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Wed
05
Feb

Letter to the Editor: Submitted by Karen Pratte

To the Editor:

No matter where we live, Iowans are impacted by the high costs of everyday goods and groceries. Surely you recall Candidate Donald Trump’s promises to bring down the cost of eggs and lower costs and stop inflation. He proclaimed that prices would immediately fall if he won the election.  Well, the price of eggs is at an all-time high and keep soaring. Trump and Republicans hit their mute button and don’t talk about the kitchen table issues they ran on.

Trump signed a flurry of executive orders aimed at putting Trump loyalists in charge of the government and at consolidating his power. Not one of his  executive orders deals with lowering costs.

Wed
05
Feb

Letter to the Editor: Submitted by Hannah Murphy

To the Editor:

The overwhelming generosity of the people of Waukon​ helped provide joy to children in need through Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts this season. Across the U.S., the Samaritan’s Purse project collected 10.5 million shoebox gifts in 2024. Combined with those collected from partnering countries in 2024, the ministry is now sending over 11.9 million shoebox gifts to children worldwide.

Shoebox packers brought joy and hope to children around the world through fun, full, personalized gifts. For many children, this is the first gift they have ever received. Each shoebox gift is a tangible expression of God’s love, given to children in need around the world. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 232 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 170 countries and territories.

Wed
05
Feb

What's Up at the USDA Office?

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
February 17: Office closed in observance of Presidents’ Day
March 31: 2025 DMC Signup deadline
April 15: 2025 ARC/PLC Signup deadline

Offseason Management of CRP
Now is a great time for landowners to consider winter management of lands enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program or CRP. The next few months are an ideal time to begin scouting for weeds, trees, and shrubs that are beginning to sneak their way in. Although you may be required to burn or mow as part of your mid-contract management, these onetime practices alone often aren’t sufficient to remedy unwanted vegetation.

Wed
05
Feb

Iowa Learning Farms Virtual Field Day set for February 13 explores whether precision planting of cereal rye can mitigate corn seedling disease and yield drag

Iowa Learning Farms, in partnership with the Iowa Nutrient Research Center and Iowa Geological Survey, is hosting a free virtual field day Thursday, February 13 at 1 p.m. Join the virtual for a live discussion with Alison Robertson, Iowa State University Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology Professor, and Peter O’Brien, United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Research Agronomist.

Cereal rye is the most common cover crop grown in Iowa because of its winter hardiness as well as its contribution to soil health and water quality. Greater cereal rye biomass increases the benefits received. However, there are trade-offs associated with increased cereal rye biomass - most importantly for growers is the potential for corn yield drag.

Mon
03
Feb

Lisa Kerndt

Lisa M. Kerndt, 58, of Dubuque, formerly of Waukon, died suddenly of natural causes Wednesday, January 29, 2025, at her home in Dubuque. Memorial services will be held Thursday, February 6 at 11 a.m. at Zion United Church of Christ in Waukon with Rev. Cathy Jurgens officiating. Inurnment will be at Oakland Cemetery, Waukon.

Friends may greet the family from 10 a.m. until time of services at the church Thursday. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling the arrangements.

Lisa Marie Kerndt was born October 18, 1966, in Waukon, the daughter of Leslie Jr. and AdaMarie (Palas) Kerndt. She was baptized and confirmed at Zion United Church of Christ in Waukon, graduated from Waukon High School in 1985, and graduated from Iowa State University in 1989.

Sun
02
Feb

Richard "Dick" Lonning

Richard L. “Dick” Lonning, 94, of Mason City passed away January 30, 2025, at MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center, Mason City. He will be laid to rest beside his beloved wife, Roxann, at Elmwood St. Joseph Cemetery, Mason City.

Richard was born April 3, 1930, in Thor to Lennie and Leone (Hansen) Lonning. He graduated from Waukon High School in 1948 and later worked as a bus driver for Jefferson Lines. October 6, 1965, he married Roxann Styve in Decorah and they shared many wonderful years together until her passing in 1996.

Dick was a devoted family man who enjoyed spending time with loved ones. He found joy in listening to KCMR, sitting outside on nice days, and watching basketball and football games. He also had a love for polka music and a cold Busch Light.

