Community News

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, October 3 to address a full agenda of matter including a Resolution establishing a Temporary Housing Steering Committee to support the Rural Housing Readiness Assessment Initiative, discussion of the Merchandise Display Policy and discussion of agreements for the clean-up of properties at 11 Allamakee Street and 9 Allamakee Street.

There was no Public Comment and the meeting moved into Department Reports with Library Director Cate St. Clair of Robey Memorial Library providing an update. St. Clair discussed her recent return to work following maternity leave and noted the work performed by Chris Kerndt, who served as interim director during her absence. St. Clair advised that Kerndt is very capable and hard working with the library’s operations continuing very well during her leave.

Youth attended a day-long 4-H summit at Upper Iowa University in Fayette led by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach county and state youth outreach staff September 20. During the event, 75 youth from 11 area schools learned about using their voice for leadership and making an action plan for change in their community, and they also heard from ISU Extension and Outreach specialists on a variety of workshop topics. Schools attended from the following counties: Allamakee, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Clayton, Chickasaw, Fayette, Howard and Winneshiek.

Learning to work with others based on leadership style was one part of the overall process for developing a community action plan. To determine their leadership style, youth took a short survey to determine if they were more like a buffalo, eagle, mouse or beaver.

With election season in full swing and the 2022 General Election coming up November 8, Allamakee County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections Denise Beyer has a few reminders for all voters.

ABSENTEE BALLOT REQUEST FORMS
The Allamakee County Auditor’s office has been receiving calls from many voters who have received multiple mailings with an Absentee Ballot Request form enclosed. These mailings do not come from the Auditor’s office.

New legislation in 2021 states a County Auditor’s office may only mail an Absentee Ballot Request form to someone who specifically requests it from that office. The multiple mailings being received should indicate somewhere on the document what organization it is from. Many come from the state or local political parties, the Center for Voter Information, or others. Voters only need to send in one form.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, September 26 to address a full agenda of items including an appointment to the Civil Service Commission, discussion of the countywide building facade grant program and the consideration of hiring for the Victim/Witness Coordinator position in the County Attorney’s office.

During Public Comment, Lansing area resident Doug Mullen discussed that the Lansing Power Plant will be completely cleared from its site by the end of next year, which he indicated will have a negative financial impact upon the school district and county. Mullen next questioned the Supervisors about the proposed city-to-county conversion of Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH). Mullen noted that VMH is proposing to become a county-owned hospital to allow for bonding and then questioned whether an appropriation from the County would be part of this conversion.

by Abigail Waters

A new face can be seen around the Waukon Park and Recreation realm, as Carter Duerkop was hired by the City of Waukon as its new Park and Recreation Director at the July 18 regular meeting of the Waukon City Council. Duerkop began his tenure at his new position August 22, replacing former director Kim Kraus, who left the position for a new employment opportunity in the Allamakee Community School District.

Duerkop says he was exposed to Park and Recreation activities at a young age as his father also works in the field. In fact, his father, Chad Duerkop, served as Waukon’s Park and Recreation Director for a two-year stint just over 20 years ago and is currently Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Black River Falls, WI.

The Waukon Park & Recreation Department is conducting a survey to help determine what kinds of new recreation programs could be offered within the Waukon community. The public is encouraged to fill out the survey to provide input that will be used in determining future recreation programming within the community. The survey can be found online by typing in the following Uniform Resource Locator (URL) in any web browser: https://forms.gle/AhovhAiYSvkyaK5aA.

The survey does have questions regarding certain suggested programs, such as pickleball or fishing. There are also some demographic questions, as well as a section for leaving suggestions or comments regarding Park & Recreation programming.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate and his bipartisan Auditors Advisory Group are uniting to dispel election misinformation and disinformation ahead of the 2022 general election scheduled for November 8. Secretary Pate notes there has been a recent increase in the spread of false claims regarding elections in the state of Iowa, despite there being no evidence of intrusions into Iowa’s election systems.

“Iowans vote on paper ballots, and you cannot hack a paper ballot. We have numerous security measures and checks and balances in place to ensure the integrity of the vote. That includes Voter ID, public testing of voting equipment prior to the election, post-election audits and a wide array of cybersecurity protections,” Secretary Pate and the Auditors Advisory Group said in a joint statement.

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, September 19 to address a full agenda of matters including discussion of City Hall repair estimates, a Merchandise Display Policy relating to sidewalks and a vehicle purchase for the Park and Recreation Department. Mayor Pro-Tem Kevin Johnson called the meeting to order with Mayor Pat Stone attending the meeting via Zoom web-conferencing.

Council member Arvid Hatlan, also attending the meeting via Zoom, and Stone discussed a matter listed on the Consent Agenda relating to the approval of a temporary road blockage on 3rd Avenue NW October 1 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for an estate sale. Hatlan discussed concerns that this could set a precedent for future estate sale road closures to become commonplace. Stone said the matter was a public safety measure.

As part of its Live & Learn: enriching lives through monthly learning series, Robey Memorial Library in Waukon is offering African Adventures with Rod and Barb Smed Thursday, September 29 at 5:30 p.m. in the lower level Community Room of the library.

The Smeds will be sharing their recent travel and service trip to Africa. Tour destinations included Cape Town, South Africa for a tour of the prison where Nelson Mandela was held and an African drumming dinner; game drives at the Phinda Game Reserve in South Africa; the penguin colony at Simon’s Town, South Africa; and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.

The Smeds will also be sharing the volunteer work they took part in through Worldmaker International. That work included two days of service to the people of Zimbabwe and participation in the International Resilience Symposium.

The Waukon Park & Recreation Department is conducting a survey to help determine what kinds of new recreation programs could be offered within the Waukon community. The public is encouraged to fill out the survey to provide input that will be used in determining future recreation programming within the community. The survey can be found online by typing in the following Uniform Resource Locator (URL) in any web browser: https://forms.gle/AhovhAiYSvkyaK5aA.

The survey does have questions regarding certain suggested programs, such as pickleball or fishing. There are also some demographic questions, as well as a section for leaving suggestions or comments regarding Park & Recreation programming.