Community News

The contents of a dumpster located in the first block of First Street SW in Waukon caught fire late Tuesday morning, May 12. The dumpster was being used as part of a building exterior remodeling project on the A-OK Well Service building at 102 West Main Street in Waukon. Fire officials say the dumpster contained discarded wood and other items from the project and embers from the project contractor crew welding anchors to the top of the building found their way into the dumpster and ignited the blaze. The contractor had used a piece of lift equipment to move the dumpster further away from the building prior to the arrival of the Waukon volunteer fire crew, which was on scene less than half an hour to extinguish the blaze and make sure it would not reignite. Standard photo by Joe Moses.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, May 11 to address a full agenda of items including review of the Rolinda Acres LLC construction permit application, setting a letting date for concrete pavement patching bids and discussion of COVID-19 related topics.

Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation (NEICAC) is committed to decreasing food insecurity and supporting community members across its seven-county service area to stay home and stay healthy during the COVID-19 Outbreak. NEICAC also understands the imperative role food pantries are playing in meeting hunger needs during this current pandemic.

In an effort to further facilitate the connection between those two aspects, NEICAC is partnering with area food pantries in offering its EARL Public Transit system to transport food and household necessities from food pantries, directly to the door of community members.

Clients are asked to contact their local food pantry to learn if they are participating, or reach out to the Family Service office in their area. The Family Service office in the Waukon area can be reached by calling 563-568-4224 and the Decorah office can be reached at 563-387-4958.

February 4 of this year, U.S. Army Specialist Tristan J. Rolfs of Lansing and three other soldiers received an “Award for Excellence” medallion from 3rd United States Infantry Regiment Commander Col. James Tuite (pictured at left in above photo below shaking hands with Rolfs at right). Only 479 U.S. Army soldiers to date have received this medal.

The medallion (pictured at center) is awarded to distinguish and honor soldiers who excel at a job or task while displaying efficiency and productivity. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Rolfs was putting in considerable hours training with the Urban Search and Rescue Squad (such as what he is pictured doing in the photo below) which involves the location, extrication and initial medical stabilization of victims trapped in structural collapse due to natural disasters, mining accidents and collapsed trenches. Rolfs had the opportunity to train with the Washington, D.C. Fire Department.

Walk-On Waukon wants everyone to safely enjoy the new walking path connection added on the south and west side of the Waukon City Park, completing a paved loop with the south and west trail entrances to the park with the new sidewalk that extends along the southernmost end of Second Street SW and then travels east along Eleventh Avenue SW in front of the Waukon Fire Station and beyond. Walk-On Waukon was planning for a community celebration walk in early May, but with the current pandemic situation limiting large gatherings is, instead, inviting everyone to enjoy this new stretch (or to walk their own favorite route in town) on their own whenever it works for them to do so. It is suggested that social distancing guidelines continue to be followed.

Through the month of May Robey Memorial Library in Waukon is hosting Main Street Story Walk, where families can read the popular children’s story “The Cool Bean” by Jory John as they stroll the downtown area. Selected businesses will have a portion of a story posted in the front window of their establishments for viewing from the sidewalk, the complete book being able to be read in nine stops. As families join in the fun, they are reminded to practice social distancing for the safety and health of all. Selected locations, as outlined in the map above, include: 1.Waukon Chamber/ACED (starting point); 2.Cunningham Hardware;  3.Elliott Jewelers;  4.Hartig Drug; 5.Rockweiler Appliance; 6.KNEI Radio; 7.Teslow’s Formal Wear; 8.Krambeer Barber; 9.Howards Home Furnishings (ending point). Main Street Story Walk will continue throughout the summer with new stories and locations in the months of June, July and August as well.

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met via Zoom web conference in regular session Monday, May 4 to address a variety of matters including discussion of hiring a new City Attorney, the acquisition of property at 7 Spring Avenue and proposed street projects for additional chip seal work.

Under Department Reports, Waukon Police Chief Paul Wagner discussed a grant that is intended to replace the Special Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) grant which has supplied $4,200 in funding. He indicated that the new grant and program will provide $8,000 in funding for the department. Wagner also discussed bids received for the purchase of a new police department vehicle including a Dodge Durango from Torkelson Motors of Waukon at a bid price of $28,562.00 - with that purchase previously approved by the council to be taken out of next fiscal-year’s budget, and a Chevy Tahoe from RW Pladsen of Waukon at a bid price of $34,646.49.

AVEKA Group, Inc., a contract manufacturing and research and development company based out of Woodbury, MN, has recently started construction on a large-scale expansion to its AVEKA Nutra Processing (ANP) facility in Waukon. Originally started in 2011, the Waukon plant specializes in processing food, beverage and nutraceutical products for AVEKA’s wide range of clients.

Five facilities and over 25 years of operation after its initial inception, AVEKA was again feeling the strain of increased demand for its specialty milling, drying, blending and classifying services. One particular service that was seeing an especially high area of growth was large scale spray drying. Having nearly reached its maximum spray drying capacity, the company knew it needed to continue to expand its production capacity - and that meant expanding one of its facilities as well.

Plexiglass safety barriers to be installed at County Treasurer’s Office

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, April 27 to discuss a variety of matters including a plat approval, the Quarterly Report from Allamakee County Environmental Health and several COVID-19 related items. Board Chairperson Larry Schellhammer and Supervisor Dennis Koenig were present in the Supervisors Boardroom at the Allamakee County Courthouse with Supervisor Dan Byrnes attending via Zoom web-conferencing.

During Public Comment, resident Jack Knight briefly discussed the impact of COVID-19 on the county’s business community and the use of medical masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, making a comparison to the effect seen in urban areas.

With local long-term care facilities implementing visitor restrictions during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the interest of the health and safety of residents and staff, the family of Nick and Lana Dahlstrom of rural New Albin paraded some unique visitors around outside the windows of Good Samaritan Society-Waukon for residents and staff to enjoy in an effort to help alleviate some of the downside of the current unique visiting situation.

“We have been sharing photos with the residents through their website, https://www.good-sam.com/locations/waukon/send-a-note, to help the residents feel they are not alone or forgotten during this time,” Lana Dahlstrom shared. “It may be hard for them to understand or cope with why family is not visiting, and we wanted to do something to brighten their day.”