News Center newsletter

Memorials were received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Tanya Benda Schnuelle by Jerry and Linda Siegrist, Ken and Diane Butikofer, Leotia Flage, Elsie Sanderson, Walter and Sherry Halvorson, Jim and Ele Klenske, Dan and Traci Byrnes, Sheila Clair, Marlys Leiran, Norb and Nola Palmer, Russ and Mary Jo Meyer, Dave and Rita Newton, Gladwin and Darlene Anderson, Brian and Denise Wullner, Dave and Laurie Martin, Fred and Geralyn Smith, Sharon Pratt, Dennis and Marlene Blocker, Jim and Jill Kiesau, and family and friends of Tanya Benda Schnuelle.

Memorials were also received in memory of Jerry Bollman by Larry and Nancy Straate, Dan and Sue Schlitter, Kay Carter, Patsy Kerndt and Brian and Denise Wullner. In addition, memorials were received in memory of Linda Lou Sorum by Walter and Sherry Halvorson, Bob and Judy Iseli, and family and friends of Linda Lou Sorum.

Gerald Piittmann of Waukon will be celebrating his 80th birthday Saturday, January 25 with an open house from 2-5 p.m. at St. John’s Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall, located at 8 Fifth Street SW in Waukon. No gifts are requested.

For those not attending the celebration, cards and well wishes may be sent to: 609 Second Avenue NW, Waukon, IA 52172.
 

Justin and Ashley Ahlstrom of Waukon announce the birth of their son, Isaiah Douglas Jon Ahlstrom, born December 17, 2019 at Winneshiek Medical Center in Decorah. He weighed 8 lbs. 6 ozs. and measured 21-1/2 inches in length at the time of his birth. He joins a sister, Vera (1).

Grandparents are Doug Ahlstrom and Debi Peterson of Waukon and Sharon and the late Larry Johnson of Decorah.
 

To the Editor:

Recently, I had a stay at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. I entered  the hospital through the emergency room, and then I was admitted. It was then that I realized how lucky our community is to have a facility like this.

I received the best care from all the staff there. Everyone made me feel at home from the doctors, staff in the emergency room, laboratory, nurse’s station, therapy, kitchen, housekeeping and front desk. I am so grateful for each and every one of the staff. I wanted to take this opportunity to let the community know how very blessed we are to have such an outstanding hospital to go to when we need it.

Robert Fossum
Waukon
 

To the Editor:

Sadly, only a very small percentage of Iowans caucus. It’s our only chance to be the first deciders of who might win the presidential primary vote. It’s our chance to influence the rest of the nation by being the first state to caucus. It’s also quite an education in our democratic process.

In order to caucus we meet Monday, February 3, doors opening at 6 p.m., at our precinct locations. (Watch The Standard for these locations.) We divide into presidential candidate preference groups, which sometimes means a lot of convincing, compromising, switching, and suspense, especially when there are so many candidates. It’s exciting!

After viable groups are chosen, delegates and alternates will be elected within these groups to represent their candidates at county, and then state conventions.

To the Editor:

In her letter to the editor in the December 18, 2019 edition of The Standard, Ann L. Hart used a play out of the playbook from the Main Stream Media and the Democrat Party in criticizing Senator Joni Ernst’s  position on Social Security reform. She totally misrepresented the facts, took some statements out of context and resorted to prevarication.

Senator Ernst, while campaigning for the U.S. Senate, acknowledged the need for reforming Social Security and offered suggestions on how that might be done. Ms. Hart suggests that Senator Ernst only wants to discuss reforms behind closed doors so she and those dastardly Republicans can pull the wool over the eyes of the public, maybe in the same way the Democrats tried to do in the closed door impeachment hearings against President Trump. Ms. Hart is taking that comment totally out of context and making it appear that no one, except Republicans, will have any input.

by Jeremy Leitz, Allamakee County Executive Director (563) 568-2148

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
February 17: Office Closed in Observance of Washington’s Birthday
February 28: CRP General Signup
March 15: 2019 ARCPLC Election
June 30: 2020 ARCPLC Election
September 30: PLC Yield Update

USDA Safety Net Program Enrollment Opens for 2019 and 2020
Producers now can enroll in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs – two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) safety net programs – for the 2019 and 2020 crop year.

ARC provides income support payments on historical base acres when actual crop revenue declines below a specified guaranteed level. PLC provides income support payments on historical base acres when the effective price for a covered commodity falls below its reference price. The 2018 Farm Bill reauthorized and updated both programs.

A survey of Iowa landowners conducted by Iowa State University suggests that adoption of conservation practices has increased slightly since 2012, and that ongoing trends in land ownership and management are likely barriers to a number of conservation practices.

However, some of these same barriers may contribute to increased use of no-till management on cropland, researchers found.

The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Dairy Team will host a five-session webinar entitled “Eye on Employees,” beginning Wednesday, February 5 from Noon to 1 p.m.

The webinars will address the main concerns that farm and, more specifically, dairy employers face.

“Extension dairy specialists often get two types of questions concerning labor,” said Fred Hall, Northwest Iowa Dairy Specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach. “Number one, what is wrong with my hiring process? I can’t get people hired; and number 2, how do I close the ‘revolving door’ of employees coming and going?”

Hall said that this five-part webinar series will take an in-depth look at the questions focused around the topic of how to hire and maintain farm employees.

Each presenter will address a certain topic from Noon to 1 p.m. on the dates listed below:

Monday, February 3 at 7 p.m.

Doors open at 6 p.m. and participants must be registered or in line by 7 p.m. in order to participate

For more information call Allamakee County Democratic Co-Chairs Karen Pratte (563-535-7254) or Lori Egan (563-568-1290)