If we can agree on these needs, then we can try to make Iowa and the United States a better place by working toward solutions for these needs. Why is being “woke” a bad thing?
To the Editor:
A group of ladies from Zion United Church of Christ gathered with the goal of doing something good for our community. FTK, or Feed the Kids, was born. They collaborated with many people and groups to carry this project off. I see so many wonderful things from this project.
1. Gathering children for food and socializing (I heard talking; I observed no cell phones.)
2. Adults modeling service for children (Modeling what we want our children to do.)
3. Appreciative children and families (Many pleases, thank yous, and smiles!)
4. Church families taking on the task of serving for a week at a time as well as one church providing take-home breakfast for the next day (Community Collaboration!)
5. A project that was able to touch so many people in our community (Just look at the number and range of kids under age 18 this program was able to have an impact on!)
To the Editor:
“Because that’s the way we do it here” In Bon Jovi’s song, “Who says you can’t go home?”, the lyrics reflect a wandering soul who worked hard to escape his small town and whose travels have led him far away from his home. He sings of the irony in realizing that the only road he now wants to take is the road home where everyone knows him and calls him “one of their own”.
I traveled that road home as I returned home to NE Iowa for nearly three months this summer. Although the reason for my return was not what I wished, there was a great blessing in being home. As I walked the familiar streets of my hometown seeing faces I’ve known all my life, I was greeted with smiles, hugs, and the occasional question, “You’re the Wonderlich girl who’s the opera singer, aren’t you?” I was welcomed back as if no time had passed since my leaving.
Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
September 1: Dairy Margin Coverage Premiums Due
November 1: Organic Certification Cost-Share and Transition/Education Certification Program
Annual Forages for Grazing by Jacob Hawes, Area Grazing Specialist
If producers are looking to improve the soil health on their farm or a way to extend the grazing season and reduce reliance on stored feed, there may be a new cost-share opportunity available with NRCS. A new conservation practice has been created to introduce annual forages into grazing systems and help producers supplement existing forages. For producers interested, NRCS will develop a plan to seed a multispecies mix of annual forages to be grazed by livestock or harvested for later feeding. This practice could be used in conjunction with other conservation practices in a soil health plan or grazing system.
On-farm nitrogen rate trial research and nutrient management will be featured at four field days across Iowa in August and September as part of the Iowa Nitrogen Initiative’s summer 2023 Field Day Series.
The INI, which is a partnership between Iowa State University, agricultural service providers and Iowa farmers, leverages the latest advances in precision agriculture and cropping systems modeling to improve nitrogen fertilizer recommendations for Iowa farmers. The project is farmer-focused and provides farmers with information that they can use to improve productivity, profitability and environmental performance on Iowa farms.
The Annual Fall Field Day at the ISU Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm will begin at 12 p.m. with a complimentary meal, sponsored by the Iowa Soybean Association, and run until 4:30 p.m. Thursday, August 31. At 1 p.m., Sotirios Archontoulis, Iowa State University associate professor of agronomy, will provide his insights on what the effects of drought and smoke have on corn and soybean. Lee Burras, Iowa State University Morrill professor of agronomy, will discuss how the soil profile affects rooting depth and yield by the utilization of a soil pit. Company representatives from Bayer® and Pioneer® Hybrids, will provide updates and management considerations on short stature corn. Erin Hodgson, Iowa State University extension entomologist, will give a corn rootworm research and management update.
ER Department continues as highly rated Level IV trauma facility following survey ... The Emergency Department was recently surveyed by five professionals from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Emergency Medicine and Trauma Services, who intensely investigated the policies, procedures, and equipment in the department. This verification happens every three years to ensure Veterans Memorial Hospital is meeting the criteria and to offer feedback on what can be done to improve the trauma program. The survey results were very successful with some key take-aways on how to improve the program. Pictured outside of the Veterans Memorial Hospital ER is the team who helped complete the survey, including John Kelly, ER Provider; Jayne McCormick, Chief Nursing Officer; Callie Thorson, ER Supervisor; Jacob Dougherty, EMS Supervisor; Dr. Dave Schwartz; and Michael Coyle, Chief Executive Officer. Submitted photo.
The Emergency Department at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon was recently surveyed by five professionals from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Emergency Medicine and Trauma Services, who intensely investigated the policies, procedures and equipment in the department. Callie Thorson, Emergency Room (ER) Supervisor, coordinated the survey with the team members.
To be a level IV trauma facility, there are several criteria that need to be met yearly. This verification happens every three years to ensure Veterans Memorial Hospital is meeting that criteria and to offer feedback on what can be done to improve the trauma program.
Waukon Lions Club donates to VMH Diabetes Education Program ... The Waukon Lions Club recently made a sizable donation to the Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Education Program in support of their mission to promote self management and learning relating to diabetes and vision impairment. This donation will fund the purchasing of diabetes education reference materials for patients as well as funding one-on-one diabetes consultations for those without insurance who need this scholarship to obtain this useful education. Pictured above, from left to right, are Roger Bublitz of the Waukon Lions Club, Waukon Lions Club President Tom Phipps, Angie Mettille, RN/BSN, Certified Diabetes Educator, and Neal Daley, Secretary of the Waukon Lions Club. Submitted photo.
The Waukon Lions Club recently made a sizable donation to the Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Education Program in support of their mission to promote self-management and learning relating to diabetes and vision impairment. This donation is two-fold and will fund the purchasing of diabetes education reference materials for patients, as well as offer the option of funding one-on-one diabetes consultations for those without insurance who need this scholarship to obtain this useful education.
“One of the main missions of Lions Club International is to improve the lives of those living with diabetes, and to help the blind and visually impaired,” states Neal Daley, Secretary of the Waukon Lions Club. “Since diabetes and visual impairment can go hand-in-hand, we feel this donation meets the Lions Club mission on a local level, supporting our nationally certified Diabetes Education Program that is offered right here at Veterans Memorial Hospital.”
