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Few things go together better than chicken and an assortment of summer vegetables all cooked so that the flavors mingle. Convenient and easy to prepare, this dish makes a great complete summer meal. It also allows you to combine the best of the garden into a single dish.

The delightful mustard sauce seals in the moisture of the chicken while providing a wonderful flavor. The hearty quality is gained from the stone ground mustard. Mustard is made by grinding mustard seeds to make a zesty, rustic condiment that is minimally processed.

The fennel with its subtle anise taste adds an unexpected flavor twist to the roasted vegetables. The smaller fennel bulbs are less fibrous, but if you have large bulbs, you can peel off the outer layers for more tender pieces. The much underutilized fennel has a storied past. It was on Charlemagne’s list of must have cooking ingredients and was reportedly Thomas Jefferson’s favorite vegetable.

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital will be holding its monthly Euchre Marathon for all individuals of the community interested Thursday, August 17. Men and women are welcome to attend, even if not an Auxiliary member. The Euchre marathons are held the third Thursday of each month at the Senior Citizens Room at the Waukon Wellness Center.

The Auxiliary’s Euchre Marathons begin at 11:30 a.m. with dinner, if chosen. Call Northland Agency on Aging at 877-838-8077 if choosing to eat dinner.  Card playing will follow at 12:30 p.m. until approximately 2:30 p.m.

Anyone wishing to stay and play cards following the Senior Citizens meal is more than welcome to do so. The cost is $3 per person with all proceeds going towards the Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital.  Prizes will be awarded.

Anyone interested in attending, but preferring to play Bridge, is also welcome to join in. It is asked that they come with their table of four players, however.

Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon will be offering free Blood Sugar Testing with immediate results at the Waukon Corn Days celebration Friday, August 18. The tests will be performed by Teresa Myers, RN, Certified Diabetes Educator, in the Veterans Memorial Hospital first aid tent, which will be located in the Waukon State Bank parking lot, from 4:30-8 p.m.

Community and Home Care staff members Annette Davis, RN, and Joan Fish, C.N.A., will also be providing free blood pressure checks during the same time.  Veterans Memorial Hospital staff will also have educational materials on sun safety and will be handing out skin safe samples of sun screen in the first aid tent. First Aid supplies will also be available for anyone in need.

These blood sugar tests will be made available to everyone at Waukon Corn Days, during the hours of 4:30 to 8 p.m. August 18, free of charge. Each test takes just a couple minutes to complete and they do not require any fasting.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, August 17 at 10 a.m. The meeting will be held at Veterans Memorial Hospital in the Large Conference Room, located on the lower level of the hospital in Waukon.

This diabetes class is open to everyone who has diabetes or has a friend or loved one with diabetes. For more information on the Diabetes Support Group, call Teresa Myers, RN, C.D.E., Diabetes Educator, or Angie Mettille, RN at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
 

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

CRP Participants Must Maintain Approved Cover on Acreages Enrolled in CRP and Farm Programs
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) participants are responsible for ensuring adequate, approved vegetative and practice cover is maintained to control erosion throughout the life of the contract after the practice has been established. Participants must also control undesirable vegetation, weeds (including noxious weeds), insects and rodents that may pose a threat to existing cover or adversely impact other landowners in the area.

Congress has started to shape the 2018 Farm Bill, policy that will impact farmers, rural residents, and consumers. Iowa residents are invited to voice their opinion at three upcoming listening sessions co-hosted by the Iowa Farmers Union, Center for Rural Affairs, and Practical Farmers of Iowa.

“The goal of the meetings is to hear from farmers about their goals and challenges relating to conservation, beginning farmers, and other farm programs,” Johnson said. “You can ask questions about Farm Bill policies and learn about opportunities to engage with lawmakers. You can help set the agenda for rural America and the 2018 Farm Bill.”

The following meetings are set:

Wednesday, Aug. 23, 1 p.m.
Decorah Public Library
202 Winnebago St., Decorah, Iowa 52101

Thursday, Aug. 24, 10 a.m.
Washington Public Library
115 W. Washington St., Washington, Iowa 52353

Record number of farmers sign-up to try cover crops, no-till/strip till or nitrification inhibitor
 
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey announced today that a record number of Iowa farmers signed up to install nutrient reduction practices on their farm through the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s statewide water quality cost share program.

More than 2,600 farmers signed up to try cover crops, no-till/strip-till or nitrification inhibitor on more than 270,000 acres in 98 counties. The state will provide nearly $4.8 million in cost share funds to match the $8.7 million investment by Iowa farmers.

View the Adobe pdf below of the full page Thank You from the Waukon RAGBRAI Committee.

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

Spectacular, wonderful, magnificent, awesome, amazing… are some of the adjectives used to describe the new Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center, located south of Lansing on the former Columbus property on Great River Road and now officially open to the public.

Nestled onto a plot of land where the first Allamakee County Courthouse was established, the new 10,000 square foot Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center beckons to all who pass to stop a while and learn about how this unique area of the country was formed. The new Center officially opened to the public Saturday, August 12 with several hundred people journeying to an open house at the Center to view the educational interpretive exhibits during Lansing's annual Fish Days celebration. Thursday, August 10 a ribbon cutting ceremony was held for over 200 donors to the project.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, August 14 to address a full agenda of items, including the Third Reading of an Ordinance to establish a Pioneer Cemetery Commission, Consideration of Green Valley Bridge funding and the Des Moines Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI®) follow-up reports for Allamakee County, Waukon, Waterville, Postville and Lansing.

Chairperson Larry Schellhammer called the meeting to order. The Supervisors moved into Public Comments, with Executive Director Val Reinke of Allamakee County Economic Development discussing the attendance at the Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center over the weekend with Fish Days in Lansing.