You can make a difference by making a life-saving blood donation at the next Waukon Community Blood Drive. The next blood drive will take place Thursday, March 3 from Noon to 5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon.
The Waukon blood drives have been very successful the last couple of years with new first-time donors each time. The February blood drive saw 53 donors giving blood, saving 144 lives.
Donating blood is safe, simple and it saves lives. Blood donors have a unique opportunity to contribute to their community by making a life-saving blood donation. Everyone who registers to donate blood goes through four simple steps during the donation process: registration, donor history and mini-physical, blood donation and snacks.
New blood donors who are not familiar with the blood donation process are encouraged to ask questions before, during and after their blood donation. Below are several tips for ensuring a successful donation:
Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Robert “Bob” Anderson by Bill and Sue Blagsvedt, Wendy Bucheit, Dennis and Julie Herman, Don and Linda Herman, John and Lorna Kerndt and George Pickett.
Memorials were also received in memory of Judy Landt by Betty Decker, in memory of Bob Dotseth by Dave and Laurie Martin, in memory of Shirley Heimer by Bev Krambeer and Jim and Linda Ryan, in memory of Rose Snitker by Linda Flatland and Lillian Larson, and in memory of Ione Rema by Dennis and Julie Herman, Lillian Larson and Betty Troendle.
Gordon Tangen, formerly of Dorchester, will be celebrating his 90th birthday March 3. His wife Sandra and family would like to honor him with a card shower. In honor of the occasion, cards and well wishes may be sent to 1900 Stoney Point Rd. SW #216, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
How can I be strong, if I am weak? Isn’t this an oxymoron? What in the world is Paul talking about? How can my weakness be a strength? How can the troubles I am going through possibly be good?
In the January 26 edition of the newspaper you had an item about the book, The Worry Knot, by Mary Evanson Bleckwehl. I read that book and I was so engrossed that I feel like everyone in middle school needs to read it. It is an exceptionally well written book about kids with differences. We had a special needs child and put a lot of responsibility on our other children also. Sometimes I wonder if all we did was enough but then in the end it all has turned out the way it should. Our daughter lives independently in her own apartment. We had to rely on several agencies to help us and as the book indicates there are many differences in all of us.
Iowa’s governor and most of the state legislators whose political party controls all three branches of Iowa’s government are advocating to take tax dollars from public schools and give them to private schools, including for-profit schools (Senate Study Bill 3080). They cloak this legislation as school choice, vouchers and scholarships.
Don’t be fooled. Iowa already has school choice through open enrollment. This is about giving a blank check to private schools without requiring any oversight, accountability or financial disclosure. Taking money away from public schools is wrong, bad for our children, bad for public education, and bad for our communities.
I enjoy reading the Word for Word column each week. It is interesting and enlightening to glean insights from area ministers, pastors and priests.
Rev. VanderVelden’s entry in the February 9, 2022 edition of The Standard gave me a new perspective on the Big Bang theory. While I hold to a more conservative, six-day account of creation, I respect and appreciate Rev. VanderVelden’s view and how he arrived at it. What I do find unsettling in his article, however, is when he questions whether the stories in Genesis “entirely represent fact”.
I am writing this letter to encourage those young or old to attend the Barn Dance being held at the Fairgrounds this Friday, February 25 from 7-11 p.m. The Allamakee County Fair Board is having this Barn Dance, and this is a great chance to learn how to dance, how to learn to step to the beat of music.
Line dancing does not require a partner, so if you have no partner feel free to have others help teach you to dance. I have taught ballroom dancing since 1962 (when I came to Waukon to teach) in Adult Education through NICC. I taught the two-step, polka and waltz in Adult Education Dance classes in Lansing, Postville, Decorah, Calmar, Guttenberg, West Union, and many times in Waukon.
This Barn Dance is a perfect opportunity to begin to learn to dance; come give it a try. The exercise and joy of dancing is great. It can become a great lifetime hobby and an enjoyable exercise.
I have always been an advocate of wind and solar energy. However, the conversion to a carbon free energy economy means the replacement of fossil fuels with electricity. This represents many issues that are beyond partisan politics. It seems that reality differs from conventional wisdom.
First of all, this will require an estimated increase in the production of electricity in the U.S. by a factor of two to four times it is today. Electricity is hard and expensive to transport over long distances. It is also difficult to stockpile in cases of emergency. Then, there are hard to electrify economic sectors such as fueling trucks, ships, airplanes, and heavy vehicles.
The Geo-political ramifications are also enormous. There are approximately 800 million people in the world who do not have access to any energy services. If developing countries focus on the need for growth, it is set to clash with the idea of net zero carbon production.
Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
Feb. 25: Spot Market Hog Pandemic Program
Mar. 11: General CRP Signup
Mar. 15: ARCPLC Program Deadline
Mar. 25: Dairy Margin Coverage Program
Higher Soybean Quality from Conservation Practices
by LuAnn Rolling, District Conservationist
This information was presented at the January 2022, Southwest Iowa Soil Health Meeting. The topic was soybean quality from a public and private perspective and how soil health can influence that work. The presenters were Drew Clemmensen with the Iowa Soybean Association and Dustin Brucker with Benson Hill.
