The Christmas lights and décor are up outside and in - there are presents being purchased and put under the trees - there are concerts and parties - there are family gatherings and extra Church services. And we do all this because???? Well, tradition, of course! Hasn’t Christmas been celebrated since the very night Jesus was born? No, actually there is no mention of commemorating his birth whatsoever in our Biblical text. But isn’t that where all our “traditions” come from?! Alas, no again, most of our 21st Century celebrated Christian “traditions” are of human making.
Well, in January the rule of law will start and after two years of the Republican party letting their president sell out this country to Putin and doing nothing about it, “time’s up”. No more running roughshod over the rule of law and the Constitution and making up laws to fit the crimes that he has committed as he goes along.
I hope Mr. Quandahl will do something about all the untruths or better yet pure out unforgiving lies that only he and a few others believe, such as the 2nd Amendment and your guns being taken away by the Democrats, and many other Republican fairy tales. Mr. Quandahl and the Republican party have been campaigning for years and years on that, they know not the law. I hope all those who locally support the Republican party pray for the rule of law to save this country for future generations.
by Jeremy Leitz, Allamakee County Executive Director 563-568-2148
Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• January 15: Last day to apply for the Market Facilitation Program
Changing Bank Accounts
FSA program payments are issued electronically into your bank account. In order to make timely payments, you need to notify your FSA servicing office if you close your account or if your bank information is changed for whatever reason (such as your financial institution merging or being purchased).
Payments can be delayed if FSA is not notified of changes to account and bank routing numbers.
Goal to have plans in place as water quality funding increases significantly over the next few years
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today announced that applications are now being accepted for water quality planning and development projects. Selected projects will help inform, prioritize and coordinate implementation of conservation practices focused on improving water quality.
“This is an opportunity to bring in new partners to work with farmers and landowners to scale up construction of infrastructure based conservation practices. With long-term water quality funding now joining existing conservation programs, we are able to look several years ahead and make sure we are able to use the additional funding in a targeted, cost-efficient manner to improve water quality” Naig said.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today requested an additional $250,000 to support foreign animal disease response preparations as part of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget request. Naig also emphasized the importance of continued funding for the Iowa Water Quality Initiative and Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program. “Iowa’s $13.45 billion animal industry continues to see significant growth and is a key economic driver for our state. Avian influenza, African swine fever and other foreign animal diseases continue to represent a significant threat to our livestock farms and emphasize the need for us to expand efforts to prevent, prepare and potentially respond to an animal disease emergency,” Naig said. “It is important we continue to invest in priority areas such as animal health, water quality and renewable fuels to support our state’s farmers and help strengthen our rural economy.”
The Allamakee Ecumenical Choir will present its 42nd annual Candlelight Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols service this Sunday, December 9 at 7 p.m. at St. John's Lutheran Church, located at 8 Fifth Street SW in Waukon. Area clergy will read the lessons, and carols will be sung by the choirs and congregation while accompanied by organ, trumpets and handbells.
Choral numbers will be presented by the Ecumenical Choir, Ecumenical Men’s Choir and Ecumenical Children’s Choir. Musical selections will also be presented by the St. John’s Lutheran Church Youth and Senior Handbell Choirs and the Bixby String Quintet. The program is prepared and directed by James Bieber, Organist and Director of Music at St. John’s Lutheran Church, and he is assisted by his daughter, Sarah Palmer, Waukon Middle and High School Choral Director.
This Friday, December 7, the Waukon High School gymnasium will be dedicated in honor and in the name of a man who likely spent more time and touched more lives in that same gym and during his coaching and teaching career than anyone else. During this Friday’s home game series against Oelwein for the Waukon girls basketball team, a ceremony will be held between the junior varsity and varsity contests to unveil what will be the newly dedicated Dave Schoeberlein Gymnasium at Waukon High School.
The annual Lighted Holiday Parade held in Waukon Monday evening, December 3 brightened up the beginning of the holiday season in more ways than one as nearly two dozen entries made their way through the city streets. Temperatures in the upper 20s made for some chilly viewing conditions for parade-goers, with some weekend snow adding a further holiday feel to the event, but neither of those weather considerations prevented people from lining the parade route, as evident in the above photo. Standard photo by Joe Moses. View and find out how to purchase this photo and more from the holiday parade by clicking on the Photo Galleries link at www.waukonstandard.com.
Residents and visitors of Allamakee County will have two opportunities to see the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train Wednesday, December 5. The Holiday Train will be stopping in Lansing that afternoon, at approximately 4:50 p.m., and again in New Albin a little over an hour later, at approximately 6:15 p.m.
The lighted holiday train will be stopping across from the Sports Complex in Lansing located on South Front Street, between North Second Street and Dodge Street. The performances and presentations during the train’s stop in Lansing are scheduled to take place from 5-5:30 p.m. Following the Holiday
Train’s departure, Santa Claus will be at the Community Center on Main Street from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Allamakee County Economic Development Director Val Reinke (right in photo at right) was recently presented with a financial contribution from Northeast Iowa Realtors Association Representative Stacie Cooper (left) for the completion of the Allamakee Countywide Housing Assessment. This assessment was a $20,000-plus project. Allamakee County Economic Development is extremely grateful for all of the financial partners who assisted in making the assessment possible, including Northeast Iowa Regional Housing Trust Fund, Alliant Energy, Black Hills Energy, Allamakee Clayton Electric/Dairyland Power, the cities and Allamakee County, as well as the Northeast Iowa Realtors Association. The final assessment has been shared throughout the county with city councils, the board of supervisors, school boards, organizations and more.
