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Lynn Ordell Bjerke, age 68, of West Union, formerly of Waukon, died January 19, 2023 after suffering a stroke. A Celebration of Life is scheduled to take place Saturday, May 13 at the Elgin Golf Club from 1-4 p.m. Refreshments will be served and all are invited to share memories.

Gerry V. DeBuhr, 74, of Waukon died Tuesday, May 2, 2023 at his home. Private family graveside services were held at Salem Cemetery in rural Waukon with Pastor Sue Klimstra and Pastor Jeanyne Slettom officiating. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon handled the arrangements.

Gerald “Gerry” Victor DeBuhr was born November 27, 1948 in Waukon, the son of Victor and Betty (Selberg) DeBuhr. He was baptized and confirmed at Salem United Church of Christ in rural Waukon and graduated from Waukon High School in 1967, where he played football, basketball and golf.

Although nestled in between the two National Weather Service river level gauges between Lansing and McGregor on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River, there was still plenty of evidence of the river’s flooding water levels around the Harpers Ferry community this past week. A river gauge at the Allamakee County Conservation Boat landing at Harpers Ferry further confirms the height of the river at its crest Friday, April 28, as well as its ranking among the top four crests all-time (behind the 1965 record and two more recent recordings in 2001 and 1997 shown on the gauge).

by Dwight Jones

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, designed to raise awareness and reduce the stigma that often surrounds this horrible disease. Talking about mental health and/or acknowledging you or someone you know may have a problem is definitely more acceptable than it has been throughout history, but it is still a difficult subject to talk about and even harder to understand.

In order to try to better understand mental health and how it effects local families, The Standard is planning to run a five-part series throughout the month of May that will look at the disease from different viewpoints - from those who fought the disease and have thus far overcome it, and also tell the stories that unfortunately had tragic endings.

Crawford County, WI officials received a report of derailment of a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) train on the banks of the Mississippi River just to the south of De Soto, WI at approximately 12:15 p.m. Thursday, April 27. As pictured in the surrounding photos provided courtesy of Amy Ping Knutson of De Soto, WI, a freight train traveling southbound derailed off the tracks, causing two of the three locomotives and a reported number of 10 railroad cars to veer off the tracks, with most of those derailed vessels ending up on the banks of the elevated railway or in the ditch area (filled with water at the time due to flooding) between the railroad tracks and Wisconsin Hwy. 35.

by Julie Berg-Raymond

When, in 2021, Daniel Wagner - along with his Kee High School classmate at the time, Damon Weber - first came up with the idea of re-starting a farmer’s market in Lansing, Wagner was thinking it would be cool to buy the products of peoples’ hard work directly from the producers - whether they be handcrafted goods, or fresh-grown produce.

As predicted by the National Weather Service, water levels on the Mississippi River at the Lansing gauge reached their spring flooding crest Friday, April 28. However, the crest the Service forecasted of 20 feet that would have reached major flood stage and ranked second all-time behind the April 1965 record of 22.5 feet was, fortunately, off by about half a foot, ending up at 19.61 feet in Friday’s early morning hours. That crest is actually the fourth highest recorded by the National Weather Service at that Lansing measuring gauge, also behind the river’s most recent highest crest of 19.93 feet in April of 2001 and the earliest highest crest recorded of 19.90 feet in June of 1880.

Peoples State Bank’s new Waukon location recently received a First Dollar Visit from the Waukon Chamber of Commerce during a ribbon cutting ceremony held at the bank’s newly-opened building at 802 West Main Street in Waukon. Pictured above at that First Dollar presentation and ceremony are members of the Waukon Chamber of Commerce, employees of the Peoples State Bank Waukon location and members of the Peoples State Bank Board of Directors. Submitted photo.
 

The Allamakee County Pioneer Cemetery Commission is having an open house at the Freedom Bank lower level in Waukon Tuesday, May 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A short presentation will begin at 1 p.m. but those interested can stop in anytime for a cup of coffee.

Someone will be present to answer questions all day about the Commission. Anyone who cannot attend and has questions or information to share is asked to contact Commission member Marcia Rush.

A Pioneer Cemetery is defined as a cemetery that has 12 or fewer burials in the last 50 years. A Pioneer Cemetery may be an individual burial, a family plot or an area within an existing cemetery.

It is estimated that in 1996, Allamakee County had 20 cemeteries in the county plus six small plots and several single burials that would meet the qualifications of a Pioneer Cemetery. Since then, at least two more plots and one cemetery can be added to that list.

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, May 1 to address a full agenda of matters including a Presentation by FEH Design relating to the Street Department/Park and Recreation Garage, a Partial Pay Request relating to the 9 and 11 Allamakee Street Clean-Up Project and the Annual Insurance Renewal for the City of Waukon. Mayor Pat Stone called the meeting to order with approval of the meeting agenda.

The meeting moved into Department Reports with Water and Sewer Superintendent Jim Cooper noting the work performed over the weekend by Water and Sewer Department employees in repairing a water main break in his absence. He added that his crew worked a late evening in making this repair with their efforts being greatly appreciated. Cooper also reported that only 27 water meters are left for replacement as part of the city-wide commercial and residential water meter upgrade.