Top Stories

by Julie Berg-Raymond

In a famous line from Alice Walker’s 1982 novel, The Color Purple - which won the Pulitzer Prize the following year, a character writes her sister a letter, in which she observes: “Time moves slowly, but passes quickly.”
Approaching the 25th anniversary of the events of what is colloquially known as “9/11” - when, on September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists associated with the extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airplanes to launch coordinated suicide attacks in the United States - millions of people are remembering where they were and what they were doing when they saw, live, via television coverage, the airplanes hit the World Trade Center towers in New York City.

The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) and Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) announced Thursday, September 3 that the Iowa 9/WIS 82 Mississippi River Crossing that has replaced the Black Hawk Bridge at Lansing is proceeding well ahead of the original timeline for completion. According to that September 3 announcement, the agencies expect to open the bridge to traffic in early November 2026, instead of the initial planned opening in the spring of 2027.

by Jennifer Bissell

The Waterville Rural Fire Department recently acquired a new piece of equipment that can help the department volunteers do their job more efficiently and potentially save lives.
The roughly 25-member department purchased a drone this past spring, using money raised from its two annual fundraisers. The new drone has already been utilized by the department itself and to assist other entities, including during the Agri Star Meat and Poultry fire in Postville July 28.

by Joshua Sharpe

Construction of Alliant Energy’s battery energy storage system at the site of the former Lansing Generating Station south of the little river town is progressing beyond the initial earthwork phase that has been so prominent for most of this year, moving into a stage where the physical components of the facility will increasingly become more visible to residents.

In a recent project update, Alliant Energy Project Manager Keri Sweeting shared that crews have commenced the installation of conduit to help facilitate energy transmission and are preparing the concrete foundations required to support the battery units. “At Lansing, we have initiated the installation of conduit and will soon begin pouring concrete to support the batteries,” Sweeting stated.

by Joe Moses

Current State of Iowa Auditor and gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand held a Town Hall style meeting Tuesday, August 25 at Robey Memorial Library’s lower-level Community Room in Waukon. The Town Hall was open to the public and credentialed members of the press with all attendees required to RSVP prior to the event.

Approximately 70 individuals were present for the Allamakee County Town Hall included in Sand’s 100 Town Hall Tour taking place in each of Iowa’s 99 counties with two Town Hall meetings taking place in Lee County in the southeast corner of the state which has two county seats, Fort Madison and Keokuk, something that is unique to that county in comparison to the rest of the state.

by David M. Johnson

Usually there are not a whole lot of events at the local, city, or county level that attract national attention. Aside from something like a major fire that has recently happened at Agri Star in Postville, there is typically calm and little consternation in the neighborhoods of this local area.

Time is like constant rain and a strong wind; it comes and then moves on, and what happens that looks and seems important at the time will gradually fade from memory. The seemingly innocuous 1948 National Plowing Match at Dexter, IA is one of those events where, over time, it became a footnote, a blip or sidebar of history - until a recent local discovery of some photos by the Harpers Ferry Area Heritage Society.

The Works, located on Main Street in Lansing, announces a program with Alene Keenan entitled “One Extraordinary Day: What 9/11 Revealed About Humanity.” The program will take place Thursday, August 27 at 6 p.m. at The Works location at 274 Main Street, Lansing. 

Keenan is a Lansing native, and a Wine and Hospitality Educator who has been around the globe, serving as yacht chief stewardess for multiple lines. Her crew was docking in Manhattan September 11, 2001 when the unthinkable occurred, and many events she witnessed left her with a strong desire to share them with others. On the 25th anniversary of that fateful 9/11 this year, these memories continue to burn bright. Beyond the headlines and heartbreak, 9/11 revealed something extraordinary about people to Keenan. She’ll provide an inspiring presentation exploring courage, servant leadership, and the quiet acts of humanity that emerged when the world needed them most.

Hannah Hagen, the 18-year-old daughter of Erik and Lisa Hagen of Waterville, was crowned the 73rd Iowa Dairy Princess during an evening ceremony at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines Wednesday, August 12. Hagen is the ninth Allamakee County young lady to wear the crown of Iowa Dairy Princess, and she will spend the next year serving as a goodwill ambassador for Iowa’s dairy farmers.

Throughout her year-long reign, she will make public appearances to connect with consumers and help them understand the dedication of dairy farm families to their cows, their land and the milk they produce. Representing Allamakee County in the contest, Hagen will be a freshman at Iowa State University in Ames this fall where she will study Animal Science.

The annual Waukon Corn Days celebration was held Friday and Saturday, August 14-15, having to make some adjustments Friday evening due to weather that moved the community meal and all the inflatables, pedal tractor pull, music and other activities from downtown Waukon to the Allamakee County Fairgrounds so the meal could be held inside the Fairgrounds Pavilion (as pictured above). This year’s event also featured the return of the Corn Days Parade (pictured below), which featured a red, white and blue theme that celebrated America’s 250th birthday Saturday. Additional photos from this past weekend’s Waukon Corn Days events appear on Page 12 inside this week’s (August 19) print edition and e-edition of The Standard, and can also be found at the Photos link on The Standard’s website.

Behind the scenes, a dedicated group of local leaders who have named their group “Waukon Forward” is starting to build a new funding source meant to support the Waukon community for generations to come. The goal of the group is to jumpstart local projects, initially ones that improve health and wellness, upgrade outdoor recreation, and add amenities for families throughout the town. The effort got a major boost when Waukon resident Lee Rothchild McGovern provided a generous $400,000 lead gift, officially setting the stage for an upcoming community challenge match. While the public roll-out is still a little ways off, team members are already starting to chat with neighbors and residents to share the vision and gather feedback. More details on the challenge match and how to get involved will be shared soon.