The Allamakee County Emergency Management Agency wants to take this opportunity to notify the public of the intent to conduct a county-wide Tornado Drill and test of all city emergency warning sirens next Wednesday, March 29 at 10 a.m. This will allow Allamakee County to participate in the State of Iowa Tornado Drill as part of Severe Weather Awareness Week, which is scheduled for March 27-31 this year. At approximately 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 29, warning sirens in all six cities in the county will be activated and National Weather Service NOAA Weather Radios will be sent the drill as a Required Weekly Test (RWT) with normal alert tones followed by drill verbiage.
Tuesday, March 21, nearly three dozen school districts across the state of Iowa received what are being referred to as “swatting” telephone calls, which are described as messages of what turn out to be fake threats of school shootings or other harm. The calls are made in an effort to try and get a large police gathering at one location, and they have been occurring across the nation over the past several months.
Although many of the schools reacted accordingly throughout the state of Iowa on that March 21 date, no threats were ever realized or any harm reported. Two area school districts, Decorah and MFL/MarMac, each received such threatening messages at their respective high schools, prompting action by local authorities in each case, with no threats realized in either scenario.
Blast from the past looks to benefit VMH Health Care Foundation ... Forty-five years later, original members of three local bands, Rising Sun, Horizon and Jackson Junction, will be reuniting Mother’s Day Weekend, Friday evening, May 12, for one night in downtown Waukon, with proceeds from that event benefiting the Veterans Memorial Hospital Health Care Foundation. Eleven of the 12 original members of those bands will be returning and forming the group, “Bandmates, Brothers and Friends,” or “BBF.” Some of the band members in the current day photo above include, left to right, Gary Hesla, Jim Withers, Bill Withers, Joel Anderson and Bob Bechtel. Members pictured in the image below in this original 1990s-era poster of the band Jackson Junction include, front to back, Jim Withers, Bill Withers, Keel Clemmens, the late Pat Dougherty, and Gary Hesla. Submitted photos.
Submitted photo.
Original members of three local bands will be reuniting Friday evening of Mother’s Day Weekend, May 12, for one night in downtown Waukon, with proceeds from the event benefiting the Veterans Memorial Hospital Health Care Foundation. This benefit event features a reunion of 11 mostly local musicians, two of whom played together 45 years ago in a number of area bands including Rising Sun, Horizon and Jackson Junction.
Many of the returning musicians are from Waukon including brothers Bill Withers, Jim Withers and John Withers, along with Gary Hesla, Bob Bechtel, Dave Dougherty, Brad Prestemon, Todd Pickett and Joel Anderson. They will be joined by Keel Clemmens and Jamey Lideen, longtime band members over the years. Of the original 12 musicians, the late Pat Dougherty will also be remembered during the event, with his brother, Dave, joining the band at times throughout the evening.
The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, March 27 to address a full agenda of matters including the Public Hearing for the County Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Maximum Levy/Property Tax Dollars, consideration of a vehicle purchase for Environmental Health, and consideration of bids for an asphalt project on Yellow River Drive. The meeting was called to order by Board of Supervisors Chairperson Dan Byrnes with Supervisors Mark Reiser and Dennis Keatley present.
Allamakee Community Players, Inc. (ACPI) is once again teaming up with Empty Nest Winery to present a Dinner Theatre event this Friday, March 31 and Saturday, April 1 from 6-9 p.m. each evening. This year’s production will be “Crazytown”, a comedy presentation that will be presented throughout a three-course dinner being served at Empty Nest Winery. Additional information, including ticket availability, can be found on the Empty Nest Winery website, https://emptynestwinery.com/, under the Upcoming Events tab.
“Crazytown” will take those in attendance on a tour of the most messed up town in America, from the police interrogation room where the nicest guy in town is issued a strange ultimatum, to the elementary school for a heated political debate on critical issues like tater tots. Welcome to Crazytown, where the town’s motto is: “Welcome to Crazytown!”
Diane Rissman and Carolyn Clark of Forest Mills Quilt Shop ...
The Northeast Iowa Quilters’ Guild will next meet at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the Community Room of the Luana Savings Bank Tuesday, April 4. Sisters Carolyn Clark and Dianne Rissman from the Forest Mills Quilt Shop located between Waukon and Luana will speak about the history of preprinted panels and their evolution to the products available today.
Special events and honors are often commemorated with a quilt. Fabric panels have made this practice much less time-consuming. Clark and Rissman will have many samples from the 1970s to the present, and will set up a mini-boutique with panels and patterns.
For more information, contact Mike Ellingsen at 507-602-0322, Nancy Sojka at 563-419-1828, or check out the NEIQG home page (www.neiqg.com) and the NEIQG Facebook page (NorthEast Iowa Quilters’ Guild).
The Inclusivity Club of Kee High School in Lansing will host a community celebration of International Transgender Day of Visibility this Friday, March 31 from 5-6 p.m. at Lansing Office Works, 274 Main Street in Lansing. Following personal sharing by students, refreshments will be served. This event is free of charge and open to the public.
International Transgender Day of Visibility began in Michigan in 2009 and has grown to a global observance which honors the joy and resilience of transgender and nonbinary people. It also aims to raise awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide.
There are over 1.6 million transgender youth (age 13+) and adults across the United States. The Inclusivity Club shares that while there has been significant progress in recent years, with more visibility than ever before, the basic human rights of transgenders are under threat, especially for those under 18 years of age.
During its regular meeting Monday, March 20, the Lansing City Council set a public hearing date on the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY 24) budget for Monday, April 17 at 7 p.m. in Lansing City Hall.
ECONOMIC VITALITY COMMITTEE REPORT
Council member Ian Zahren introduced two new topics for the council’s consideration as part of his report from Main Street Lansing’s Economic Vitality Committee. One involved the possibility of instituting a tax abatement policy in Lansing, as part of an effort to “grow Lansing economically, residentially, commercially, and industrially.” Where tax abatements would be approved in the interest of increasing the number of long-term occupancy units and affordable single family-zoned housing stock, Zahren emphasized that there would be “no impact on [the] current tax base. We’re just providing an incentive for people to build long-term housing.”
Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation (NEICAC) Family Service offices is taking applications for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) through April 30 of this year. All eligible homeowners and renters are encouraged to apply.
LIHEAP customers will need to furnish the following when applying for LIHEAP:
• form of identification for all household members
• a copy of their most recent heating and electric bill
• proof of all household members’ gross income for the past 30 calendar days, the most recent 12 months or for the past calendar year.
All low-income northeast Iowans are encouraged to apply, including senior citizens and individuals with disabilities. Households burning wood or where heating is included as part of the rent may also be eligible for assistance.
As this year’s spring play production, the Kee High School Drama Department will be presenting “Be My Ghost” by Tim Kelly through Pioneer Drama Service on the stage in the Kee High School gymnasium. Show times will be Saturday, April 1 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 2 at 2 p.m. with admission payable at the door.