Thu
30
Jan

Suzanne (Hammel) Flatten

Suzanne Catherine Flatten, 78, of La Crescent, MN passed away January 24, 2025. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, February 8 at the Church of the Crucifixion in La Crescent, MN with a family eulogy to be read beginning at 10:45 a.m. Rev. John L. Evans II will officiate.

Burial will follow in the Pine Creek Catholic Cemetery, rural La Crescent, MN. Visitation for Suzanne will be held at the church from 9:30 a.m. until the time of the Mass Saturday.

She was the first born of Ralph and Stella (Collins) Hammel January 6, 1947. She grew up on a large family farm outside of Dorchester, helping with her younger siblings and attending a rural one-room schoolhouse until her high school years.

Thu
30
Jan

Mary Ann Etteldorf

Mary Ann Etteldorf, 69, of Waukon passed away Tuesday, January 28, 2025, at Northgate Care Center in Waukon. Funeral services were held Saturday, February 1 at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon with Fr. Paulraj Sellam officiating. Burial was at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Waukon. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon handled arrangements.

Mary Ann Etteldorf was born October 17, 1955, in Ossian to Peter and Helen (McDonald) Etteldorf. Mary Ann had difficulty with school and spent many years living at home. She gained independence through living in group homes and finding employment in sheltered workshops in Cresco and Waukon. Mary Ann had been a resident of Northgate Care Center in Waukon since 2020.

Thu
30
Jan

Richard Troendle

Richard W. Troendle, 70, of Churchtown died Monday, January 27, 2025, at MercyOne Medical Center in Waterloo. Private graveside services will be held at St. Mary’s Lycurgus Cemetery in rural Waukon with Fr. Joseph Sevcik officiating. His family will host a summer BBQ get-together in his memory at a later date. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements.

Richard William Troendle was born July 9, 1954, in Waukon, the son of Raymond F. and Marjorie Catherine (Robert) Troendle. He was baptized at St. Mary’s Lycurgus Catholic Church in rural Waukon and attended Kee High School in Lansing.

April 3, 1976, Richard married the girl next door, Debra Kay Russell, in Homer, MN. They continued living in Churchtown and Richard worked as a security guard for many places including the Genoa, WI, power plant. He later was a delivery driver for Wheeler’s Autobody in Waterloo before retiring in 2016.

Wed
29
Jan

Waukon High School graduate Michael Bechtel named Sound Science Fellow by the National Center for Science Education

Dr. Michael Bechtel...
Chosen to participate in NSCE Sound Science Fellowship Program ... Dr. Michael Bechtel, a 1989 graduate of Waukon High School and current Associate Science Education Professor at Wartburg College in Waverly, engages with students in his Biology of Ordinary Things class that focuses on “observations of ordinary phenomena connected to basic biological and chemical concepts, and the development of explanatory models using various forms of scientific representations with teaching standards and technology.” Bechtel has been selected to participate for a two-year term in the National Center for Science Education’s (NCSE) Sound Science Fellowship program to help the NCSE develop new approaches to resolving misconceptions about topics that are seen as controversial to the public and conduct research to develop best practices for teaching and learning. Photo credit to the Wartburg College Marketing & Communication Department.
Dr. Michael Bechtel...
Dr. Michael Bechtel...

Wartburg College’s Dr. Michael Bechtel was one of seven educators selected to serve in the first cohort of the National Center for Science Education’s (NCSE) Sound Science Fellowship program. Bechtel is a 1989 graduate of Waukon High School and the son of Sherry and the late Dean Bechtel of rural Monona.

During his two-year term in the Fellowship program, Bechtel will help the NCSE develop new approaches to resolving misconceptions about topics that are seen as controversial to the public and conduct research to develop best practices for teaching and learning.

“Over my time as an educator, I have become keenly aware of the scientific understanding desert that has been filled with social media memes and anti-science rhetoric,” said Bechtel, an associate science education professor at Wartburg College in Waverly. “I believe the only way these difficult topics can be addressed is through facts, open dialogue, questions and understanding the learner.”

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