Dan and Shelby Iseli of Waukon announce the birth of their daughter, Haddie Mae Iseli, born November 8, 2021 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. She weighed 8 lbs. 2 ozs. and measured 18 inches in length at the time of her birth. She joins a sister, Paisley (3).
Grandparents are Joel and Teresa Sommer and Arthur and Lori Iseli, all of Waukon. Great-grandparents are Jerry and Judy Sommer, Darlene Oesterle, and John and Mary Iseli, all of Waukon, and Donna and Dale Bodensteiner of Ossian.
Fiber installation ... A contractor working on the fiber optic installation project in northern Allamakee County gets, literally, down in the trenches to help complete the installation. Allamakee Clayton REC has laid more than 140 miles of fiber optic network during its recent local projects on the west edge of Waukon and in northern Allamakee County. Submitted photo.
Rock solid effort ... When rock is encountered where fiber is being installed, the rock saw is brought out to help make a path. Pictured above, a West Union Trenching employee uses the saw to cut a path through the solid rock in an Allamakee County roadway to make room for the Allamakee-Clayton REC fiber to be placed. Submitted photo.
by Stephanie Kelley
Fiber optic internet is fast. Really fast. Using a download speed calculator, it means that what takes dial-up internet over 331 days, downloads with fiber in 34 seconds. That’s one movie in HD (high-definition). That’s 4.0 GB (gigabytes) of data. It’s easy to get confused when talking about the internet. Isn’t it all just WiFi? Actually, it’s not. WiFi, or wireless internet, is simply another type of internet, like dial-up, like fiber optics. Except that wireless travels through air with high energy radio waves, dial-up sends electrons through copper wire, and fiber optic internet is light traveling through glass.
The 30th annual Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation Christmas Fantasy will be held this weekend. The theme will be “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” which is fitting for an outdoor Fantasy.
A drive-through of lighted displays will be out in front of the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon for anyone wanting to drive through or walk through evenings during the event, which will be held Thursday-Monday, November 18-22. The grounds will be open from 5-9 p.m. Thursday through Sunday nights and from 4-7 p.m. Monday night. The format of the event was changed again this year to keep the event COVID-safe.
Silent Auction items will be displayed inside the Pavilion for anyone who would like to walk through the display of numerous items. Bidding for all the Silent Auction items will be done entirely online this year. Photos with descriptions of each item will be entered into the online auction website, which is hosted by Sweeney Auction Service.
Ribbon cutting ceremony at Lansing Office Works ... Left to right: Mary Palmborg, Main Street Lansing Promotions Committee member; Congresswoman Ashley Hinson; Paul Baldwin; Maryann Baldwin, Founder/Owner, Lansing Office Works; Ian Zahren, Kee High School Innovation Lab Class and Vocal Music Instructor; Eric Dregne, Executive Team Member, Rural Ideas Network; Elizabeth Loberg, Founder, Wood Media LLC and Lansing Office Works tenant; Bruce Palmborg, President, Main Street Lansing Board of Directors; Ellen Modersohn; Andy Kelleher, Executive Director, Main Street Lansing and Lansing Office Works tenant; Val Reinke, Executive Director, Allamakee County Economic Development; Andrew Boddicker, Lansing Office Works member. Photo by Julie Berg-Raymond.
by Julie Berg-Raymond
Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa, 1st) visited Lansing Wednesday, November 10, when Main Street Lansing held a ribbon cutting event for Lansing Office Works at its newly-opened location at 274 Main Street.
Lansing Office Works, which opened September 20, is a co-working space that offers a collaborative office environment for remote workers, small business owners and entrepreneurs. Amenities include high-speed wireless internet access, private meeting spaces, a breakroom/kitchen area, common areas, and virtual business coaching.
Following a tour of the premises, Hinson spoke with attendees about post-pandemic changes and challenges in the workforce. Hinson said people have been forced to re-assess what they really value - including how they want to work. “We’ve got to be reactive to the ‘new normal,’” she said.
In honor and appreciation of their service and sacrifices, the Waukon Patriot Quilters awarded quilts to local veterans at a Veterans Day ceremony held Thursday, November 11 at the Sweeney Shelter in the Waukon City Park near the Allamakee County Freedom Rock. Pictured above at the quilt presentations are, left to right: Front row - Charles Byrnes, Wayne Howe, Gus Berger; Back row - Norman Borcherding, Kelli McGriff, Dick Hermanson, Kenneth Mark, Norman Peterson. Jean Brink had also received her quilt the previous week, as noted in the November 10 edition of The Standard. Submitted photo.
The Iowa State Patrol has released information regarding the October 14 single-vehicle crash that claimed the life of Waukon native and Iowa State Patrol Trooper Ted Benda, age 37. The report indicates that Trooper Benda swerved to miss a deer and could not regain control of his vehicle, resulting in the crash that critically injured him and ultimately claimed his life October 20.
The report shared Friday, November 12 by the Iowa State Patrol says that a deer ran on to the roadway from the west in front of Trooper Benda’s Dodge Charger patrol car as he was traveling southbound on State Highway 51 about six miles north of Postville around 11:30 p.m. that mid-October night. The report further explains that Trooper Benda took evasive driving action to avoid the deer but his vehicle lost traction, entering the roadway ditch to the east, hitting an embankment on the driver side and rolling before coming to rest on the vehicle’s driver side.
The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, November 15 to address a full agenda of items. There was no Public Comment and the meeting moved into Department Reports.
Park, Rec and Wellness Director Jeremy Strub provided an update advising that the Waukon City Park has closed up for the season and that winter season programs are beginning with basketball. Strub advised that use of the Wellness Center has picked up with cooler temperatures. He also discussed a grant through the State of Iowa relating to lost revenue calculated at $77,778 between 2019 and 2020 with the grant awarding $58,333 to compensate for that lost revenue.
The sixth grade students at St. Patrick School in Waukon had the privilege of learning and researching information about many saints during their Religion class. The students were able to share their information about a specific saint at the Monday, November 1 All Saints Day Mass, which honors and commemorates the saints in heaven. As pictured above during the Mass, students displayed and presented their knowledge about different saints to their fellow students and parishioners at St. Patrick Catholic Church. Submitted photo.
The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors met for its regular monthly meeting Monday night, November 15, which included an organizational meeting. Board President Al Rissman opened the meeting with a moment of silence for ACSD Success Coordinator DJ Scholtes, who passed away last week.
During the Communications time of the meeting, a Fine Arts presentation was given. Teachers involved in visual arts, choral music and band explained to the board and those present what kind of curriculum they use and some of the activities that students participate in. Students were also surveyed to find out how they feel about the arts and what they think their level of being an artist or musician is.
The Aerial Applicator Continuing Instruction Course (CIC) for commercial pesticide applicators is now available. The program is provided by the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP).
The course will fulfill 2021 recertification requirements for commercial pesticide applicators certified in category 11. Some of the topics covered will include information on application equipment and calibration, safe application techniques, and pest management.
To obtain additional information about the CIC, contact the ISU Extension and Outreach office in Allamakee County at 563-568-6345. The local deadline to have this course complete is December 1, 2021. There is a registration fee.
