News Center newsletter

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Carol Moe by Diane Abell, Jim and Charlene Baxter, Nancy Bechtel, Dean and Sue Engelhardt, Randy and Nancy Herman, Jim and Jill Kiesau, Darren Koozer, Marlys Leiran, Marla Lenocker, Robert and Pamela Maloney, Sharon Massie, Colinda Roderick, Dave and Gail Prestemon, Chuck and Lois Votsmier, Dave and Wynn Wagner, Neal and Nancy Daley, Ann King, Jeff Moe and an anonymous donor.

Michael and Jordan Howe of Waukon announce the birth of their daughter, Ivory Rose Howe, born February 7, 2025 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. She weighed 6 lbs. 3 ozs. and measured 19 inches in length at the time of her birth. She joins sisters, Amelia Grace Howe (4) and Violet Reign Howe (2).

Grandparents are Kathy Hay and Bob Joachim of Waukon, Danny Howe of Waukon, Bette Manders of Marquette and Stacy Larsen of Waukon.

Kristian and Chad South of Decorah announce the birth of their son, Gatlin James South, born February 7, 2025 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. He weighed 7 lbs. 9 ozs. and measured 20 inches in length at the time of his birth. He joins a sister, Hayden South (15).

Grandparents are Tammie Barr, Mike Barr and  Melanie and Earl Brainard of Decorah. Great-grandparents are Orabel Ehrie and Herb Ehrie of Decorah, and Gloria and Larry South of Council Bluffs.
 

To the Editor:

Contact your congressional representatives, is often suggested when we become aware of an issue. Crafting a message and delivering it can seem like a difficult or time-consuming task, a task that can be postponed until some later time.
However, communication with the Iowa U.S. Congressional Delegation is made easy using your Word or Pages software to create your message, your browser to access a delegates website, and their website pages to deliver your message.
Members of the Iowa U.S. Congressional Delegation are: Senator Chuck Grassley, Senator Joni Ernst, District 1 Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, District 2 Representative Ashley Hinson, District 3 Representative Zach Nunn and District 4 Representative Randy Feenstra. The district numbers are for reference only.

To the Editor:

President Trump, who intends to take a wrecking ball to our government, empowered Elon Musk to do the dirty work. One of the first casualties has been the U.S. Agency for International Aid (USAID). Musk called it a “criminal organization” and said he was in the process of “shutting down” the agency.

Trump has no authority to abolish the USAID as it was established by Congress as an independent agency and by law only Congress can dissolve it.

The agency spends around $40 billion a year (about 0.7 percent of the US budget) to finance overseas foreign aid, disaster relief, and internal development programs. Although it has about 14,000 employees worldwide, the Trump administration plans to retain only around 290. About 1,400 U.S.-based staff members were put on indefinite administrative leave effective immediately and hundreds of contractors were issued stop-work orders.  Employees posted abroad are expected to return to the U.S. within 30 days.

To the Editor:

“Throwing the baby out with the bath water.”

That is what Trump and Musk are doing. They are throwing out good programs instead of just wasteful parts. Think about the Department of Education (DOE) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Department of Education programs include updating standards that Iowa uses, federal aid for students pursuing postsecondary education (PELL grants), community college funding, special education and rehabilitation services, and activities for drug prevention. For PELL grants in Iowa, over 60,000 students each received an average of almost $5,000/year, awarded by financial need. Discontinuing these programs will negatively impact Iowa students.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
March 3: Deadline to submit 2024 ELAP, LIP, and LFP applications
March 31: 2025 DMC Sign-up deadline
April 15: 2025 ARC/PLC Sign-up deadline

Cons of Regenerative Ag
by Eric Novey, NRCS

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Iowa State University (ISU) introduced updates to Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy (INRS) today. The three Principals modernized the INRS – the state’s soil health and water quality framework – to reflect new research, practices, partnerships and funding that have emerged since the strategy was finalized in 2013.

“We’ve learned valuable lessons working alongside farmers and landowners to implement conservation practices, and that’s helping accelerate and scale-up adoption. The strategy must reflect real-world scenarios, challenges and work that’s happening in priority watersheds,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. “The document will continue to evolve with new research and technology, but we’re unwavering in our commitment to working alongside our public and private partners to achieve the goals outlined in Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy.”

Kevin W. Johnson, 59, of Waukon died Tuesday, February 11, 2025, at Good Samaritan Society in Waukon. Memorial services will be held Saturday, February 22 at 11 a.m. at Martin - Grau Funeral Home in Waukon, with Pastor Matthew Majewski officiating. Inurnment will be at Lansing Ridge Cemetery in rural Waukon. Friends may greet the family from 9:30 a.m. until time of services Saturday at the funeral home.

Kevin Walter Johnson was born August 28, 1965, in Waukon, the son of Walter and Lorraine (Boyd) Johnson. He was baptized at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Lansing and confirmed at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Waukon. Kevin graduated from Waukon High School in 1984, and served in the United States Army Reserves from 1983-1989.

Kevin worked as a retail manager for Pamida and several other retail stores throughout Iowa. September 29, 2001, he married Cindy Holbrook at Mt. Hosmer Park in Lansing. Kevin and Cindy moved to Waukon in 2020.

Anthony M. Spalla, Sr., 88, of De Soto, WI, died Wednesday, February 12, 2025, at his home. Memorial services will be held Wednesday, February 19 at 11 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Lansing with Fr. Joseph Sevcik officiating. Friends may greet the family from 10 a.m. until the time of services Wednesday at the church. Inurnment will be at a later date at Gethsemane Cemetery in Lansing.

Thornburg-Grau Funeral Home in Lansing is handling arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Immaculate Conception Church boiler fund.