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Descendants of Erik and Anna Gjefle are invited to meet Wednesday, September 23 at 11:30 a.m. at Lid’s Bar & Grill in Waukon. Questions may be directed to Cathy Larson at 563-380-6095.
 

Scott and Leeta Votsmier of Waukon announce the birth of their son, Murphy Lane Votsmier, born August 31, 2026 at Gundersen Hospital in La Crosse, WI. He weighed 8 lbs. 5 ozs. and measured 20-3/4 inches in length at the time of his birth. He joins siblings, Henley (6), Mace (5) and Mick (2).

Grandparents are Dan and Jane Sivesind and Chuck and Lois Votsmier, all of Waukon. Carol Sivesind of Waukon is a great-grandparent.
 

Savannah Wangsness and Mitchel Taake of Elkader announce the birth of their son, Jamison Henry Taake, born August 28, 2026 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. He weighed 9 lbs. 2 ozs. and measured 22 inches in length at the time of his birth. He joins a sister, Wrenlee Taake (1).
 

Marvin and Luella Miller of Waukon announce the birth of their daughter, Amy Jolene Miller, born August 28, 2026 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. She weighed 6 lbs. 3 ozs. and measured 20 inches in length at the time of her birth.

Grandparents are Melvin and Martha Miller of Cornell, WI and Mel and Barb Hershberger of Waukon. Great-grandparents are Clem and Anna Miller of Cornell, WI, Noah and Percilla Borntrager of Cornell, WI, Mose and Sara Hershberger of Lavalle, WI and Dan and Sylvia Borntrager of Clermont.
 

In its lone competition of this past week, the Waukon girls cross country team competed in a meet loaded with some highly-regarded schools in the smallest two classes of Iowa high school competition at the Bob Scott Memorial Invitational hosted by North Fayette Valley High School in West Union Thursday, September 10. Rated third in Class 2A itself in the latest Iowa Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association polls, the distance Tribe ran to a second-place finish in that field of 12 scored teams, scoring 86 team points to finish behind Class 2A eighth-rated Jesup’s 60 team points, and just ahead of Class 2A 10th-rated MFL/MarMac’s 93 team points, with Class 1A fourth-rated Sumner-Fredericksburg rounding out the meet’s top-four teams in the meet’s final team scoring.

The Waukon girls were next scheduled to compete at the Starmont Invitational scheduled for Tuesday, September 15 before preparing for their own home invitational Tuesday, September 22.

After sitting idle from competition for more than a week following a home schedule opener September 1, the Kee volleyball team returned to the court for a busy latter half of this past week with dual match and tournament competition. The Lady Hawks recorded their first Upper Iowa Conference match victory in three seasons with a five-set marathon triumph at home over Clayton Ridge Thursday, September 10, before playing in the annual Kepros Tournament hosted by Crestwood High School in Cresco and coming up short of a match victory in five bouts of round-robin play Saturday, September 12.

The Hawks are next scheduled to host South Winneshiek Tuesday, September 15 before playing in the Waukon Invitational Tournament Saturday, September 19. They will then travel to Central Elkader Tuesday, September 22 before playing at New Hampton Tuesday, September 29.

The Waukon volleyball team played in a pair of dual matches on its schedule this past week against a pair of its closest rivals on the court, with the net Tribe ultimately playing to a split of those two bouts. The Lady Indians opened their home schedule treating their home fans to a thrilling five-set marathon victory over former Northeast Iowa Conference colleague Decorah Tuesday, September 8 before traveling to the home of defending Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) champion North Fayette Valley just two nights later and suffering a match sweep loss in three sets to currently hold a 1-2 start to their 2026 campaign.

Deadlines/Dates
September 30: Deadline to Complete Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Mid-Contract Management on the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP); Deadline to remove livestock from Non-Emergency Grazing of Conservation Reserve Program; Deadline to apply for the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP)  Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 1 Quality Loss; Office Fiscal Year Rollover
October 1: Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) Mid-Contract Management on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Opens
December 31: Deadline to Apply for Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP)

Ruth Ann “Annie” Teff, 80, of Sun City, AZ, passed away peacefully Tuesday, September 8, 2026 at Hospice of the Valley in Glendale, AZ. A memorial service was held at Willowbrook United Methodist Church, Sun City, AZ, Sunday, September 13. A family service and celebration of life will be held in Iowa at a later date.

Memorial donations may be directed to the Stephen Ministry at Willowbrook United Methodist Church in Sun City, AZ, the Nature Conservancy, or Bethlehem Presbyterian Cemetery in Postville.

Ruth Ann Klocke was born in Waukon May 30, 1946, to Reuben and Margaret (Miene) Klocke, joining her older siblings, Betty and Merlyn. She was baptized and confirmed in the Christian faith at Bethlehem Presbyterian Church, Postville. Annie attended Ludlow Country School and graduated from Waukon High School where she was a drummer in the band and was named Class Valedictorian in 1964.

Wanderings of a Wayward Follower of Jesus

Blessings Everyone!

Have you heard the phase, “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished”? The meaning of this phase as paraphrased from Wikipedia is; “Beneficial actions often go unappreciated or are met with outright hostility. And if they are appreciated, they often lead to additional requests.”

In the Bible, we read this about good deeds and being punished for them, John 10:32, “Jesus answered them, ‘I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?’”

After Jesus fed the 5,000, the people kept following Him, but Jesus called them out by saying they were only following Him because He did good deeds.

I was an eye witness to this phase. At a previous appointment I became involved in the local Optimist Club. One of our members - I will call her Jane - suggested a giveaway project to offer a free bike to elementary age kids.