Community News

Hacker, Nelson & Co., P.C. is announcing the promotion of eight Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) to the position of Principals of the firm, including a pair with local ties to the Waukon area. CPAs Brent Berns, Kelly Brickley, Ryan Bullerman, Christi Meyer, Todd Muhlbauer, Michelle O’Neill, Steve Samec and Amanda Webb join Ken Keune and Neil Schraeder as owners and Principals of the company.

Michelle O’Neill has worked in the Hacker, Nelson & Co. office in Waukon for many years and is the lone Waukon office staff member listed within the promotions, with all others being with the firm’s Decorah or New Hampton office locations. Brent Berns has been a long-time employee of the firm’s Decorah office, and he is a 1991 graduate of Waukon High School.

For over 100 years, Mosaic has supported people with disabilities and other challenges to live a full life at home and in their communities. Mosaic is a whole-person healthcare organization reaching across 10 states and providing support to more than 3,700 people.

Mosaic has had a footprint in Allamakee and Winneshiek counties for 34 years. In 1986, Martin Luther Homes was established in Waukon supporting eight people. In 2003, Martin Luther Homes and Bethpage, both of which were dedicated to supporting those with disabilities, merged their Lutheran-based organizations; renaming themselves: Mosaic.

The letter to the editor pictured at right was submitted by Jane (Cronin) Butler of Waukon and first appeared in the Waukon newspaper during the holiday season in 1974 regarding her father, Joe Cronin, who had owned and operated Cronin’s Variety Store and Gifts in the middle of the long Main Street business block in Waukon. The letter was written and submitted by former Waukon residents Jack and Catherine Wadsworth when they lived in Wenatchee, WA and recalled a treasured moment from several years earlier when Jack was shopping with his grandmother in Waukon and experienced one of the many invaluable advantages of shopping local, as noted in the letter’s final paragraph.

In commemoration of his 25 years of service to the Waukon Fire Department and his retirement from active duty in 2012, Ron Herman of Waukon had tried for years to get a photo of himself with all five of the Waukon Fire Chiefs he served under during his volunteer firefighting career. He recently submitted that photo to The Standard newspaper for publication. Pictured above, left to right, are: Front row - Troy Lubahn, who is representing his father-in-law and Herman’s first Fire Chief, the late Phil Stone; Bob Zahn and Robert Campbell; Back row - Current Waukon Fire Chief Dave Martin, Ron Herman and Jim Ryan. Herman says he is still a member of the Waukon Fire Department for voting and other purposes, but he no longer actively fights fires with the local volunteer crew. Submitted photo.
 

Donna Harvey, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging (NEI3A), has been named the winner of the 2020 Betty Grandquist Lifetime Achievement Award by the Iowa Department on Aging and Iowa Commission on Aging.

The award, named for former Department Director and Commissioner Betty Grandquist, identifies and recognizes an Iowan who has dedicated a portion of their personal or professional life to achieving excellence in the fields of aging or disability or has made significant contributions to promoting independence and enhancing the quality of life among older Iowans and Iowans with disabilities.

Harvey has served as the CEO of NEI3A since October 2016 and is retiring from that role a the end of this year. She previously served as the director of the Iowa Department on Aging from January 2011 until joining NEI3A.

The Eitzen Lions Club is grateful for the support from citizens of Allamakee County and is happy to present the Allamakee County Food Shelf in Waukon with a donation of $1,000. Pictured above at the presentation of the donation check are, left to right, Lion Richard Amundson, Allamakee County Food Shelf Co-Director Ann Roed and Lion Lawrence Fruechte. Submitted photo.
 

Throughout the month of November, R.W. Pladsen, Inc. in Waukon hosted its Fill-A-Truck Holiday Drive, collecting gifts and necessities to give to area nursing home residents in Allamakee County in an effort to make their holiday season a little more special since many won’t be able to spend the holidays with family due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For each item donated to the drive, the donor’s name was put into a weekly drawing for a variety of gift certificates, t-shirts and other prizes from Allamakee County businesses. As evident in the photo above, a variety of items such as books, blankets, toiletry items, games, movies, stationery, calendars and other personal care items were donated, with those items being delivered to area nursing homes this past week. Pictured above with the truck full of donated items are, left to right, R.W. Pladsen, Inc. staff members Greg Halverson, Karina Opperman, Bob Kubitz, Carli Quandahl and Steve Pladsen.
 

Allamakee County experienced another series of record high case counts for COVID-19 this past week, reporting a new record high total for both single-day cases, as well as for the entire past week. The State of Iowa reports that 111 new cases were confirmed in the county in the past week’s timeframe dating from Tuesday, December 1 through Monday, December 7, eclipsing the previous weekly high of 108 cases from three weeks earlier and marking the third 100-plus weekly case total for Allamakee County since the pandemic began.

All three of those century-mark case totals have happened within the past four weeks, with the fourth of those weeks totaling just under 100 - 95 cases. Those past four weeks have represented the four highest weekly case totals so far for Allamakee County since case counts began in Iowa for the pandemic in March of this year.

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, December 7 via Zoom web-conferencing to address a full agenda of items including the hiring of a consultant to assist in drafting a new industrial contract for sanitary sewage  treatment, discussion relating to enforcement of ordinances and contract provisions with Aveka Nutra Processing and the purchase of a tractor and mower for City Park maintenance.

There was no Public Comment and the council moved into Department Reports with Library Director Cate St. Clair providing a brief update relating to Robey Memorial Library.

Adults who are missing the library’s Pinterest Projects Class can stop into the library and pick up a Pinterest To Go Bag featuring the project Napkin Transfer Paper, beginning December 10 until gone. Create this fabric-like paper and use it to make a small gift bag.

Pinterest To Go is being offered bimonthly until the in-house program Pinterest Projects resumes. Pinterest Projects is a free class that features a craft found on Pinterest, a visual bookmarking tool that helps people discover and save creative ideas. Contact the library at www.waukon.lib.ia.us or 563-568-4424.