News Center newsletter

The public is invited to celebrate the opening of the Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center this Saturday, August 12, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Center is located at 1944 Columbus Road just south of Lansing.

Attendees can tour the property and view the interpretive and dimensional displays housed at the Center, covering topics such as geology, limnology (rivers/streams), archeology, wildlife studies, river town industries and economies, American Indian cultures and more.

Pictured above are the Judges' Choice Award (purple ribbon) winners in the Open Class Building from the 2017 Allamakee County Fair. Left to right - Front row: Bailey Schafer, Garden & Baked Goods Age 11-18; Dallas Tilleraas, Garden & Baked Goods Age 5-10; Mary Donnadiew, Arts & Crafts Adults. Back row: Bev Bakkum, Textiles & Fabrics; Carol Goettler, Antiques & Collectibles; Jane Miene, Flowers-Blooms; Charlotte Christianson, Flowers-Plant or Arrangement; Julie Wood, Agricultural Products; Diana Davison, Arts & Crafts Age 11-18; Hannah Teslow, Arts & Crafts Age 5-10. Submitted photo.
 

The Iowa Jersey Cattle Club (IJCC) selected three award winners at its Summer Picnic hosted recently by Bernie and Rachel Bakker of Alvord. Grace Howe, daughter of Matt and Rachelle Howe of Waukon, was the recipient of two of those three awards, including the Iowa Jersey Youth Achievement Award and also being crowned as the 2017 Iowa Jersey Princess.

The Iowa Jersey Youth Achievement Award, the IJCC’s highest honor, is given annually to a Jersey youth that owns one or more Registered Jerseys™, is between 16-19 years of age as of January 1, and is a junior member of the Iowa Jersey Cattle Club. This youth must show depth of Jersey experience, in addition to participation in other community activities.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, August 7 at the Dolores Tillinghast Memorial Library in Harpers Ferry as part of the board's efforts to meet in various communities throughout the county over the course of the year. The board addressed a full agenda of items, including a Second Reading of an Ordinance to establish a Pioneer Cemetery Commission, Consideration of Bids for the North Fork Hollow Road Bridge and a Des Moines Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI®) update for Harpers Ferry.

Chairperson Larry Schellhammer called the meeting to order. County Auditor Denise Beyer advised that the plat approval for Steven L. and Patricia M. Scholtes would need to be removed from the meeting agenda.

The Waukon Wellness Center offers a wide variety of group exercise classes daily to accommodate every age and fitness level, with some classes beginning as early as 5 a.m. for the early birds, and others ending between 6-7 p.m. “Weekend Warriors,” a cycling class, is also offered every Saturday morning at 7 a.m. for those who desire that little “extra.” Classes are instructed by experienced, local “talents” (pictured at right), all of whom are certified in their specialty, with many instructors having multiple certifications in numerous specialties.

At present, Waukon Wellness Center is fortunate to have instructors specializing in, and currently offers, the following classes: Cycling, Zumba, Zumba Gold, Cross Train, Barre, Beyond Barre, Pilates, Stretch & Strengthen, Kickboxing, HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), and multiple Yoga varieties.

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, August 7 to address a variety of matters, including Aveka noise and odor concerns, the Green Valley Bridge project and a review of the Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI®) visit to Waukon. Mayor Duane DeWalle called the meeting to order with approval of the current agenda and minutes from the July 17 meeting.

The Public Hearing for a seven-year lease of a Johnson Vacuum Sweeper VT651-D on a Freightliner M2 Chassis for a total lease of $290,176.04 was opened and closed without any written or verbal comments. The Resolution for the Johnson Vacuum Sweeper lease agreement for seven years was approved later in the meeting at a total lease amount of $290,176.04 for the street sweeper. The Public Hearing for the Sanitary Sewer Collection Spot Repairs Project was also opened and closed without any written or verbal comments.

Drake University in Des Moines has released its list of graduates following completion of the spring 2017 semester. Among those graduates is Keisha Troendle of Waukon, who graduated cum laude from the Doctor of Pharmacy program at Drake University. She is a 2011 graduate of Waukon High School and the daughter of Jeremy and Lana Troendle of Waukon.

Classical Conversations (CC) of Allamakee is now accepting new enrollments and registrations for the 2017-2018 school year. CC of Allamakee is a Classical Christian Community that will be starting in the Waukon area at the New Life Christian Church Tuesdays, beginning September 5 of this year.

Lisa Hagen, director of the CC community in Waukon, stated, "I am really excited about having this educational opportunity for children in Waukon and the surrounding area. This has been God's vision all along for this area and He is using us in leadership to carry out that vision.  This educational opportunity will be in the middle of traditional homeschooling and public school. The parents will be able to teach their kids their values using a classical curriculum but also allowing for classroom experience with other students. We are looking forward to being an academic ministry to many families."

Saturday, July 29, the Harpers Ferry Fireflies Granny Basketball team struck gold for the second year in a row. Coached by Bill Nation of Harpers Ferry, the Fireflies traveled to Norman, OK to compete in the Granny Basketball National Championship and won all three games they played to reign once again as National Tournament Champions. Nine teams from Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Texas and Iowa played a double elimination tournament to decide who would come home with the gold medals. The Fireflies first defeated the Gray Tornadoes from Kansas, 45-27, before defeating the Fire Ants from Texas, 50-14. In the championship game, the Fireflies played a familiar foe, but continued to take care of business, leading the Late Bloomers of Cedar Rapids by 18 to 20 points for most of the game before winning by a final score of 48-35. The state of Iowa actually had three teams in attendance at the tournament and each came home with medals to sweep the top three spots in the tournament.

The non-profit Friends of Pool 9 environmental and educational organization will be presented a one-of-a-kind, hand-constructed hanging quilt created by Karlene Wonderlich (pictured at right in the above photo) of Lansing. Wonderlich, an experienced quilter and career Family & Consumer Science (previously known as Home Economics) teacher, has historically provided strong support to a variety of non-profit organizations, often with her husband, Arlen Wonderlich (pictured at left). She has wanted to quilt the Black Hawk Bridge ever since they purchased a river home in 2007, so she developed a plan which started with Arlen’s photo of the bridge and had it enlarged several times to create an accurate template. She then began the painstaking process to cut and stitch the puzzle together, often spending a full day just to complete one small portion.