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The Kee boys basketball team entered the holiday break in the grips of a five-game non-winning streak, falling in two more games that included one on each side of the final weekend before this year’s holiday break began. The Hawks first fell at home to Crestwood by a 77-40 final result Friday, December 19 before suffering a 61-42 home loss to Central Elkader Tuesday, December 23 in a game rescheduled from a December 9 winter weather postponement.

The Hawks will return to court action following the holiday break Tuesday, January 6 to play at New Hampton before hosting Waukon Friday, January 9. They will then play at South Winneshiek Tuesday, January 13 before playing back-to-back games at home, including Friday, January 16 against MFL/MarMac and Saturday, January 17 against Valley Lutheran.

In its only competition of the week prior to the holiday break from school, the Waukon girls wrestling team took part in another large tournament event when the Lady Indians competed in the Bubba Randles Winter Classic hosted by Cedar Rapids Prairie Saturday, December 20. A total of 26 teams involving nearly 200 wrestlers were competing in the tournament, and the Indians had 11 wrestlers taking to the mat for them, with four of those mat ladies bringing home placewinnings within the top eight of their respective weight class to help the mat Tribe tally 47.5 team points and finish 17th in the final team standings.

The Wanderings of a Wayward Follower of Jesus

As Followers of Jesus the Christ, we have received the free gift of God, which is eternal life. Romans 6:23. This free gift is available to all who turn their lives over to our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.   And yet this free gift comes with a very high cost. The cost of this “free” gift is twofold. There was and is a cost to the provider of the gift, God and there is a cost to the receiver of the gift, which is us.    

Each persona of the Triune God has paid and continues to pay to make this gift of salvation possible.   John 3:16 and Romans 8:32 tell us of God’s sacrifice of His only Begotten Son. God gave up Jesus for us. Jesus sacrificed His Life for us. Even the Holy Spirit has a ministry in and through us that has spanned the ages, constantly trying to change or at least guide the stubborn hearts of sinful people. John 14:26.   

To the Editor:

I think President Trump is an expert at distractions. We’ve seen the East Wing of the White House demolished, the historic rose garden tilled up and replaced by concrete, the unveiling of unpresidential plaques at the White House deriding past presidents, and finally the renaming of the Kennedy Center in Trump’s honor. Over the next three years we will probably see much of the proud city of Washington D.C. renamed and redone to honor Donald Trump.

But again, these distract from his real purpose, that of taking away rights, destroying lives, and ignoring laws. Trump has a tendency to deflect and distract when there’s something he doesn’t want out there. Don’t be distracted. The Justice Department has failed to release the Epstein files which Congress required it to do in the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

To the Editor:

Mark 11:23: “Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, Be lifted up and thrown into the sea and does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him.” AMPC 

Job 22:28: “You will declare a thing, And it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways.”

So if you declare (out loud) that you and every one you love will always be healthy and wealthy and wise, etc. and believe, it will be so in the future, you will have it. But if you declare that you will never be able to do this or that, etc. then that will also be so.

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue...” Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV)

“You are snared by the words of your mouth...” Proverbs 6:2 (NKJV)

“For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:37 (NKJV)

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) physicians and staff will be awaiting the arrival of the first baby born at the hospital in the New Year 2026. This fortunate child and his or her family will receive a large number of generous gifts compliments of area merchants.

The next LifeServe Blood Center blood drive will be held Monday, January 5, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon. Blood drives are held every month in Waukon. The LifeServe Blood Center of Iowa supplies Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) with their blood and blood products.

Make a New Year’s resolution to give blood this year. The LifeServe Blood Center of Iowa is seeking donors to ensure a safe and plentiful blood supply in Iowa. Because there is no substitute for human blood, the need for donors is continuous. Many Iowans are encouraged to make donating blood on a regular basis their New Year’s resolution this year.

Three anonymous donations have been received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation for the new Postville Medical Clinic, bringing the total raised now up to $165,000.

Three different donors from the area have each gifted a $5,000 donation for an additional $15,000 total dollars raised. These donations bring the Foundation closer to that overall goal of $200,000 and closer to the reality of a new Postville Medical Clinic.

“We have three more donors who have each contributed $5,000 towards this project, but have chosen to remain anonymous,” states Beth Shafer, Growth and Development Coordinator for Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH). “These gifts represent a strong show of community support and play an important role in moving the clinic expansion closer to its fundraising goal, ensuring continued access to quality medical care for local families.”

Both the Waukon and the Postville Medical Clinics as well as Community and Home Care-Allamakee Public Health will be closed New Years Day. The Waukon Clinic will also close at 5 p.m. New Year’s Eve and will not hold the extended clinic hours that night.

Both clinics and Public Health will resume regular hours Friday, January 2.

All patients of all ages are welcome to be seen at the Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Medical Clinic in Waukon or Postville. The regular hours for both clinics include the following:
 
VMH Medical Clinic - Waukon hours
Monday: 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
Tuesday: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.
Wednesday: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.
Thursday: 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m.
Friday: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
 
VMH Medical Clinic - Postville hours
Monday-Friday: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

A celebration is planned in honor of the retirement of Dan and Lori Treangen. The retirement open house will be held Friday, January 9 from 5-8 p.m. at AJ’s Sports Bar, 9 East Main Street in Waukon.