Senator Grassley visits Waukon ... U.S. Senator Charles Grassley made Waukon one of his Q&A (Question and Answer) stops last week while touring throughout the state of Iowa. Grassley addressed a small crowd of individuals in a Thursday afternoon, June 29 stop at Lid’s Bar & Grill in Waukon, with that crowd including Allamakee County Board of Supervisors members Dennis Keatley and Dan Byrnes (at far right), along with Waukon area banking staff, members of the Little Switzerland FFA Chapter from Waukon High School and other members of the public. Standard photo by Joe Moses.
Members of Little Switzerland FFA Chapter attend Senator Grassley Q&A session ... Several members of the Little Switzerland FFA Chapter at Waukon High School were in attendance at the Thursday, June 29 Q&A (Question and Answer) session U.S. Senator Charles Grassley held at Lid’s Bar & Grill in Waukon. Pictured in the photo at right, left to right, are Little Switzerland FFA members Alyssa Connelly and Natalie Byrnes, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley and Little Switzerland FFA members Ethan Gibbs and Caleb Helgerson. Standard photo by Joe Moses.
by Joe Moses
U.S. Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa made a stop in Waukon Thursday, June 29, holding a Q&A (Question and Answer) session at Lid’s Bar & Grill with local elected officials, the media and members of the public as part of his 43rd annual 99-County Tour.
Coming home ... Switchback’s Marty McCormack of Chicago, IL (left) and Brian FitzGerald of Lansing (right). The duo is bringing its blend of “Celtic Roots, Americana Soul” to northeast Iowa July 21 at TJ Hunters in Lansing for its first local show since 2019. Submitted photo.
The early years ... Brian FitzGerald (left) and Marty McCormack (right) of Switchback playing in Chicago, IL early in their careers. The band credits FitzGerald’s move to Lansing in the mid-1990s as being instrumental to their careers as musicians. Submitted photo.
Advance tickets for first local show since 2019, scheduled for July 21, available now
by Tanya O’Connor
Switchback’s Brian FitzGerald of Lansing says that the music he and Marty McCormack have spent 30 years creating wouldn’t be what it is today without the people of Allamakee County. So when the duo calls northeast Iowa “magical,” they’re not talking about pixies or fairy dust. They’re talking about you.
t’s the people of this “hard-working, no-nonsense, lack of pretension or ego” place, notes FitzGerald, that the band loves, and that has defined the winding (often gravel) road of their musical careers. Switchback is paying homage to its northeast Iowa home Friday, July 21 at T.J. Hunters in Lansing. This will be the band’s first local show since 2019. It’s called the “Switchback Family Reunion,” because, as they say, “our fans are family.”
Word was received this past Friday, June 30 that Lansing was one of three communities to receive designation as an Iowa Great Place during a recent Iowa Great Places Citizen Advisory Board meeting. Lansing joined Grimes and Polk City as new designees this year.
Through these designations, the State of Iowa recognizes communities dedicated to improving quality of life and quality of place. The selected communities have demonstrated their commitment to stakeholder engagement and long-term planning while cultivating and lifting up authentic assets in their communities.
The designation further facilitates development for arts and culture, recreation and amenities in Lansing’s future. The City will also be able to utilize its standing as a Great Place to receive further funding for projects. Additional details about the designation and its benefits will be published in a future edition of The Standard.
Saturday, July 15 at 10 a.m., the Allamakee County Veterans Museum will present another program from its Veterans History Project honoring Vietnam War Veterans. The program will take place at the Veterans Museum located at 105 Allamakee Street in Waukon.
A video interview by Chuck Bloxham with U.S. Army veteran Carl T. Johnson of Waukon will be played. Carl Johnson will also be present to share comments and answer questions.
While in Vietnam, with the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regimen, 1st Cavalry Division, Johnson was designated as a tunnel rat and later as a sniper. He participated in the battle for Hue City during the Tet offensive and many other significant engagements. This interview features his duty as a “tunnel rat.”
The public is invited to attend. There is no admission or membership charge. The facility is handicapped accessible.
Reserve State Champion Agronomy CDE team ... Left to right: Olivia Marti, Alaina Gebel, Sarah Stock, Caleb Helgerson. Submitted photo.
NE District Agronomy CDE championship team ... ... Left to right: Sarah Stock, Olivia Marti, Keagan Palmer, Alaina Gebel. Submitted photo.
