Community News

The Waukon Chamber of Commerce summer music series “Music on Main” will offer entertainment for all ages. Performances are scheduled to be held every other Monday night through early August at 6 p.m. in the Visitor Center and Area Development office courtyard located at 101 West Main Street in downtown Waukon. Seating is limited, so participants are encouraged to bring their own lawn chair.
The list of entertainers for the 2014 series includes the following:
• June 9: Michelle Lynn, sponsored by Steel Cow/JL Miller Cabinet Makers.

The Allamakee County “Thunder in the Park,” program for June 14 and 15 is, first and foremost, a reenactment of specific Civil War battles, and each day will feature a battle which visitors can observe and experience the feeling of being there in the midst of battle. Cannons will provide the thunder, and cavalry and infantry soldiers will engage in battle. It is an opportunity to see a bit of history, as it happened 150 years ago.

Members of the Full Moon Touring Club (FMTC) performed the spring session of the group's biannual roadside clean-up along the stretch of Great River Road (County Road X52) from Harpers Ferry to State Highway 76 the weekend of April 27-28. Pictured above, left to right, are club members Russell Whiteside of the Quad Cities, Steve Kolbach of the Yellow River Forest area, and Mark Alitz of Mason City at the starting point of their clean-up efforts, with Craig Leonard of the Quad Cities also contributing but not pictured.

The “Thunder in the Park” Civil War Reenactment event will once again this year include a fashion show and a discussion  on women in the Civil War, both presented by Carolyn Richards of rural Hazel Green, WI Saturday and Sunday mornings in the southeast corner of Waukon City Park. Richards has been participating in reenactments for 21 years. Her introduction to reenactments came about in a rather unique way.

“Thunder in the Park” returns to Waukon June 13-15, beginning with the presentation of Unconditional Surrender: A Visit with Ulysses S. Grant, a one man play written and performed by Waukon native Peter J. Grady. The play will be performed at 7 p.m. Friday, June 13 at the Waukon High School auditorium. Tickets are now available at the Waukon Chamber of Commerce office in the Visitors Center in downtown Waukon.

Many small towns in Iowa struggle to survive even though they offer quality of life features that are hard to find in big cities. Understanding these unique features is the goal of a new Iowa State University (ISU) study. Researchers Terry Besser, Stephen Sapp, Deborah Tootle and Georgeanne Artz have received a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to study the quality of life in Waukon and other small towns and assess how these characteristics affect community survival.

by Bob Beach

Volunteers and community leaders in Waukon planted trees this past Saturday, May 10 (see photo at left) that will provide more shade, save energy and beautify the community through the statewide Trees Forever effort, along with Black Hills Energy's Power of Trees program. The Waukon Trees Forever Chapter was awarded a $1,900 grant from the Power of Trees program to plant trees along city streets and within Waukon City Park.

An endowment fund to benefit education and healthcare has been established by Dr. Steven and Stefanie Perkins with the Allamakee County Community Foundation (ACCF).
ACCF Foundation Coordinator Betty Steege announced the establishment of the donor advised endowment at the ACCF Awards Reception celebration April 22. The endowment has been invested and its future annual distributions will be directed by the Perkins family to support education and healthcare needs in Allamakee County forever.

The Waukon Trees Forever Chapter annual tree planting event originally scheduled for Saturday, May 3 has now been moved to the following Saturday, May 10 due to muddy conditions. Volunteers are asked to bring shovels, rakes and gloves and meet at the Waukon City Park campground at 8 a.m. Saturday, May 10. For more information, contact Kenneth Olson, MD of Waukon Trees Forever at 563-568-4612.