Community News

The annual WinnMed Hospice Memorial Ride is set for Sunday, June 23. The event will begin on the WinnMed campus in Decorah with a free-will donation breakfast, and will be held rain or shine. The 2024 event will support specialty therapies for hospice patients: Pet Therapy, Music Therapy and Massage Therapy. Additionally, this year’s donations will support WinnMed Hospice’s “We Honor Veterans” program.

The Allamakee County Veterans Museum has a special D-Day exhibit on display throughout the month of June at its location at 105 Allamakee Street in Waukon. The D-Day Display honors Allamakee County D-Day Veteran Sgt. 1st Class Arthur H. Ennullat, who was born in 1907 in Linton Township in Allamakee County.

Sgt. Ennullat served as a glider plane pilot with the 82nd Airborne Division, 320th Glider Artillery Battalion. He earned five service bars, a Combat Infantryman Badge, a Bronze Star, and a Silver Star.

For the second update in a row by the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), the biggest story at the construction site of the new Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing is the rain. The storms that have hit so much of Iowa did not miss the northeast corner of the state where Kraemer North America (NA) is working to keep the project on schedule.

The excessive amount of precipitation the past several weeks has made things a little more complicated. From high water on the Mississippi River itself to wet and sloppy conditions at the construction site (see photo at far right), workers have met the challenges to move the project forward. That has included using pumps to dewater work areas. Despite these obstacles, Kraemer NA has made progress on construction of the bridge.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, June 10 to address a short agenda of items including Public Comment and Department Head Updates, among other routine matters. The meeting was called to order by Board of Supervisors Chairperson Dan Byrnes with Supervisors Mark Reiser and Dennis Keatley present.

The meeting moved into Public Comment with Tom Clark, the lone candidate on either the Republican or Democrat ballot in the June 4 Primary Election, providing an updated phone number to the Supervisors and County Auditor Denise Beyer. Clark won the Republican nomination in that June 4 Primary for the Board of Supervisors seat up for election in November’s General Election, seeking to replace Supervisor Mark Reiser, who opted not to seek re-election to that seat.

Residents of Waukon will have the opportunity to share their ideas for improving the community of Waukon at a design open house being hosted by the Waukon Visioning Committee prior to the Waukon Music in the Park performance featuring Waukon’s own Annie Ellingson Thursday, June 13 at Waukon City Park, which begins at 7 p.m. This open house is the culmination of an input-gathering process to identify transportation needs and opportunities for enhancements within the Waukon community. Information collected at public input gathering events from earlier this spring will be incorporated into a conceptual transportation and landscape enhancement plan.

Waukon Patriot Quilters distributed quilts to five veterans with local ties at the 2024 Memorial Day program held at Oakland Cemetery in Waukon Monday, May 27. Pictured, left to right, in the photo at right are U.S. Air Force Col. Eric Haler, Dennis Luck, Theodore Criswell, Duane Dahlstrom and Heather Homewood. Submitted photo.

During the month of June, the Allamakee County Veterans Museum will display a special exhibit to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Normandy Invasion of France in World War II. The Normandy Invasion was the Allied invasion of western Europe during World War II launched June 6, 1944, often referred to as D-Day, as depicted in the submitted images above and below.

The Allamakee County Veterans Museum at 105 Allamakee Street in Waukon will host summer open hours for tours Fridays from 12 Noon to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 Noon. Special programs will be announced for some Saturday mornings, and previous programs will be repeated for visitors on request. The museum is also open by appointment for community groups, veterans organizations, and families not able to visit during regular hours. There is no admission or membership charge, and the facility is handicap accessible.
 

The 2024 Allamakee County Dairy Days Parade traveled the streets of Waukon early Monday evening, June 3, with a number of area businesses, families and organizations paying tribute to the dairy industry. The annual celebration brings together those representing the future of the industry, such as the young Allamakee County Dairy Ambassadors pictured above with their adult program coordinators, as well as those who have represented or supported the industry in a variety of ways currently and throughout its storied past in Allamakee County, all in an effort to recognize the importance of the dairy industry to all who live, work and play in Allamakee County. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this webpage.
 

Robey Memorial Library in Waukon and The Oneota Valley Literary Foundation (OVLF) have partnered to host Main Street Story Walk in Waukon featuring the children’s story “I don’t want to be a frog” by Dev Petty. During the month of June, families are encouraged to read this story in the windows of various business storefronts as they stroll the downtown area. For this and upcoming Story Walks in Waukon, the OVLF will be providing a free copy of the featured book to every family that stops by Robey Memorial Library with a photo of them completing the Story Walk.

FreedomBank recently announced the promotion of six employees to new positions within the organization. This move reflects the bank’s commitment to recognizing and nurturing the talents of its staff.

Among those promotions was one at FreedomBank’s Waukon location. Kelli Mudderman was promoted to Assistant Vice President, Consumer Lending.

Kathy Mueller, the President and CEO of FreedomBank, expressed pride in the organization’s culture of success and development, which focuses on promoting from within. Mueller stated, “We are grateful for the contributions of our employee-owners and look forward to their success in their new roles.”