NE District Agronomy CDE fourth-place team ... Left to right: Mallory Berns, Kendra Gibbs, Ethan Gibbs, Caleb Helgerson. Submitted photo.
by Alaina Gebel
May 16 of this year, eight members of the Little Switzerland FFA Chapter at Waukon High School under the guidance of advisor Jessica O’Connor traveled to Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo to participate in the Northeast District Agronomy Career Development Event (CDE). The team of Alaina Gebel, Olivia Marti, Ethan Palmer and Sarah Stock brought home team champion honors with Gebel placing as the champion individual for the event. Waukon’s second agronomy team of Mallory Berns, Ethan Gibbs, Kendra Gibbs and Caleb Helgerson brought home a fourth-place finish overall out of 29 teams and 116 individuals participating in the contest.
The National FFA Organization has awarded a pair of scholarships to Waukon High School 2023 graduated senior Alaina Gebel, a member of the Little Switzerland FFA Chapter at Waukon High. Gebel plans to use the scholarship funding to pursue a degree in Agricultural Education and Agronomy at Iowa State University in Ames.
The awards include a $1,500 scholarship from Grow Ag Leaders from the Bayer Fund, and the second scholarship, in the amount of $5,000, is a part of the Robert and Pauline Wells Scholarship. The funding for the National FFA scholarship program comes from individuals, businesses and corporate sponsors to encourage excellence and enable students to pursue their educational goals. Scholarships support either two-year or four-year degrees, as well as vocational programs, and range in size from $500 to full tuition for four years.
Little Switzerland FFA Officers attend COLT Conference ... Eight officers of the Little Switzerland FFA Chapter at Waukon High School attended the Chapter Officer Leadership Training (COLT) Conference at Hawkeye Community College June 9. Pictured above, left to right, bottom to top, are Caleb Helgerson, Ryan Kolsrud, Molly Peake, Ethan Gibbs, Mercedes Wilkins, Sarah Stock, Natalie Byrnes and Alyssa Connelly. Submitted photo.
Each year Northeast District and Iowa FFA officers plan and facilitate Chapter Officer Leadership Training (COLT) Conferences for FFA members in the Northeast District. Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo welcomed FFA chapters from all over the Northeast District Friday, June 9, including several from the Little Switzerland FFA Chapter at Waukon High School.
While at Hawkeye Community College June 9, district and state officers led four interactive workshops for FFA Chapter leaders, many of whom are officers, for the annual COLT Conference. The workshops facilitated were local FFA Chapter programs focused in the areas of advocating for the agriculture industry, connecting with stakeholders, recruiting for the local chapter, and working as a cohesive team. FFA leaders also received training relative to their specific officer duties within the local chapter.
Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Waukon Center held its “Build Your Own Business” Summer Camp June 27-28 for students entering third through fifth grades this fall. This two-day camp was a “Shark Tank”-style experience (based on the “Shark Tank” television series) where students learned basic business concepts and vocabulary in formulating a business idea, created their own business plan, discussed customer service and created their own logo and business cards, printed by The Copy Shoppe in Waukon. Students listened to presentations from local businesses and also visited Aztec Parlor, Epic Wear, Hello Sunshine, KNEI Radio and Paws Up Pet Supplies in downtown Waukon to witness what they were learning at the camp being utilized in a real business setting. The students concluded camp by presenting their own business ideas to area business leaders who represented the “sharks” that provided feedback on those business ideas.
The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met Friday, June 30 in special session to address several matters, including the end of fiscal-year claims, discussion and consideration of paying the Allamakee County Historical Society Fiscal-Year 2023 (FY23) expenses for fire escape, stairs and roof improvements on the Allamakee County Courthouse Museum instead of sidewalk replacement, and discussion of the Allamakee County Courthouse sidewalk project. The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Dan Byrnes with Supervisors Mark Reiser and Dennis Keatley present. Byrnes noted the review of claims for the end of the current fiscal-year.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is taking public comment on a revision being made in the construction of the new wastewater treatment plant in New Albin that first broke ground in early May 2022. The general public now has the opportunity to comment in regard to the proposed change during a 30-day period that began with the issuance by the DNR of a June 26, 2023 letter of reaffirmation of a Finding of No Significant Impact in regard to the proposed changed, as described below.
