News Center newsletter

Large events and mass gatherings can contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in the United States via travelers who attend these events and introduce the virus to new communities. Examples of large events and mass gatherings include conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings and other types of assemblies.

These events can be planned not only by organizations and communities but also by individuals.

Therefore, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in accordance with its guidance for large events and mass gatherings, recommends that for the next eight weeks, organizers (whether groups or individuals) cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the United States.

Events of any size should only be continued if they can be carried out with adherence to guidelines for protecting vulnerable populations, hand hygiene and social distancing. When feasible, organizers could modify events to be virtual.

The annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade scheduled for Sunday, March 15 in Waukon ended up resulting in much more than its usual show of Irish spirit. Just over an hour before the parade was scheduled to begin, the Waukon City Council met in an emergency session that took some time to arrange due to open meetings quorum requirements and made the unanimous decision to revoke the parade permit based on recommendations for large gatherings made by the Iowa Governor’s Office and the Iowa Department of Public Health following the announcement late Saturday evening, March 14 that the first case had been reported in Iowa of COVID-19 due to community spread - meaning not knowing the origin and not attributable to travel as were the previous 17 cases in Iowa.

Waukon City Councilman John Ellingson provided the following statement in regard to the Waukon City Council’s actions in respect to revoking the parade permit:

At a special meeting held by the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors early Tuesday morning, March 17, the Supervisors discussed a decision to close the Allamakee County Courthouse to the general public in light of the health concerns posed by COVID-19 caused by the coronavirus. The following statement was released by Allamakee County officials following the Tuesday morning meeting:

Wednesday, March 25 at about 10 a.m., Allamakee County will be participating in the State of Iowa Tornado Drill as part of Severe Weather Awareness Week, which is observed March 23-27. The intent will be to activate the warning sirens in each of the towns in Allamakee County when the National Weather Service issues a test Tornado Warning around the 10 a.m. timeframe.

County facilities will be conducting a tornado drill at that same time and this will also allow the County 911 Dispatch Center to test its remote activation capability with each of these sirens in communities within the county. This function allows for a quick activation of warning sirens alerting of any tornado warning. In the event of actual or potential severe weather on that date, the test will be rescheduled.
 

The 2020 Allamakee County Dairy Banquet scheduled for this Saturday, March 21 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon has been postponed to a date yet to be determined. The annual celebration recognizes the importance of the dairy industry in Allamakee County and the contributions dairy families make to the industry and also awards top producers from the county, along with recognizing numerous award winners and crowning the Allamakee County Dairy Princess.
 

Black Hills Energy recently presented a check to the Waukon Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Association to support the purchase of a new defibrillator for use in serving the community. “Engaging with the communities we serve, where our employees and their families live, work and play is important to us at Black Hills Energy,” said Ivan Hackman, Black Hills Energy operations supervisor. “Safety is always a top priority at Black Hills Energy. This new defibrillator will allow for treatment in life-threatening cardiac emergencies.” Pictured above at the check presentation are, left to right: Black Hills Energy Service Technician Arvid Hatlan, Waukon EMS Association President Dave Martin and Black Hills Energy Operations Supervisor Ivan Hackman. Submitted photo.
 

Waukon volunteer firefighter Brad Krambeer was recently recognized for reaching the 25-year milestone of active service with the Waukon Area Fire Protection District. Pictured above, left to right, Krambeer receives a watch in honor of his 25 years of service from Waukon Fire Chief Dave Martin at the District’s annual Wives Appreciation Supper held in January. Submitted photo.
 

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, March 16 to address a full agenda of items including the discussion and consideration of coronavirus actions, setting a letting date for gravel resurfacing and the consideration of a Health Insurance Committee recommendation.

Before moving into Public Comment, Board Chairperson Larry Schellhammer and Supervisors Dan Byrnes and Dennis Koenig agreed to move agenda items relating to health insurance matters to later in the meeting to allow for the arrival of Benefits Consultant Brian Huinker of Midwest Group Benefits, Inc., who was delayed due to a schedule conflict. The Supervisors added an emergency agenda item relating to the discussion and consideration of coronavirus actions.

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, March 16 to address a full agenda of items including the Public Hearing for the Fiscal-Year 2020-2021 Budget, the hiring of two new City employees and discussion of the mayor’s and council’s decisions relating to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Mayor Pat Stone called the meeting to order with the council approving an amended agenda. The council moved into the consideration of two new hires. Natasha Wilkes was approved as Police Department Administrative Assistant with a start date of March 17, 2020 at $17.29 per hour. Kelby Moose as Water/Wastewater Treatment Maintenance Worker with a start date of March 23, 2020 at $15.96 per hour was also approved.

by Brianne Eilers

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors has held a series of special and regular meetings within the past couple weeks to address a variety of matters. Coverage of all meetings is published below.

FEBRUARY 21 SPECIAL MEETING
The Allamakee Community School District Board met for a special meeting Friday, February 21 to discuss the upcoming HVAC upgrade and window replacement project at West Elementary School. The contract for the project was awarded to Olympic Builders for $4,639,040.00, which includes all alternates and moving and storage costs. The bid for asbestos removal was awarded to Environmental Management Services of Iowa, a base bid of $100,527 and $40 per door.