from the Iowa Insurance Division-Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP)
Every fall, Medicare beneficiaries can review and change their Prescription Drug Plan or Medicare Advantage Plan during the Open Enrollment Period (OEP) from October 15 to December 7. With this year’s OEP underway, thousands of Iowans are turning to Medicare and SHIIP-SMP for help navigating options with major plan changes expected in 2026.
Medicare Prescription Drug Plan and Medicare Advantage Plan costs, benefits, covered prescriptions and provider networks can change each year. Following the 2025 cap on prescription drug copayments and new price negotiations on 10 high-cost sole-source drugs starting in 2026, many plans are adjusting their benefits and coverage options.
The Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting on Thursday, November 20 at 10 a.m. The meeting will be held at Veterans Memorial Hospital in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of the hospital.
This month’s guest speaker will be Mason (Hermeier) Kerian, NP. Mason will be joining the VMH Waukon and Postville Medical clinics in December or January as a nurse practitioner. The topic for the month is going to be hyperglycemia (high blood sugars) and ways to get them back to normal range.
This diabetes class is open to everyone who has diabetes or has a friend or loved one with diabetes. For more information on the Diabetes Support Group, feel free to call Angie Mettille, RN, Diabetes Educator, at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
The LifeServe Blood Center is asking people to join them in the spirit of giving. While entering the holiday season, starting with Thanksgiving, they are asking everyone to give thanks and give blood, giving patients a chance to spend more holidays with their loved ones.
The next LifeServe Blood Center Blood Drive will be held Monday, December 1, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon. Blood drives are held every month in Waukon to allow for more donors to give. The LifeServe Blood Center supplies Veterans Memorial Hospital with their blood and blood products.
Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Dick Berns by Diane Regan; in memory of Ed Blake by Patsy Kerndt, James and Jill Kiesau and Diane Regan; in memory of Ron Brandt by Meg Schaller; in memory of Jim Byrnes by John Byrnes; in memory of Dr. Bertran Joseph Dillon by Thomas and Vickie Sullivan; in memory of Betty Engrav by David and Rhonda Barr, Patsy Kerndt, Dean “Beanzy” Schellhammer and Lois Selin; in memory of Sandra Fish by an anonymous donor; in memory of Nancy Fellow Larson by Richard and Joan Leiran; and in memory of Arlene Martin by Carl and Betty Christianson, Randy and Karen Loeb and Brian and Denise Wullner.
Communication Is Key in Lending
Farm Service Agency (FSA) is committed to providing our farm loan borrowers the tools necessary to be successful. FSA staff will provide guidance and counsel from the loan application process through the borrower’s graduation to commercial credit. While it is FSA’s commitment to advise borrowers as they identify goals and evaluate progress, it is crucial for borrowers to communicate with their farm loan staff when changes occur. It is the borrower’s responsibility to alert FSA to any of the following:
• Any proposed or significant changes in the farming operation
• Any significant changes to family income or expenses
• The development of problem situations
• Any losses or proposed significant changes in security
If a farm loan borrower can’t make payments to suppliers, other creditors, or FSA on time, contact your farm loan staff immediately to discuss loan servicing options.
Learn about research results from an innovative and climate-smart project working to solve nutrient water quality issues
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will host the In-Season Manure Application with Irrigation Field Day December 4 at the Klemme Public Library and Brent Renner’s farm, near Klemme. Commercial and confinement manure applicators, agency staff involved in manure management, manure planners and consultants, watershed coordinators and interested stakeholders are encouraged to attend and learn about innovative strategies designed to address nutrient water quality issues stemming from agriculture.
The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, November 17 to address a full agenda of matters including the annual review of the County Hazard Mitigation Plan, an update relating to garbage and recycling services for residential properties, and a review of reports from the city’s insurance provider relating to city buildings. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Arvid Hatlan with council members present including Steve Wiedner, Nicholas Engrav, Dave Blocker, Tim Smedsrud and John Lydon.
Food and monetary donations help area food pantries feed those less fortunate during current high demand
After traveling a different route last year, The Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited (CPKC) Holiday Train is scheduled to make its return to the Lansing and New Albin areas again this year as part of its 2025 trek to help raise money, food and awareness for local food banks in communities along the CPKC network. The festive railway celebration is scheduled to make its way through northeast Iowa Monday, November 24, traveling southward this year instead of northward as in year’s past and making Allamakee County stops in New Albin and Lansing that afternoon, before continuing south to Marquette, Guttenberg and Dubuque that same Monday.
New location for VMH Community and Home Care - Allamakee Public Health ... Pictured above is the new location of Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care - Allamakee Public Health at 12 East Main Street in Waukon, which most recently housed the offices of the local Mosaic organization and is located next to the St. Patrick’s Thrift Store. The inset photo above shows the signage at the main entrance of the new location for the agency, which was previously housed on the third floor of Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon but was moved earlier in this month of November in an effort to better meet the needs of the agency’s clientele and staff members. Standard photos by Joe Moses.
Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Community and Home Care - Allamakee Public Health has a new location at 12 East Main Street in downtown Waukon as of early November. Area residents and clients of the agency should note that its phone number will remain the same, 563-568-5660. This move allows Home Care/Public Health staff to continue providing care in a space that better meets the needs of its numerous clients and staff.
Community and Home Care/Public Health had been housed on the third floor of Veterans Memorial Hospital prior to the recent move, and VMH CEO Michael Coyle previously noted that there will be more space, easier parking and the move will allow the agency to be able to grow services and offer better patient comfort. The vacated space on the third floor of VMH will become offices for Senior Life Solutions, which will offer counseling for senior citizens, with more information about that agency to be released in coming months.
More than 40 area military veterans were honored during an event hosted Saturday, November 8 at Fiesta Vallarta (the former AJ Bar & Grill location) in Waukon in honor of Veterans Day, which is observed November 11 each year to commemorate the end of World War I November 11, 1918 and to honor all those who have served in the United States Armed Forces.
The event was hosted by Midwest Veterans of America and included each of those veterans receiving a plaque and small American flag, in addition to rounds of applause and gratitude from the many in attendance for their years of service to their country. Many of those honored veterans are pictured in the photo above, standing on the staircase at Fiesta Vallarta for a group photo, and many of their family members, friends and acquaintances were also in attendance to witness and share in their honoring.
