Top Stories

by Lissa Blake

The deadline to weigh in on housing needs in Allamakee County is fast approaching, and organizers need more input from across the county.

“Whether you live, work or own a business in Allamakee County, we need to hear from you,” said Val Reinke, executive director of Allamakee County Economic Development and Tourism.

Reinke explained each county in Iowa is required to do a housing study every five years.

“We use this data to work with developers, city councils and builders, and to apply for programs,” said Reinke, adding, “The first thing they ask us is to see our housing study.”  

So far, only 200 people have responded to the current survey, which has a deadline of Tuesday, October 31.

“We need input from every community in the county… people who rent, people who own, people who come to the county for work. Housing is a real issue here,” she said.

by Lissa Blake

Trying to raise half a million dollars to increase child care availability in Allamakee County might seem like a monumental task, but the opportunity is readily available if the local community can come together to take advantage of it.

The State of Iowa Department of Health and Human Services is offering half of that funding total, and the Allamakee County community needs to raise the other $250,000 by the end of October in order to receive the State’s contribution, with $60,000 already pledged to that county match commitment by some local businesses and organizations.

Everyone interested in helping to find solutions for additional access to child care in Allamakee County is invited to an informational meeting scheduled for this Thursday, October 19 from 12-1:30 p.m. at Lansing Office Works, 274 Main Street in Lansing. Lunch will be provided (see additional details in the shaded box printed on this same page).

Allamakee County is one of 10 communities in the state of Iowa that has been selected to participate in a child care solutions program. The program has $2.5 million available to invest within the communities that are able to provide a 50/50 match to access the funds.

An informational meeting about the program and that funding opportunity is scheduled to be held Thursday, October 19 at the Lansing Office Works building, 274 Main Street in Lansing, from 12-1:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided. There is also a virtual link available for those who cannot access the meeting in-person, and that link is available at https://us06web.zoom.us/i/87181480659.

“Be a part of the solution!” meeting organizers urge. “Child care is a critical building block for our workforce and economy. We are looking for our county to come together to support this fund in efforts to create sustainability for our providers.”

by Julie Berg-Raymond

By early last week, Main Street Lansing (MSL) Executive Director Andrew Boddicker had all his boxes checked for an event he’d organized and scheduled for Wednesday, October 11 - a visit to Lansing by Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA).

Among the checked boxes, city council approval had been granted for an ATV/UTV Mt. Hosmer permit, and the council had also granted permission for Boddicker to clean the front, northwest room on the ground floor of the Old Stone School. Blake Schoh, owner of S&S Houseboat Rentals, was lined up to captain a short pontoon ride on the Mississippi River in the afternoon. Chef Wendi Wilson-Eiden had designed a menu and would be preparing dinner in the evening at Coffee On The River - the restaurant she co-owns with her sister, Diana Wilson-Thompson. The guest list was confirmed, and The Standard newspaper had assigned a reporter.

A Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) Suicide Prevention Training event is scheduled to take place Tuesday, October 24 in Waukon. Sponsored by MHT (Mental Health Today/Matt Howe Tribute), the event is planned to take place from 6-8 p.m. that October 24 evening at Iron Ridge Church at 512 9th Street SW in Waukon.

Mental Health Today (Matt Howe Tribute) is hosting Ryan Nesbit of Alive and Running for a free suicide prevention training. Nesbit is a certified trainer of QPR’s “industry leading approach to suicide prevention.” QPR, just like CPR, is an emergency response to someone in crisis and can save lives.

by David M. Johnson

The society and culture of this nation has always had a special reverence for the deceased, almost unwritten rules that determine what respect is to be shown and practiced when it comes to the deceased and their burial. Burial plots of deceased family and ancestors are held in reverence, the gravestone markers are visited and decorated at least once a year, if not more. The gravestone memorials of heroes and leaders are held in even greater esteem.

At Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, DC can be found acre after acre of the burial plots of many of this nation’s fallen veterans representing all branches of military service. Many were killed in battle, many were not. In this awe-inspiring piece of ground there is a particular setting that overlooks that national cemetery.

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the closing of St. George High School in Lansing. Alumni of the former high school have been organizing a reunion of all its former students that is scheduled for this Sunday, October 15. Further details of that reunion event appear in a shaded box accompanying this article elsewhere in this week’s edition of The Standard.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
According to information available at www.holyfamilyofthebluffs.org, the first parochial school associated with Immaculate Conception Parish in Lansing began in 1874. In the early 1900s, a new school was built and the parish purchased the brewery next to the church and eventually converted it into a school as well. The first class graduated from Immaculate Conception High School in 1914.

A Lansing man convicted of second-degree murder by an Allamakee County jury in August of this year is seeking a new trial, according to documents filed Monday, October 2 in Allamakee County District Court. Following investigation into the May 9, 2022 death of 83-year-old Daniel Lundy of Lansing, Andrew Karvel, now age 66, of Lansing was arrested by the Lansing/New Albin Police Department in August of 2022 and originally charged with first-degree murder, a Class A felony, for what was alleged at the time to be the strangulation death of Lundy in the Lansing residence the two men shared.

In the trial that took place a year after his arrest, that jury found Karvel guilty of second-degree murder. His sentencing date had been scheduled for October 23.

Allamakee County is one of 10 communities in the state of Iowa that has been selected to participate in a child care solutions program. The program has $2.5 million available to invest within the communities that are able to provide a 50/50 match to access the funds.

An informational meeting about the program and that funding opportunity is scheduled to be held Thursday, October 19 at the Lansing Office Works building, 274 Main Street in Lansing, from 12-1:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided. There is also a virtual link available for those who cannot access the meeting in-person, and that link is available at https://us06web.zoom.us/i/87181480659.

“Be a part of the solution!” meeting organizers urge. “Child care is a critical building block for our workforce and economy. We are looking for our county to come together to support this fund in efforts to create sustainability for our providers.”

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.