Community News

Award-winning singers/songwriters, young and local musicians all scheduled to perform

by Brianne Grimstad

Music lovers will be in for a unique treat Saturday, September 14 as the Red Barn Campground and Restaurant in Lansing hosts its first-ever Sunset Sessions. Award-winning songwriters and musicians Kevin Burt, Frank Martin Busch and Jeni Grouws, along with local area musicians, will be settling in at the Red Barn in Lansing for an afternoon and evening of music and storytelling.

In addition to being one of the featured singer/songwriters, Grouws is also helping to produce the event. “Songwriters are weird people,” she said with a laugh. “They find humor in strange things and sometimes the song is funny, or seems irreverent, but it’s always about what we see in the world, the good, the bad and the ridiculous.”

Private First Class (PFC) Landyn J. Lewey, age 18, of Iowa Falls graduated from United States Marine Corps boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD), San Diego, CA, August 23, 2024. PFC Lewey successfully completed 13 weeks of intensive basic training at MCRD San Diego as one of 106 recruits in Training Platoon 2143.

While in recruit training, PFC Lewey achieved sharpshooter status, and he was a member of G Company’s Honor Platoon, a high honor granted to the platoon that achieves the highest at every skill level. Following 10 days home on leave he will report to Camp Pendleton for one month at Military Combat Training, followed by Military Occupation Specialty school in Pensacola, FL.

PFC Lewey is a 2024 graduate of Iowa Falls-Alden High School, and the son of Bryan and Rachel Lewey of Iowa Falls. He is the grandson of Richard and Jean Lewey of Waukon and Jim and Kathy Stammeyer of Oelwein. He is also the great-grandson of Irene Lewey of Waukon.
 

The Allamakee County Veterans Museum in Waukon will commemorate the anniversary of the end of World War II culminating with VJ Day (Victory over Japan), which was declared September 2, 1945, when the formal surrender of Japan took place on the Battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Harbor (photo at left).

A documentary film about the events leading up to the surrender, including the atomic bombing of Japan, will be shown at the Veterans Museum at 105 Allamakee Street in Waukon this Saturday, September 7, at 10 a.m.

Museum tours are also currently available Fridays from 12 Noon to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 Noon. Prior programs will be repeated for visitors on request. The museum is also open by appointment for school, community groups, veterans organizations, and others not available during regular hours.

There is no admission or membership charge. The facility is handicap accessible.
 

Removal of invasive species, planting of more than 3,000 trees planned and implemented by conservation, forestry specialists, funded by private individual

A project focused on the enhancement of vegetative - and coincidingly wildlife - habitat along the 5 Bridges Trail in Waukon City Park got underway this past week. The project is a collaboration of local, state and environmental professionals, but the entire project cost of more than $14,000 is being paid for through the generosity of an anonymous private donor.

“This isn’t something that we just decided to do on our own,” Waukon Park & Recreation Director Jeremy Strub explained. “It’s a project that was proposed to us with the costs covered, and we’ve spent most of the summer talking about it and planning it out so we could get it started this fall.”

One hundred thirty-one youth from 72 counties participated in the 2024 Awardrobe Clothing Event held at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines Thursday, August 8. This event provides 4-H members in grades 9-12 the opportunity to showcase their apparel design and production knowledge, as well as their creative skills. As a part of the showcasing experience, youth complete a comprehensive report and participate in conference judging. The event concludes with a runway show for all participants.

Olivia Enyart, senior member of the Cherry Valley Chums 4-H Club, represented Allamakee County at the Awardrobe Event at the Iowa State Fair this year with her Fashion Revue outfit. She is the daughter of Brian and Monica Enyart of Postville, and she was selected as one of two recipients of the Fashion Revue Award sponsored by the Central Iowa Chapter American Sewing Guild recognizing her outstanding skills in the fashion revue category at this year’s event.

QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer - the three simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. With a record number of deaths by suicide in the United States in 2022 (the last year data is available) and a disproportionate number of deaths by suicide in rural states, this skill is more important now than ever.

Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help. Each year thousands of Americans are saying “yes” to saving the life of a friend, colleague, family member, or neighbor.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, August 19 at the Dolores Tillinghast Memorial Library in Harpers Ferry as part of an annual schedule of alternate meeting locations including public libraries within the county. The Supervisors addressed a full agenda of matters including the appointment of Allamakee County Treasurer to fill a vacancy, discussion and consideration of purchasing patrol vehicles for the County Sheriff’s office and discussion and consideration of obligating American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. The meeting was called to order by Board of Supervisors Chairperson Dan Byrnes with Supervisors Mark Reiser and Dennis Keatley present.

by Brianne Grimstad

For Waukon native Jessica Winters, a dream three years in the making has finally been realized with the opening of Earth Frequency Apothecary & Reiki May 16, 2024. The store is located at 106 Rossville Road in Waukon.

Her new store carries a variety of items for all ages and interests in alternative healing and therapies, as well as offering many unique services to compliment her retail business. The retail store is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and services, like Reiki sessions, are done from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday through Friday. Earth Frequency Apothecary & Reiki is also open Saturdays by appointment for store or services.

Educator and former city councilman Ian Zahren has filed his petition with the Iowa Secretary of State to appear on the November ballot as an Independent for Iowa House District 64. This district Zahren is seeking to represent includes Allamakee and Clayton counties, along with a single precinct in Dubuque County.

If elected, the Lansing resident would be the first person without party affiliation to be elected to an Iowa state office in more than 100 years. Zahren, 36, will face Republican Jason Gearhart from Strawberry Point in the November election. No Democratic Party candidate is running for the District 64 seat.

Each year, Community Bankers of Iowa (CBI), the only statewide association advocating exclusively for Iowa’s independent community banks, presents its Community Banking Month Best-of-the-Best Award.  This award honors the Iowa community bank that showed excellence in giving back to its local community during Community Banking Month - observed in April - and throughout the year.

FreedomBank was named the 2024 recipient of the award and was presented with the award at a ceremony during CBI’s 53rd Annual Convention held in Arnolds Park this July. The work FreedomBank has done sends the clear message that community banks make a difference on Main Street.