News Center newsletter

Brian and Amanda Streeper of Waterville announce the birth of their son, Japheth Bennen Streeper, born February 16, 2017 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. He weighed 8 lbs. 10 ozs. and measured 21-1/2 inches in length at the time of his birth. He joins siblings, August (6), Ivy (3-1/2) and Sutton (2).

Grandparents are Nick and LuAnn Rolling of Waterville and Doug and Nancy Streeper of Solon. Great-grandparents are Kenneth and Marilyn Streeper of Anamosa and Alice Rolling of Moorland.
 

Matt and Shelby Preston of Guttenberg announce the birth of their daughter, Harper Kayla Preston, born February 16, 2017 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. She weighed 7 lbs. 8 ozs. and measured 20-1/4 inches in length at the time of her birth. She joins a sister, Eleanora (15 months).

Grandparents are Rich and Deb Preston of Guttenberg and David and Karla Hammel of Dorchester.

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

When working with the local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office to transfer land ownership, change operators or a corporation, LLC or partnership, landowners are reminded to stop by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office, or contract payments may be in jeopardy.

“Any time there is a change in the control of the land under contract, the contract holder must complete paperwork at the NRCS office to transfer control to the new owner or operator,” said Jon Hubbert, assistant state conservationist for programs.

Landowners must complete Form NRCS-CPA-152 Conservation Program Contract Transfer Agreement within 60 days of the ownership change or land transfer. If not, NRCS will not be able to make contract payments and the contract holder may be liable for financial damages and improper payments, he said.

“Most land transfers are completed by March 1, so this paperwork needs to be completed at the NRCS office by May 1 or earlier,” Hubbert said.

by Sara Berges, Allamakee SWCD Project Coordinator

Cover crops have received increased interest in the last few years due to their many soil health benefits. There has also been increased utilization of herbicides with residual activity to allow them to have long-lasting impact on weed management. However, this may also interfere with the establishment and growth of cover crops. When planning cover crops for the fall, it is important to consider the weed management program that will be used.

The first question to consider is whether or not you plan to graze the cover crop or harvest it for feed. If you answer “yes” to this question, then you, by law, must follow the rotational restrictions listed on the chemical label.  However, many cover crops are not listed in the rotational restriction information. If that is the case, the rotational restriction for “other crops” must be followed.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that the older one gets, the more things there are that remind us of events long past. And sometimes those memories are a bit hazy.

Whenever President Trump appears in front of a crowd with reporters and cameramen present, the noise of camera shutters clicking is very loud and intrusive. I suspect that was true of past presidents as well, but I probably notice it more since President Trump makes himself available for many more such appearances than did, for example, his predecessor.

That reminds me of my first experience with cameras in the courtroom. It was probably in the 1970s when the state legislature gave its approval, despite objections from the judiciary. Judges were afraid trial pailicipants, and attorneys in particular, would play to the cameras.

To the Editor:

The Luster Heights facility is now closed just two weeks after State House Representative Kristi Hager and State Senator Michael Breitbach cast their votes for a budget which cut $5.5 million from the Department of Corrections. Their votes have had negative ramifications for Allamakee County, those employed at Luster Heights, the inmates, and the taxpayers.

The many ways the Luster Heights inmates benefited the county were underscored at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting. Since the 1990s, Luster Heights inmates worked 200 days a year on secondary road maintenance for a nominal fee of $5 per day. This saved the taxpayer a great deal of money. The work the inmates did at the Waukon City Park was described as the benefits far outweighing the costs.

To the Editor:

With Iowa’s underage and binge drinking exceeding national averages and overdoses from prescription drugs near all-time highs, Iowa lawmakers fear that legalizing medical cannabis is a “slippery slope” to harder drug use and say that the medical cannabis intended for children like my four-year-old son with intractable epilepsy would end up in the “wrong hands”.

According to a 2016 document titled “Drug Trends in Iowa” from the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy, 50% of Iowans use alcohol, making it the “drug of choice” and between 72 - 82.1 out of 100 Iowans have pain killer prescriptions. Yet, our state continues to lag behind in helping Iowa’s most medically complex individuals.

In states with medical cannabis laws, opiate abuse actually declines. According to a study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine in October 2016, opiate-related deaths decreased by 33% within six years in states that legalized cannabis from 1999-2010.

Additional awards distributed at Friday’s annual banquet can be found on Page 4A in this week’s print and e-edition of The Standard.

Pick up this week's print edition or subscribe to our e-edition by clicking here.
 

by Lissa Blake

The conditions for the 57th annual Yellow River bird count were perfect. That’s according to Larry Reis, the northeast Iowa naturalist who compiles the results each year.

Each year, the Yellow River bird count is among hundreds taking place across the nation. Data is compiled and submitted to the National Audubon Society.

The 2016 Yellow River bird count took place Tuesday, December 20. Eight area birders spent the day counting birds in a 15-mile radius spanning from north of Effigy Mounds to Waterville, Harpers Ferry, Wexford, Marquette and across the Mississippi River to Prairie du Chien, WI. Reis said December 20 was a sunny day that stayed around 30 degrees.

“We had eight observers, but we could always use more,” said Reis.

The December count spotted a total of 51 different species making up 2,912 individual birds. Highlights included two American black ducks, which were found along the Mississippi.