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Waukon High School seniors Brenna Berns (left) and Braxton Stewart (right) were crowned Waukon High School's 2021 Homecoming Queen and King at the "Burning of the 'W'" pep rally held Thursday, September 16 at the Waukon High School. Additional photos of Waukon High School's Homecoming events are featured on Page 40 in the September 22, 2021 issue of The Standard, as well as coverage of the Waukon football team's Homecoming victory over North Fayette Valley featured on Page 19. Even more photos from this year’s Homecoming festivities can also be found at the Photo Galleries link on The Standard’s website.

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Members of the Kee High School Homecoming Court for this week’s 2021 celebration of the event include the King and Queen candidates from the Senior class pictured above, as well as the underclassman attendants pictured below. Pictured above are, left to right: Front row - Senior Class Homecoming Queen candidates Abby Wood, Maggy Weymiller, Reagan Mudderman, Haley Meyer and Lydia Strong; Back row - Senior Class Homecoming King candidates Ahmed Atta, Ethan Rasque, Dalton Dibert, Ethan Schweitzer and Luke Eiden. Pictured at right, front to back and left to right, are: Freshman Attendants Summer Walleser and Dalton Mudderman, Sophomore Attendants Mallory Mohn and Brendan Croft, and Junior Attendants Jaylyn Walleser and Carter Goetzinger. Details of this week's Homecoming events at Kee High School, along with celebratory pages, can be found on Pages 20 and 21 inside this issue. Photos courtesy of the Kee High School Yearbook.
 

Voters in the city of Lansing elected Melissa Hammell to the office of mayor in a Tuesday, September 14 special election. Listed as the lone candidate on the election ballot, Hammell garnered 156 of the 162 votes cast in the election.

The six remaining votes cast were all write-in individuals. According to the results, four of those write-in votes were for Don Peters, one was for Dave Janzen, and the other - although marked - was left blank. The Allamakee County Auditor’s office reports that all but one of the votes in the election were cast in-person on election day, with that lone other vote cast absentee before election day.

U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson from Iowa’s First District hosted a town hall discussion Thursday morning, September 16 at the Allamakee County Courthouse in Waukon as part of a northeast Iowa trek that day that also included a tour of the Northeast Iowa Dairy Foundation facility in Calmar and a tour of the Fareway grocery store in Manchester. Approximately two dozen area residents were in attendance at the hour-long session in Waukon, which included an introduction by Hinson of her priorities as a legislator followed by fielding questions from the audience in attendance in an effort to gather information and feedback to take with her to Washington, D.C. from the area she represents.

by David M. Johnson

Farmers are notorious for patronizing certain brands of feed, machinery, or anything that has to do with their farming operation. When it comes to breed of livestock, usually one breed and maybe something else mixed in for some reason or another. Even the clothes on their back may be of a particular line and nothing else is permitted. Farm equipment is no different.

In this area the color is usually green, orange, or different shades of red. The John Deere green has a very loyal following. There are a number of dealerships spread out in many locations to service those needs of area farmers, farmers owning the implements with the green and yellow logo.

by Joe Moses

The City of Waukon and Steve Pladsen, owner of RW Pladsen, Inc., have been working cooperatively relating to the planning and potential development of property adjacent to the Waukon City Park on the south end of the community. The land, known locally as the McCabe property, was recently auctioned through Hertz Farm Management by a sealed bidding process for three distinct parcels, with each creating unique opportunities for development.

With Pladsen winning the bid on the two parcels (Parcels 2 and 3) of the property located directly east of Second Street SW, between the Southcrest Assisted Living complex and the Waukon City Park, the City of Waukon has expressed interest in purchasing the southerly portion of Parcel 2. The City’s land purchase from Pladsen would consist of approximately 14.4 acres of the McCabe property’s southerly portion of Parcel 2, just north of the campgrounds portion of the Waukon City Park.

Approval of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge’s (Refuge) Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) in 2006 resulted in the Refuge’s current closed area system consisting of 20 closed areas on the river and three sanctuaries. All refuge closed areas and sanctuaries are characterized by a closure to all migratory bird hunting.

In addition to being closed to all migratory bird hunting, closed areas are closed to all hunting, trapping and camping during the period coinciding with duck hunting seasons within their respective states. Sanctuaries are closed to all public entry during the period of October 1 to the end of the duck hunting season.

by Julie Berg-Raymond

Following a special election Tuesday, September 14, Melissa Hammell was sworn in as mayor of Lansing immediately prior to the Lansing City Council’s regular meeting Monday, September 20. Hammell will serve out the remainder of the current four-year mayoral term through the year 2023.

October 8-10, over 200 quilted items will adorn the New Albin Community Center, located at 137 Railroad Avenue SW in New Albin. There will be an array of quilts, including antique  quilts, baby quilts, t-shirt quilts, wall hangings, table runners and wool work on display. Hours for the show will be Friday, October 8 from 4-7 p.m.; Saturday, October 9 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Sunday, October 10 from 12-4 p.m. All proceeds will benefit the New Albin Public Library.

New this year will be a variety of quilts for sale. A portion of the proceeds from those quilts sold will also benefit the New Albin Public Library.

Lisa Fruechte and Karen Darling of New Albin began organizing this show in 2006. With a number of helpers each year, they have seen it continue to grow. It is not required to be part of a quilt guild to display an item in the New Albin show.

The Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center will host a Building Better Birders Workshop Thursday, October 7 starting at 6:30 p.m. The presentation will feature “Common Feeder Birds of Iowa” by Kelly McKay, Mark Roberts and Brian Ritter.

The program will be free of charge, but advanced registration is encouraged. This program is designed to help those attending identify birds that might be visiting their feeders this winter in the Driftless Area.

Kelly McKay is from the BioEco Research and Monitoring Center in Hampton, IL. He will be assisted by Mark Roberts, Environmental Education Coordinator from the Clinton County Conservation Board and Brian Ritter, the Executive Director of the Nahant Marsh Education Center.  Funding for the speakers has been provided by the Resource Enhancement and Protection-Conservation Education Program (REAP-CEP).