Waukon High School seniors Brock Hatlan (left) and Hailey Regan (right) were crowned Waukon High School's 2019 Homecoming King and Queen at the traditional "Burning of the 'W'" pep rally Thursday, October 3 at the Waukon High School gym. Additional photos of Waukon High School's Homecoming events are featured on Page 14A inside this week's issue, as well as coverage of the Waukon football team's Homecoming victory over Oelwein featured on Page 13A this week.
The Postville Police Department and the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Department are seeking the public’s assistance in regard to an apparent armed robbery that took place Thursday, October 3 around 10 a.m. within the town of Postville in the 100 block of South Reynolds Street. An initial report indicates that the vehicle involved in the incident was a gray or silver Dodge Neon or Stratus, and the victim of the incident stated it was a two-door vehicle that had boxes in the back seat and other items filling up the back window.
The driver of the vehicle was described as a black male estimated to be in his early 30s and standing approximately 5’4” to 5’6”. Anyone who may have information regarding this incident or who has seen a vehicle fitting this description is asked to contact the Postville Police Department at 563-864-3234 or the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Department at 563-568-4521.
Addressing recovery in the event of a disaster ... Allamakee County Emergency Management Coordinator Corey Snitker (standing at far right) makes an introduction of Janet Riley (standing at left) of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management at a Tuesday, October 1 Emergency Management Recovery meeting held at the Allamakee County Public Safety Center near Waukon. At this October 1 meeting planned as part of an overall series, the two addressed a group of area governmental, business and organizational leaders in regard to general aspects of the recovery planning process in the event of a natural or other type of disaster within Allamakee County. Standard photo by Joe Moses.
by Joe Moses
An Emergency Management Recovery meeting and presentation was conducted by Janet Riley with Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Tuesday morning, October 1 at the Allamakee County Public Safety Center just north of Waukon. The meeting began with an introduction by Allamakee County Emergency Management Coordinator Corey Snitker, followed by Riley speaking to a full conference room consisting of members of the media, local government, financial institutions, public works and economic development among other stakeholders from within the county.
Students from area high schools will join thousands of other youth and any others who may be interested on athletic fields across the nation Wednesday, October 9 to share their Christian faith with fellow students and the general public during the annual Fields of Faith event. The local event is now in its eighth year and will start at 7 p.m. at the Waukon High School football field that Wednesday evening. Attendees are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on. In the case of inclement weather, the event will be held inside the Waukon High School gymnasium.
Featured speaker for this year’s event will be Michael De Jong, a resident of Iowa who is a husband and father to five children. He will share his message of how Jesus rescued and saved him during the darkest moments of his life.
Matt Tapscott of Decorah has announced that he is running for the Iowa State Senate. Tapscott is running in Senate District 28, which is comprised of all of Allamakee and Clayton counties and parts of Fayette and Winneshiek counties. That seat is currently occupied by Michael Breitbach of Strawberry Point and is up for election in November 2020.
“Northeast Iowa needs a leader in the Iowa Senate who will listen to people and advocate at the Iowa Capitol for positive rural changes,” Tapscott said. “People tell me that they are tired of the ‘I don’t need to listen to you’ attitude and divisive politics by our current legislators. I promise to listen to Iowans living in northeast Iowa and to care for Iowa’s future by investing now in our people and our communities.”
Friday, October 4, Allamakee County Emergency Management Coordinator Corey Snitker and Director Deanna Hageman of Northeast Iowa RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) filled seven totes with administrative supplies to be placed in each community within Allamakee County including Lansing, New Albin, Harpers Ferry, Postville, Waterville and Waukon, with one tote also designated for the Allamakee County Emergency Management Department.
Snitker and Hageman said that the purchase of administrative supplies and totes was made possible through the Regional Readiness Summit Idea Grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque. The $1,500 awarded for the project allowed for the purchase of supplies that will be placed within each community and will be used for administrative purposes including volunteer receptions centers, incident command and emergency command posts.
The Allamakee County Emergency Management Agency would like to remind motorists of the upcoming Driftless Half Marathon Relay and 5K running events which will be taking place along the Mississippi River (highlighted in green on the map above) and in Lansing this Saturday, October 12. The half marathon and relay race will start at 7:30 a.m. near the intersection of Collins Ridge Road and the Great River Road (County Road X52) just north of Harpers Ferry and head north toward Lansing for 13.3 miles. Shortly after starting, the runners will turn right and run the length of Red Oak Road back to its more northern intersection with the Great River Road, continuing north on the Great River Road route until completing the race at the Lansing Sports Complex in Lansing. All runners should be off the course around noon.
The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, October 7 to address a full agenda of items including a downtown trash can proposal and estimate, the city manager’s authority to approve expenditures without prior approval of the city council and concerns relating to a subdivision development.
Mayor Pat Stone discussed the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Buddy Poppies Proclamation and read the proclamation aloud. Stone encouraged residents to support this cause through donations in honor of the sacrifices of the men and women who have risked their lives in the defense of this nation’s freedoms. The council approved the VFW Buddy Poppies Proclamation.
Celebrating Constitution Week, observed September 17-23 each year, the Hannah Lee Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) donated Constitution posters and booklets to classes teaching the Constitution within area schools. With the Constitution being the cornerstone of the government of the United States and having worked for so long, the local DAR chapter wanted the students to have their own copy of the Constitution. Pictured above, left to right, Waukon High School Principal Jennifer Garin, DAR member Mona Day, and Waukon High School U.S. Government and Social Studies teacher Jerry Keenan are shown with the booklets and a poster. Pictured below are members of the fifth grade class at St. Patrick School in Waukon with posters. Their teacher, Mrs. Dacia Sommer, accepted the booklets. Submitted photos.
Three Waukon-based Clover Kids meetings were hosted in September by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, such as the group pictured below. Clover Kids is a fun 4-H program specifically designed for children in kindergarten through third grade. The overall purpose of the Iowa 4-H Clover Kids program is to foster the development of life skills that are essential for the cognitive, social, emotional and physical maturation of kindergarten through third graders by providing a unique, age-appropriate educational opportunity.
