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.
Webinars on dairy goat management and care planned throughout the year
The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach dairy team will continue its quarterly dairy goat webinar in 2022 with all webinar dates and topics identified. All webinars will be from noon to 1:15 p.m.
The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) offers several programs for landowners to enroll environmentally sensitive farmland into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
The continuous and general CRP signups provide annual rental payments to producers and landowners for establishing long-term, resource-conserving plant species on cropland, to control soil erosion, improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat.
Continuous CRP allows landowners to enroll new land at any time during the year, and includes the State Acres For wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) practice. Under SAFE, landowners can design special habitat for pheasant, bobwhite, grassland songbirds, and other species. SAFE is only available in targeted geographies, producers not eligible for SAFE can offer land into other continuous practices or thru the general signup.
Interstate Power and Light Company, Alliant Energy’s Iowa energy company, held a virtual public meeting January 11 of this year regarding the coal ash ponds at its Lansing Generating Station located just south of Lansing along the Great River Road and the Mississippi River.
A written statement provided by Alliant Energy following the virtual meeting - which local attendees reported was frequently interrupted by audio disruptions - indicated that an Assessment of Corrective Measures study was discussed during the January 11 public meeting, as well as Alliant Energy’s work to meet requirements of the federal Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) Rule.
Monday, February 28 will be a day devoted to raising awareness for suicide prevention in Waukon and the surrounding community, as the Alive and Running Iowa organization will conduct a pair of events aimed at helping save lives and reducing suicidal behaviors.
Alive & Running Iowa began as a running event held annually in the small Iowa town of Dunkerton but has grown into a non-profit organization to help raise awareness about suicide and suicide prevention. Co-founders Troy Belmer and Ryan Nesbit organized Alive & Running Iowa in 2009 in honor of their friend, Roger, who they lost to suicide when they were sophomores at Dunkerton High School in 1991.
Since then, in addition to conducting the annual running event in their hometown, the two also make presentations and work with numerous other agencies toward that same goal of suicide awareness and prevention.
February 19 legislative forum held in Waukon ... Area legislative representatives Anne Osmundson of Iowa House of Representatives District 56, District 28 Senator Mike Klimesh, and Michael Bergan of Iowa House of Representatives District 55 (left to right near center top in above photo) were in attendance at a public forum with area residents Saturday, February 19 at the Allamakee County Farm Bureau building in Waukon. Among the items discussed at the forum were education funding, can redemption issues, ATV/UTV regulation, a full-time park ranger and other matters at Yellow River State Forest, the deer population and objectionable materials in schools. Standard photo by Joe Moses.
by Joe Moses
Iowa House of Representatives members Anne Osmundson of District 56 and Michael Bergan of District 55 and Iowa Senator from District 28 Mike Klimesh held a legislative town hall meeting in Waukon Saturday, February 19. The three legislators answered questions from the crowd of approximately 30 individuals in attendance at the Allamakee County Farm Bureau building.
Several hot-button issues were raised by those in attendance at the town hall meeting. Jerry Halverson of Waukon talked about challenges within the county relating to can redemption during the COVID-19 pandemic with fewer grocery and convenience stores accepting cans. Klimesh discussed two recent bills relating to can redemption and potential options to support existing redemption centers and retailers.
Waukon City Manager Gary Boden provided an update to The Standard relating to Waukon’s water system challenges in conjunction with the Sunday, February 13 evening fire on Allamakee Street. Two buildings were destroyed and several other adjacent buildings affected by the fire originating from the building at 9 Allamakee Street housing Tin, Rust & Harmony, a new business opened in December 2021 - the previous location of Lucky Finds Consignment.
The fire investigation and clean-up of adjacent impacted businesses continues. Although calls to the State of Iowa Fire Marshal’s Office in charge of the investigation had not been returned as of press time for this edition of The Standard, local authorities say the areas in front of and in back of the buildings destroyed in the blaze have been fenced off for safety and ongoing investigative measures.
