Farmers and landowners can again apply for a $5 per acre discount
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced today that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will again offer its crop insurance discount program for cover crops this year. The program offers farmers and landowners who plant fall cover crops, like rye and oats, the opportunity to apply for a $5 per acre discount on their spring crop insurance premiums. The sign up for the program will begin on December 1.
With harvest season underway, the Allamakee County Community Foundation (ACCF) encourages farmers to consider making a gift of grain to benefit their community. Donating grain is a simple way to make a meaningful charitable gift outside of the traditional cash contribution.
“Donating grain is a unique way of giving back that many don’t consider,” said Betty Steege, foundation coordinator. “The value of the grain can be donated to any fund hosted by the Foundation or used to start a new endowment. The Foundation will steward and grow the gift, and the interest an endowed fund earns can be granted out to improve quality of life in the community, forever.”
The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, October 10 to address a full agenda of matters including the First Reading of Amendments #11 and #12 to the Zoning Ordinance L, discussion of topics relating to the Veterans Memorial Hospital public measure on the November 8 election ballot, and the discussion and consideration of the Allamakee County Facade Improvement Grant Program.
During Public Comment, Executive Director Val Reinke with Allamakee County Economic Development (ACED) provided an update relating to recent events within the county including the Sip of Lansing event held Friday, October 7 in Lansing and the Driftless Half Marathon held Saturday, October 8 on the Great River Road Scenic Byway from Harpers Ferry to Lansing.
Waukon native and fallen Iowa State Patrol Officer Ted Benda was awarded the Iowa State Police Association “Purple Heart” Award at the 90th Annual Iowa State Police Association (ISPA) Conference held October 3-5 in Cedar Rapids, following his death as the result of a single-vehicle accident while responding to a call in October of last year. Pictured at right at the ISPA Conference where the award was presented are Officer Benda’s wife, Holly, and their four daughters surrounded by officers from both the Iowa State Patrol Headquarters in Des Moines and Iowa State Patrol District 10 in Oelwein that Officer Benda served in at the time of his passing, in addition to Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens (far right).
Allamakee County residents are invited to attend the next event in the THRIVE series of interactive workshops being co-hosted by Mental Health Today - a Matt Howe Tribute (MHT) and the nonprofit, Worldmaker. “Lead From Where You Are” is a one-hour workshop focused on learning how to better respond to negative behaviors, helping others get their needs met and shifting from blaming to helpful solutions.
“Lead From Where You Are” is open to all Allamakee County residents and is being offered in two different one-hour sessions Monday, October 17 to give residents the opportunity to choose which one best fits their schedule for that day. A morning session will take place from 9-10 a.m. at the Waukon Wellness Center, and an afternoon session will be held from 12-1 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Light refreshments will be provided at both sessions.
Scale model replica of proposed Harpers Ferry Area Museum ... Photo above shows a model replica of the Harpers Ferry Area Museum being proposed by the Harpers Ferry Area Heritage Society (HFAHS) in the Martelle Heritage Park, next to the Oil Springs School, which is the smaller white building on the right in the above model. The replica was built to scale by HFAHS member Wayne Hasek to offer an idea of what the museum would look like once completed. Submitted photo.
Planned location of proposed Harpers Ferry Area Museum ... The empty green space in Martelle Heritage Park in Harpers Ferry to the left of the Oil Springs School in the above photo is the proposed building site for a new Harpers Ferry Area Museum being planned by the Harpers Ferry Area Heritage Society. A 60-foot x 120-foot structure is being planned for construction in that location, with a capital campaign fund getting underway. Standard photo by Brianne Grimstad.
by Brianne Grimstad
The Harpers Ferry Area Heritage Society (HFAHS) is moving forward with plans to build a 9,000 square foot museum dedicated to preserving and displaying the history and heritage of the Harpers Ferry area. The idea of building a museum is something that has been in the works since 2014, when the group began to look for a place suitable for building a museum.
“It’s important to tell the Harpers Ferry area story,” HFAHS President Jane Hasek said.
The Waukon City Council met in special session Friday morning, October 7 to address a short meeting agenda including discussion of the agreement relating to the clean-up of 11 Allamakee Street. Earlier that week at its Monday, October 3 regular meeting, the council had discussed the agreement for 11 Allamakee Street, the original location of Paws Up Pet Supplies owned by Tracey Tepesch, and the clean-up of 9 Allamakee Street, the building that housed Tin, Rust & Harmony, a business opened in December 2021 by property owner Mindy Jones. Both business locations were destroyed by a February 13 fire that originated at the 9 Allamakee Street business address.
First Dollar visit for Hello Sunshine ... Hello Sunshine, newly opened in August of this year at 9 West Main Street in Waukon, recently received a First Dollar visit from the Waukon Chamber of Commerce. Pictured above at that First Dollar presentation are, left to right, Hello Sunshine owner Lara Berryman and Waukon Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Laurie Adrian. Photo courtesy of the Waukon Chamber of Commerce.
Living up to the name above the door, Lara Berryman’s main focus in opening her new gift and home decor business at 9 West Main Street in Waukon is to “spread a little sunshine” to as many people as she can. Berryman opened “Hello Sunshine” August 29 of this year in the east half of the current Epic Wear building on Main Street in downtown Waukon.
Following graduation from high school, Berryman moved from her native Canada to attend the Art Institute of Seattle in pursuit of a career in interior design. It was there that she met her future husband, Colin Berryman, who had family ties in the Midwest that brought the Berryman family to Allamakee County for family reunions and other events, ultimately leading to a decision to make a move to a location where they felt they could raise their children in a safe, welcoming environment.
Carol’s Closet, located at 26 Spring Avenue in Waukon, held a Volunteer Appreciation Picnic Monday, September 19 in the Waukon City Park, providing a meal to the facility’s many volunteers and their family members as a way to show how valuable they are to the mission of the organization. Some of those volunteers are pictured in the surrounding submitted photos and Waukon location coordinator Karen Fay Ehde of Harpers says the facility “couldn’t do what it does without our volunteers,” who offer their donated services in many aspects, such as manning the Spring Avenue storefront, sorting and displaying of items, pick-up and delivery of donated items, maintenance and other upkeep of the Waukon location, among other aspects.
Sack attack ... Waukon football senior Isaac Roe chases down the Jesup quarterback for a sack in the Indians’ 50-8 home win over the J-Hawks Friday, October 7. Roe recorded three solo tackles in his total of four stops, including 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 quarterback sacks. He also joined his offensive line teammates in helping pave the way for 399 rushing yards for the grid Tribe. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this webpage.
The Waukon football team’s Class 2A District 4 train kept rolling non-stop toward Titletown, without any derailments thus far, as the grid Tribe made sure that a single-win Jesup team that provided its toughest District 4 battle last season would not do the same in a Friday, October 7 home game. Despite that train chugging a bit with penalties and turnovers, it picked up steam as the game rolled on to keep the football Indians undefeated in District 4 play with a 50-8 Waukon triumph, bringing the Tribe within one final game of a fifth consecutive undefeated Class 2A District 4 championship.
