News Center newsletter

Roger Mahr and Vicky Kurk, and Jeff and Rebecca Hawes, all of Waukon, parents of the bride-to-be, and Bruce and Sheila Snitker of Waukon, parents of the groom-to-be, announce the engagement and upcoming wedding of their children, Ciara Mahr and Matthew Snitker, both originally of Waukon. The wedding ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, September 23, 2017 at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon.

The bride-to-be is a 2006 graduate of Waukon High School, a 2011 graduate of the University of Northern Iowa with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and recently completed a Master’s degree in Education from Morningside College. She is currently employed as a teacher at Waukon Middle School.

Family, friends and relatives of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Kugel are invited to a celebration at the Farmers and Merchants Savings Bank Community Room in Waukon September 30 from 2-4 p.m. The couple recently exchanged vows and this event is being held for those unable to attend the wedding ceremony in Florida.

The couple requests no gifts but cards are welcome. For those unable to attend, cards may be sent to 2336 Aquilos Ave. SE, Palm Bay, FL 32909.

Taylor and Luke Schulte of Waukon announce the birth of their son, Greyson Darwin Schulte, born September 1, 2017 at Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse, WI. He weighed 8 lbs. 9 ozs. and measured 22 inches in length at the time of his birth. He joins a brother, Gabriel (2).

Grandparents are Sharon and Darwin Schlake of Waukon, Bryan Schulte of Waukon and Cyndi Schulte of Waukon. Great-grandparents are Darlene and Chester Schlake of Waukon, Shirley and James Stortz of Waukon, Shirley Schulte of Waukon and Karen Hudecek of Cresco.
 

Josh and Courtney Hedeman of Luana announce the birth of their daughter, Arzayla J. Hedeman, born September 4, 2017 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. She weighed 8 lbs. 7 ozs. and measured 21 inches in length at the time of her birth. She joins siblings, Carszn (3) and Jazlee-Jo (1).

Grandparents are Robyn and Lori Hedeman of Harpers Ferry and Tim Alberts of Lansing. Great-grandparents are Imelda and Emmett Nesteby of Lansing.

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• September 1 – December 15: 2018 Margin Protection Program Sign-Up
• September 30: End of fiscal year for FSA

Fall-Seeded Crops
For producers who have any fall seeded crops, such as hay and pasture, you have until December 15, 2017 to get those acres certified for the 2018 crop year.  Failure to do so will result in a late file fee for each farm with hay or pasture. 

Managed Haying Requests
For those who have stopped in to request managed haying on your CRP ground, make sure the bales are off that ground by September 30. 

Iowa Department of Agriculture and Farm Bureau celebrated families that have owned a farm for 100 years or 150 years

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey recognized Century and Heritage Farm families during a ceremony at the Iowa State Fair again this year.  To qualify, a family must have owned at least 40 acres for 100 years or more in the case of Century Farms and 150 years or more for a Heritage Farm.

This year 354 Century Farms and 119 Heritage Farms were recognized. Among those honored farms were the following from Allamakee County (some of which are pictured on this same page): Ralph and Marie Plein family and Tom and Lynn Reburn family as Heritage Farms; and Donald Aldrich family, George Beardmore family, Donald Henningsgaard family, Vernalene Oelberg family, Dennis Schulte family and Bonnie (Myhre) Williams family as Century Farms.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that I have noted here before that the way a newspaper or television reporter feels about a story often indicates how that story will be treated.

A case in point is the effort by Iowa’s largest newspaper to make it appear the city of Waukee will cut a check for $213 million to Apple so Apple will locate a data center there.

Apple has said there will be 50 people employed at the center so opponents have done the math so it appears it will cost the city over $4 million per job.

Played down is the fact the city will actually be paying nothing to Apple. Instead, the city will “forgive” a portion of property taxes on the site for 20 years. It will collect $76 million in property taxes during that period.

What would the city get if Apple doesn’t build? Perhaps nothing. What if some other use is made of the property? Who knows?

To the Editor:

For a while early this spring, there was talk of not opening the swimming pool in Lansing this summer. Luckily, enough community-conscious people were able to make it happen. As a group, the Lansing aqua-size class would like to send a huge expression of thanks to all the individuals that made the pool opening a reality.

We come from Lansing, New Albin, DeSoto, Ferryville and all places in between. We, wholeheartedly, applaud the efforts of all those who made the pool opening a reality this summer.

When you think of a swimming pool, you may get a vision of young kids jumping off the board, kids of all sizes and ages cooling off on a hot day, but we would venture a guess that a group that appreciates the pool just as much or more is the group of individuals who gather three times a week at 5:00 to join in group exercise in the pool.

To the Editor:

Not to belabor a topic, but a unique opportunity may exist for someone or an organization, business, etc. because the main event of the summer, RAGBRAI, locally generated many attractive outdoor displays with a bicycle theme in various settings. All one needs is a camera, a good eye and a little imagination.

It could be a contest, of sorts, with the best 12 or 24 pictures chosen for a 2018 calendar (maybe two photos per month). These could be sold depicting and promoting Allamakee County, with all or some of the profits going toward building or creating new or better bicycle or walking trails right here for local families to use.

It is not too late, as a few fall leaves may add more authority to the picture or scene. This could be sponsored by the Chamber, the County Tourism Office, local banks or even a county newspaper. It would sell; a Norman Rockwell-style, old-fashioned-looking calendar depicting smalltown Iowa rural America.

Students from Waukon High School accepted the Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) Sportsmanship Award from students at Decorah High School during the Tuesday, September 5 volleyball match between the two schools played at Decorah. Waukon was named the award winner for the 2016-2017 school year, the first time the school has ever won the award, although it has placed second in each of the last three years to Decorah, which has won the award the last seven years in a row. "This is my proudest moment so far here as an AD," Waukon High School Activities Director Brian Hilsabeck said of the award. "It's a testament to how we do things here at Waukon High School." The award winner is determined by a scoring system that event officials turn into their respective State Athletic Associations - the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union and the Iowa High School Athletic Association - for a school's fans, athletes and coaches.