Adam and MaKenna Rooney of McGregor announce the birth of their son, Hank John Rooney, born November 16, 2024 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. He weighed 8 lbs. 3 ozs. and measured 21-1/2 inches in length at the time of his birth. He joins siblings, Bo (13), Claire (11), Gracelyn (10), Brekken (5) and Wryglie (2).
Grandparents are Mick and Becky Rooney of Prairie du Chien, WI, Michelle Kishman of Prairie du Chien, WI and Kurt Kishman of Farmersburg. Sharon Costello of Lansing is a great-grandparent.
Barbara Ann McCormick, 81, of Harpers Ferry peacefully passed away surrounded by family at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon November 21, 2024. Funeral Service will be held Thursday, December 5 at 11 a.m. at St. Pius Cherry Mound Oratory, 699 State Forest Road, Harpers Ferry, with burial to follow in Cherry Mound Cemetery. Visitation will also take place at St. Pius Cherry Mound Oratory from 9:30 a.m. until the time of the service.
Barb was born November 10, 1943 to Ancil Herman McCasland and Barbara Ophelia (McDaniel) McCasland in Bridgeport, TX. Barb met Donald McCormick after graduating from The Odd Fellows in 1962, and the two were married in 1963. They have two children, Matthew and Janean.
An Allamakee County jury returned a guilty verdict Tuesday, November 19 on charges of First Degree Arson and Animal Abuse filed against Mindy Jones. The charges stem from a February 13, 2022 fire that began at 9 Allamakee Street in Waukon in a building owned by Jones and housing her Tin, Rust & Harmony business, destroying both her building and another adjacent to it, in addition to damaging other neighboring buildings.
The Waukon Police Department was made aware last week of counterfeit bills being passed in Waukon and wants to remind all businesses to check bills exchanged in transactions for authenticity. The Department ordered some counterfeit-detection pens that are currently available for purchase at cost from the Department. The pens may be purchased directly from the Waukon Police Department, located at 104 1st Street NW in Waukon. Anyone with additional information regarding this or any other crime is encouraged to reach out to the Waukon Police Department at any time by calling 563-568-3427 or dialing 911 in the event of an emergency.
The Waukon City Council passed a new Winter Parking Ordinance at its November 18 meeting in an effort to better facilitate snow removal in the downtown Waukon area. The new ordinance is scheduled to go into effect from November 15 through April 1 each year, and will become effective immediately as of the publication of the ordinance in this week’s edition of The Standard (see Page 10).
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach staff members were honored in October at the Iowa 4-H YouthFest professional development conference. Award recipients were recognized for their impact on local communities, accomplishments in their field and embodiment of the ISU Extension and Outreach 4-H mission.
The award ceremony was held over two days, October 29-30, in Ames as a part of the annual YouthFest conference, which brings together ISU Extension and Outreach staff from all over the state to celebrate the work they are doing and participate in workshops and educational opportunities in the field of 4-H youth development. The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Allamakee County office had its County Youth Coordinator and K-12 Program Coordinator recognized at this year’s event.
Future home of a permanent childcare center ... Plans are underway to make a portion of the former Lansing Middle School (pictured above) into a permanent childcare center by The Learning Tree Childcare Center. A capital campaign is being launched to help finance the estimated $500,000 renovation project, with the Lansing and New Albin communities and surrounding areas having the opportunity to invest in the project and the future of their communities. Photo courtesy of The Learning Tree Childcare Center.
Facilitating social-emotional growth ... The preschool class at The Learning Tree Childcare Center in Lansing is pictured above showing their feelings and emotions puppets. “Social-emotional growth is such an important part of our preschool program,” Director Jenny Cole says. Photo courtesy of The Learning Tree Childcare Center.
Learning within their community ... The new Before and After School program students at New Albin Elementary School recently participated in a STEM activity at the New Albin Library. “Community engagement is an important part of our curriculum and program,” Director Jenny Cole says. Photo courtesy of The Learning Tree Childcare Center.
Meeting with Senator Ernst ... Learning Tree Director Jenny Cole, left, met with Senator Joni Ernst, right, during the Senator’s River to River Tour stop at the Postville Childcare Center to talk about improving access, affordability and quality of childcare in Iowa. “I was able to discuss with her our plans for the new childcare center and the challenges our rural communities face with childcare and how it affects not only families but our businesses and school district,” Cole says. “We were also able to share with her the benefits of the Wage Enhancement Pilot Program Allamakee County was selected to participate in during 2023 and advocate for the program to continue not only for our county but the entire state.” Photo courtesy of The Learning Tree Childcare Center.
by Julie Berg-Raymond
The Board of Directors of The Learning Tree Childcare Center is launching a capital campaign to bring to fruition its five-year plan to open a permanent childcare center for the Lansing and New Albin communities. After much consideration, the location selected for the Center is the former Lansing Middle School.
“Director Jenny (Cole) did a lot of research for a location and the board members helped brainstorm,” Board President of The Learning Tree Childcare Center Lisa Welsh says. “Finding a large space is very difficult and the old middle school had some challenges; but with brainstorming and Jenny’s hard work, we worked around those problems.”
Robey Memorial Library in Waukon and The Oneota Valley Literary Foundation (OVLF) are partnering to host Main Street Story Walk in Waukon featuring the children’s story, “How to catch a Yeti!” by Adam Wallace. During the months of November and December, families are encouraged to read this story in the windows of various business storefronts as they stroll the downtown area. For this and upcoming Story Walks in Waukon, the OVLF will be providing a free copy of the featured book to every family that stops by Robey Memorial Library with a photo of themselves completing the Story Walk, while supplies last.
More than 600 people in Winneshiek, Allamakee and Howard Counties volunteer for non-profit groups in partnership with Northeast Iowa RSVP. That’s why the organization is happy to have added a new Volunteer Coordinator, Michelle McLain-Kruse.
“Our program continues to grow so it is wonderful to have Michelle join the team,” according to RSVP Director Deana Hageman. “Having her here to assist volunteers in finding opportunities that match their time availability, knowledge and skills is crucial to our program.”
The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, November 25 to address a short agenda of matters including the consideration of the Resolution obligating American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for information technology (IT) servers, consideration of 2025 County holidays and the consideration of appointing a New Albin Rural Library representative.
The meeting was called to order by Board of Supervisors Chairperson Dan Byrnes with Supervisors Dennis Keatley and Mark Reiser present. There was no Public Comment during the time allotted for that agenda item.
