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The Kee football team had some business to take care of when the Hawks traveled to Central Elkader Friday, October 6 for their final Eight-Player District 3 ballgame of this season. Wanting to do all they can to take care of their own State Play-Off possibilities, the Hawks did just that against the host Warrior squad that was yet winless on this season, scoring on their first seven possessions of the contest to bolt to a 50-0 halftime lead and coming away with five turnovers to help stifle Central on the way to a 64-2 victory that further solidified Kee’s grip on a third-place district finish and would force only the most rare of situations that would keep the Hawks from earning qualification for this season’s State Play-Offs.

Leslie Kerndt, Jr., 90, went to his heavenly home October 7, 2023 from the Northgate Care Center in Waukon. Memorial services were held Tuesday, October 10 at Zion United Church of Christ in Waukon with Pastor Grant VanderVelden officiating. Burial with military honors was at Oakland Cemetery, Waukon. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon handled arrangements.

Leslie William Kerndt, Jr. was born August 28, 1933 to Leslie William and Irene (Gruber) Kerndt. He was born in a log cabin on the Center Township farm in rural Allamakee County; the payment to the doctor was a Holstein bull calf.

Les attended the rural schools of Center Township and graduated with the class of 1951 from Waukon High School. While in high school, he was active in all the sports. During a basketball practice, Les was dribbling down the court when the coach yelled, “Stretch”.  Stepping on the bus the next morning, everyone yelled “Stretch” and he has been known as “Stretch” ever since.

Dawn Roney, 65, of Waukon was called home to the Lord Thursday, October 5, 2023 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, MN surrounded by loved ones. Memorial services will be held Saturday, October 28 at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church in Waukon with Pastor Duane Smith officiating.

Friends may greet the family from 10 a.m. until time of services Saturday, October 28 at the church. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling the arrangements.

Diane Dawn Roney was born June 25, 1958 in Postville, the daughter of Walter James and Dorothy Jean (Barr) Gelo. Dawn was raised on the family farm in the Forest Mills area of rural Postville, where she enjoyed riding her pony and taking long bicycle rides, several times all the way to Elgin to see her sister, Linda. She was baptized at First Baptist Church in Waukon and graduated from John R. Mott High School in Postville in 1976.

Jeff Jannsen, 72, of Waukon passed away peacefully at home Thursday, October 5, 2023 after a two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer. Per Jeff’s wishes, no services will be held at this time. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements.

Jeff is survived by his wife of 40 years, Janet; his son, Jamie (Angie) Jannsen of Stewartville, MN; his daughter, Jenny (Ryan) Hennessy of Waukon; his son, Jacob (Morgan) Jannsen of Lansing; his 10 grandchildren, who he loved dearly: Carter (Kaylee), Cole, Caleb and Carson Jannsen, Alli, Luke and Charlie Hennessy, and Eli, Judah and Abel Jannsen; as well as his dog, Chuck.

Online condolences may be left at www.martinfunerals.com.
 

Geraldine I. Muchow, 75, of Postville passed away Sunday, October 1, 2023 at Grandview Care Center, Oelwein. Funeral Service was held Thursday, October 5 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Postville with Rev. Lynn Noel as the officiant. Burial took place at St. Paul Cemetery in Monona.

Geraldine Ida, the daughter of Donald and Verda (Schultz) Williams, was born August 16, 1948. She was baptized August 22, 1948 at West Clermont Lutheran Church in Clermont. Geraldine graduated from Valley High School in Elgin May 26, 1967.

Geraldine was united in marriage with James E. Baker in June 1969. To this union one daughter was born. James and Geraldine later divorced. She later married Eldon Muchow May 18, 1991, and he passed away July 2, 2016.

Throughout her life, Geraldine worked for Gemini Products in Decorah, Iowa Turkey Products in Postville, cleaned houses in the surrounding communities and finally worked for Super 8 Motel in Decorah.

Walter Gordon Gilbertson, 90, of Winona, MN passed away Saturday, September 9, 2023 at Benedictine Saint Anne Nursing Home in Winona, MN. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, October 19 at the Grace Presbyterian Church in Winona, MN.

Visitation will be held Wednesday, October 18 from 4-7 p.m. at Fawcett Junker Funeral Home in Winona, MN and Thursday, October 19 from 10 a.m. until the service. Interment with military honors will be at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery, Preston, MN at a later date.

Walt was born December 20, 1932 at home on a family farm in Allamakee County to Cora (Fossum) and Arthur Gilbertson. He attended a country school until moving to Waukon where he graduated from Waukon High School. He was confirmed at Old West Paint Creek Lutheran Church, Waukon.

Floyd E. Mount passed away unexpectedly July 4, 2023 at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN after complications from a stroke. A private Celebration of Life was held by his immediate family July 9, 2023. A burial memorial will be held at Lycurgus Cemetery, rural Waukon at a later date.

Floyd was born in Waukon in 1952 to Floyd Sr. and Viola (Knickerbocker) Mount. From a young age, Floyd was tasked with daily chores on the Mount family farm, which instilled in him the values of hard work and humility. As a boy, his free time was spent playing baseball with the neighboring farm kids and exploring the woods and pastures of the family farm. Floyd attended elementary country school at Lycurgus and graduated from Waukon High School in 1970.

Everyone is invited to join area youth on athletic fields across the nation Wednesday, October 4 in sharing their Christian faith with fellow students and the general public for this year’s Fields of Faith event. The local event is now in its 12th year and will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Waukon High School football field Wednesday, October 4, or in the Waukon High School gym in the event of bad weather.

Featured speaker for this year’s Fields of Faith event in Waukon will be Harpers Ferry area native Jeff (JT) Olson, who is the founder and executive director of Both Hands Foundation, a faith-based non-profit serving orphans and widows. With over 153 million orphans worldwide and the costs of adoption on the rise, the mission of the organization is to fulfill the message of James 1:27 by serving orphans, widows and Christian adoptive families.

Friday, September 29 the most physical evidence of the end of a local era took place when a planned implosion event brought down the 492-foot tall smokestack and an adjacent bag house at the Alliant Energy Lansing Generating Station just south of Lansing along Great River Road. The facility had been decommissioned in December 2022, providing its final electric power to customers after more than 70 years in operation.

The implosion event (pictured in the surrounding photos) involved a large booming sound that is reported to have been heard for several miles, followed by a loud crashing noise and large cloud of dust and smoke as the smokestack and bag house structures collapsed within themselves into a planned demolition area. Alliant Energy spokesperson Morgan Hawk said the implosion “was successful and went as planned.”

This is the first article in a series that aims to provide occasional updates on the bridge replacement project at Lansing. Purposes of the series include a) addressing questions and rumors that might arise within the community as the project progresses - particularly for those who do not use the Internet and social media as their primary source of area news; b) directing people to the website developed by the Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation and to the project’s Facebook page, where those interested can access the latest information and sign up to receive project updates via email; and c) offering periodic feature articles that take a closer look at various aspects of the project as it continues to develop.

Readers are encouraged to send ideas for feature and human-interest stories related to the bridge project to The Standard at news@waukonstandard.com.

by Julie Berg-Raymond