News Center newsletter

Community members are invited to give back and help save lives by donating blood Wednesday, September 6 from 2-6 p.m. at Kerndt Brothers Community Center in Lansing. To make an appointment or to learn more, download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Blood is a perishable product that can only come from generous volunteers. By donating blood, individuals can help make a difference in the lives of patients in their community and throughout the nation.

Completion of a RapidPass online health history questionnaire found at redcrossblood.org/rapidpass is encouraged to help speed up the donation process. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in.

Experience the beauty of fall at Effigy Mounds National Monument by hiking with a Ranger on one of the monument’s south unit trails. Starting Thursday, September 7, these interpretive Ranger-guided hikes will take place Thursdays and Sundays in September, beginning at 1 p.m. The moderately strenuous three- to four-mile hikes will focus on the lifestyles of the American Indians who built the mounds between 2500-900 years ago. The tours will conclude at one of the park’s iconic effigy mounds and will last approximately three hours.

Visitors should wear sturdy walking shoes, bring plenty of water and are reminded to not bring their pets. Meet the Ranger at 1 p.m. at the Marching Bears trail access located across the railroad tracks off Highway 76, one-quarter mile south of the headquarters of Effigy Mounds National Monument. Sunday tours are subject to ranger availability. For more information call 563-873-3491, ext. 123.

Justin W. Patchin, Ph.D., professor of criminal justice at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Co-Director of the Cyberbullying Research Center, will be conducting a presentation on cyberbullying Monday, September 25 at the New Albin Community Center, beginning at 7 p.m.

Entitlted "Teen Technology Use and Misuse," Dr. Patchin's presentation will cover a broad overview of cyberbullying, including issues parents, educators, and teens need to know about how youth use and misuse technology to cause harm to their peers. The presentation will define and provide examples of cyberbullying and discuss the role of parents in preventing and responding to inappropriate online behaviors.  It will also describe many of the online environments popular among adolescents today and strategies to use to make sure they are used safely and responsibly.

At the August 21 Board of Trustees meeting at the Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Cresco Center, members received an update on organizational development programs the College has implemented for its employees.

Seth Gilbert, J.D., Ph.D., director of organizational development, shared how organizational development opportunities for employees at the College encompass personal, professional and procedural development, as well as faculty and stakeholder development. From 2016-2017, Gilbert conducted a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis among current employees and will combine the data it generated with the data collected from an environmental scan completed by other members of institutional effectiveness. Gilbert also introduced quarterly new employee orientation sessions and a Leadership Certificate program.

The 2017 season for the Waukon football team opened with a bang, as the gridiron Tribe made short work of Class 1A neighbor MFL/MarMac with a 56-0 triumph at home Friday, August 25. The game was a homecoming, of sorts, for former Waukon football head coach Tom Oppelt, who is now in his fifth year as head coach of the Bulldog gridiron program.

Behind an early tone set by senior standout Mitchell Snitker, the Indians bolted to a 50-0 halftime lead on the way to the easy victory. Snitker scored on the second play from scrimmage on a 48-yard touchdown run and then also on the Bulldogs’ first play from scrimmage with a 30-yard “pick-6” interception for a touchdown, all within just over a minute into the game and headlining a five-touchdown performance by the speedy senior on just five offensive touches in the game.

The Waukon volleyball team got its 2017 season underway in convincing fashion with a season-opening sweep of Postville at home Monday, August 21 by set scores of 25-9, 25-10 and 25-14. Although the Indians’ 25 kills and 26 ace serves indicate some of the type of success they had, what may have been even more impressive than what they did on their side of the net was what they did not allow the visiting Pirates to do in the match, stifling the Postville squad that had not won a single match all last season to just one kill and no ace serves in Monday’s match.

The Indians were next slated to host MFL/MarMac Monday, August 28 before playing in the Mabel-Canton, MN Tournament Saturday, September 2. The Tribe netters will then open Northeast Iowa Conference play at Decorah Tuesday, September 5 before playing in the Crestwood Tournament Saturday, September 9.

The Kee football season kicked off at home against a familiar and formidable foe in fellow Upper Iowa Conference squad Turkey Valley, who came off an undefeated 2016 regular season and begins this season with a top-10 ranking in the Eight Player class. Much like the Hawks’ season last fall, where a play or two here or there would have made a big difference, Kee football coach Chad Winters noted a small handful of plays could have resulted in a different result than the 48-36 Kee loss in the Friday, August 25 season-opener.

“We had our chances, but couldn’t get the big stops when we needed them,” Coach Winters said. “We had an opportunity to stop them on third- and fourth-and-long multiple times and didn’t do it. If we can get those stops, it changes the dynamics of the game.”

The Kee volleyball team will return four letterwinners for its 2017 campaign from a team that compiled a 12-21 season record but graduated eight seniors. With a majority of this season’s faces on the court being new to the Hawk volleyball varsity squad, additional new faces will be guiding that charge as well.

Lynn Winters will take the helm of a Kee volleyball program that will see its third head coach at the varsity level in the past three seasons due to staff members transferring to other schools. Her daughter, Alivia Winters, a 2014 graduate of Kee High School and former Hawk volleyball player herself, has assumed the assistant volleyball coaching duties. Although formally new to the head coaching position, Lynn Winters has already been involved with many of the Kee players as a coach for local club volleyball programs and organizer of local Iowa Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) volleyball tournaments.

Joseph “Joe” Neal McKee, 42, of Lansing passed away Friday, August 18, 2017. A celebration of life for Joe will take place Friday, September 1 at TJ Hunter’s Banquet Hall in Lansing from 4 p.m. until close.

Joe was born November 14, 1974 at the Gundersen hospital in LaCrosse, WI.  He was welcomed into our world by his parents, Sandra Jane (Klees) and James Louis McKee of Lansing. Joe graduated from Lansing Kee High School in May 1993.

Ann Renea Peake, infant daughter of Jeremy and Jodi (Gaunt) Peake, of Waukon, was born into the hearts of her family August 25, 2017 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon, and called home to heaven that same day. Memorial services will be held Thursday, August 31 at 1 p.m. at Zion United Church of Christ in Waukon, with Pastor Samantha Houser officiating.

Friends may greet the family after the services at the church. Martin Funeral Home in Waukon is handling the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred.

In addition to her parents, Ann is survived by her sisters, Molly and Leah Peake, both of Waukon; her maternal grandparents, Jay and Chris Gaunt of Grinnell; her paternal grandparents, Al and Cathy Peake of Decorah; and her great-grandparents: maternal Helen Weaver of Gilman and paternal Meg Schaller and JoAnn Peake, both of Waukon.