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Robert L. Livingston, 86, of Harpers Ferry died Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at Good Samaritan Center in Waukon. Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, August 8, 2026, at St. Ann’s-St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Harpers Ferry with Fr. Joseph Sevcik officiating. Burial will follow at St. Joseph’s Paint Rock Cemetery, Harpers Ferry.

Friends may greet the family from 9:30 a.m. until the time of services Saturday, August 8 at the church. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements.

Robert “Bob” Livingston was born November 9, 1939, in La Crosse, WI, the oldest child of Leo and Ruth (Ferring) Livingston of Harpers Ferry. Bob began school at St. Joseph’s one-room country school (located next to Paint Rock Cemetery) and graduated in 1957 from Waterville High School. At 17 years old, he joined the U.S. Army for two years - one year in the States and one year near Paris, France.

Debra Joan Taylor, 68, passed peacefully July 14, 2026, surrounded by her family after a courageous battle with glioblastoma. A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, July 26 from 3-6:30 p.m. at Coffee On The River, located at 61 South Front Street, Lansing. All friends and family are welcome to attend.

Debra was born July 2, 1958, at Gundersen Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, WI to Alfred and Jean (Swancutt) Miller. She is survived by her loving husband and best friend, Richard C. Taylor; her children, Melissa (Nick) Hammell, Justin (Carly) Taylor, and Amanda Taylor (Nick Zabeli); her cherished grandchildren, Isabelle Hammell, Leona Hammell, and Remi Zabeli; her sister Cheryl Ganske; along with many nieces, nephews, extended family members, dear friends, and countless lives she touched throughout the years.

She will be missed beyond words and remembered with endless smiles.
 

Chrystal “Chris” Ellefson, 69, of Waukon passed away at her home in Waukon Thursday, July 9, 2026. No services are planned at this time, but a celebration of life will be held at a later date. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is assisting the family.

Chrystal “Chris” Ellefson was born January 6, 1957, in Brooklyn, NY, to Robert and Nancy (Burr) Bertrand. The family moved to Wausau, WI, in 1959, and she attended St. Michael’s Elementary School and graduated from Newman High School.

Later on, Chris found her way to northeast Iowa, where she resided in McGregor; there she found lots of friends, including Betty Breitspecher, who became one of her best friends. She managed the Marathon station in Prairie Du Chein, WI, before relocating to Green Bay, WI, to manage the Marathon there. She also cleaned the Wells Fargo Bank branch in Green Bay. While there, she made many friends again, all the while riling up the Packer fans, being a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan.

Tracy Byrd to headline Friday's grandstand entertainment; Variety of activities and events planned

This week, July 15-19,  the 173rd Allamakee County Fair will be held for all to enjoy at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds in Waukon. A wide variety of entertainment is in place to headline this year’s Fair at the grandstand, along with a great deal of other activities for everyone to enjoy each and every day throughout the five-day event.

GRANDSTAND STAR POWER AND HORSE POWER

by Olivia Enyart

In the early months of this year, four of Postville’s youth from both the Postville High School and the Rise Academy in the Postville Community School District teamed up to create an experiment for the Plant the Moon Challenge Spring of 2026 through NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), competing in a field of 155 high school entries from across the nation and on a global scale.

Team members of the group the members called SmellsFishy1! included Angie Barrutia, Olivia Enyart, Yehuda Leib Mahr, Isabella Koenig, and Hattie Ruff. The adult advisors for the experiment were Postville High School Science Teacher Sean Singewald and Postville Community School District Home School Coordinator Annette Fry.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, July 13 to address a full agenda of matters including the consideration of bids for full-depth concrete pavement patching, a funding request by the Northeast Iowa Food Bank and the consideration of an appointment to the Veterans Affairs Commission. The meeting was held at the Allamakee County Veterans Museum.

The meeting was called to order by Board of Supervisors Chairperson Tom Clark with Supervisor Dan Byrnes present. Supervisor Dennis Keatley was not present due to a scheduled absence.

ITC Midwest has contributed $5,000 through a Power of Connection grant to support the City of Waukon’s evaluation of its historic city hall building and a comprehensive facilities space needs assessment. The effort will help city leaders understand current facility conditions, long-term operational needs, and opportunities to consolidate municipal functions to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

The City of Waukon has engaged a construction and historic preservation firm to conduct a structural and exterior assessment of the city hall building, originally constructed in 1902. The building, which has undergone various modifications over time, was recently vacated due to structural concerns identified in a professional evaluation. A broader space needs assessment of city hall and other municipal facilities will also be conducted to support the city’s long-term planning initiative focused on streamlining operations and maximizing taxpayer value.

Midwest Veterans of America hosted an America 250 celebration Saturday, July 4 at the Waukon City Park to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the United States of America.

A cookout event was held at the Sweeney Shelter near the Freedom Rock in the Waukon City Park. A group photo of all Veterans in attendance was taken (above), and a live auction was held with proceeds from that auction being donated to Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon.

Iowa Learning Farms (ILF), a conservation education and outreach program from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, has published the On-Farm Forestry Field Guide for Iowa, which is available at no cost. The guide covers tree-centric topics and provides detailed advice on approaches to forest management. It also highlights on-farm benefits ranging from windbreaks and erosion control to crop trees and high-value timber production.

Billy Beck, assistant professor and extension forestry specialist at Iowa State, collaborated with ILF to prepare the guide for use by farmers and landowners. It provides easy access to practical and actionable advice on planning forestry activities that support land use, conservation, crop production and water quality goals.

The Lansing Farmers Market is honoring Bob Raymond, one of the founding members of the Lansing Farmers Market Board, this Saturday, July 18 during the Farmers Market from 9 a.m. to noon on the Plaza in Lansing. Raymond passed away Friday, April 10 of this year, after a multi-year battle with cancer.

The concept of restarting the Lansing Farmers Market was developed by Daniel Wagner, a former Kee High School student who proposed the market for an Innovation Project, but making the concept into an actual working market was due in large part to Bob Raymond. With his knowledge, real-life experience, and patience, he gently guided the Farmers Market Board toward the expansion of the market, to the weekly Saturday market now taking place.