Top Stories

JT Olson returning to native Allamakee County to share story June 29 at Old East Paint Creek

by Kelli Boylen
freelance writer

Jeff (JT) Olson knows what it is to be an orphan.

He clearly remembers the day his parents died. He was 12 year old, and his parents had been away for their 16th wedding anniversary. He was excited to be reunited with his brothers, sisters and parents.

He then learned his parents, Othello and Lora Mae Olson, had been killed in a car accident on their way back to their rural Harpers Ferry home on the Lansing-Harpers Road.

He also remembers the family members who took care of him and his four siblings, John, Jim, Julie and Jerene. A widowed aunt took care of the three oldest children so they could finish out the school year at Waukon Junior High, and then all five children moved to Brookfield, WI with their aunt and uncle, Ralph and Marie Ann Seifert.

Waukon RAGBRAI hosting Town Meeting June 28; All are encouraged to attend

The Waukon RAGBRAI Committees will be hosting a Town Meeting Wednesday, June 28 from 6-7 p.m. at Iron Ridge Church, located at 512 Ninth Street SW in Waukon. Residents and others interested from all communities in the Allamakee County area, including the pass-through and final destination towns, are invited to attend the meeting.

More specific details will be presented about RAGBRAI's overnight stay in Waukon, including information about road closures and layout of the entertainment and other venues in downtown Waukon. Additional information will address volunteer and rider hosting opportunities, as well as funding and other logistical information. Those in attendance will also have the opportunity to ask questions in regard to RAGBRAI and its July 28-29 visit to Allamakee County.

Lori Egan, a nurse from Waukon, has announced her candidacy to represent the Iowa House of Representatives 56th District, which includes all of Allamakee County and parts of Clayton County.

“I’m running for the Iowa House because Clayton and Allamakee counties are being forgotten by the politicians in Des Moines,” Egan said. “As a 30-year resident of Waukon and a nurse, I'm concerned about the future of working families and our community. I’m running because economic opportunity should not be limited to those in Des Moines. We need living wage jobs with benefits right here in Clayton and Allamakee counties. We need health care that is affordable and accessible and we need an education system that provides our kids with the skills they’ll need to land a good job."

Egan is currently the Health Programs Director at the Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation (NEICAC). Previously she served as a nurse with the Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse, WI.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, June 12 to address a full agenda of items. Among those items were the Public Hearing for amendments to the ATV Ordinance LV, the signing of the revised Solutions Information Technology (IT) Services Agreement for Fiscal-Year 2018 and approval of the revised 28E agreement for the issuance of drivers licenses.

Waukon RAGBRAI seeking volunteers to host riders in homes or yards overnight

The 2017 Allamakee County Dairy Parade traveled the streets of Waukon Monday, June 5, with a number of area businesses, families and organizations providing entries to pay tribute to the dairy industry. The annual celebration brings together those representing the industry in whatever way they can, such as the Allamakee County Dairy Ambassadors pictured above who walked the parade route promoting the industry they intend to continue to be a part of in the future, or local business owners who know the value of the dairy industry within their own business and were "spotted" acknowledging that benefit and thanking industry producers in their own unique way. View these photos and more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this website.
 

by Lissa Blake

It was with mixed emotions many area residents bid farewell to the 322nd Engineer Company Sunday morning, June 4.

Over 100 people attended a special ceremony marking the closing of the PFC Lloyd C. Wohlford, Jr. United States Army Reserve Center in Decorah, which is closing due to the fact the Company is relocating to Sloan, NV located near Las Vegas. The unit received its orders earlier this year; the majority of Company members have been reassigned to new units, according to Commander Captain Douglas O’ Brien of Darlington, WI.

Soldiers assigned to the 322nd Engineer Company had the options of transferring to another unit in the area, changing their military occupation in order to transfer to a unit that may be closer, or transferring to the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR).

In Waukon...
The annual Memorial Day Observance held May 29 in Waukon featured delivery of the Memorial Day Address by Rev. Dr. William Reese (pictured at far left), a Vietnam Veteran from Viroqua, WI. Along with the more traditional Memorial Day Observance that included the parade through Waukon and the program held at Oakland Cemetery, a surprise was sprung on Waukon area native and 1984 Waukon High School graduate Andrew Lonning, who was honored for his retirement from the U.S. Army following a career spanning nearly three decades and featuring ascension to the rank of Command Sergeant Major. In the photo at right, Lonning's high school classmate, Master Sergeant Kevin Herman, U.S. Army, Retired (right in photo) presented Lonning (left in photo) with a certificate plaque commemorating his retirement. Quilts of Valor were also bestowed on several local veterans (pictured at immediate left) during Monday's observance program. Photos by Robin Johnson.

The Waukon Area Fire Protection District was called to a barn fire about four and a half miles west of Waukon at 371 Prairie Drive around 9 p.m. Thursday, June 1. The barn, located on the home farm of the Janice Cooper family, was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived on scene, as evident by the bright white flames near the left of the photo above that was taken a little more than three-fourths of a mile away. The bright lights to the right of the photo are those of some of the responding fire fighting vehicles from both the Waukon Area Fire Protection District and the Postville Fire Department, which was called to provide water tanker and other firefighting support for the blaze. Also assisting during the incident were the Allamakee County Sheriff's Office, Waukon Police Department and Veterans Memorial Hospital Ambulance Service.

Wisconsin and Iowa officials say Wisconsin State Highway 82 connecting Iowa to Wisconsin just east of Lansing is now open to traffic, including the Black Hawk Bridge at Lansing. East and westbound lanes on Hwy. 82 between Iowa Hwy. 26 and Wisconsin Hwy. 35 had both been closed since Tuesday, May 30 due to a washout caused by high waters on the Mississippi River. Wisconsin Department of Transportation crews have been working since Tuesday on filling the hole and repairing the road, and, as of Friday morning, June 2 at around 11 a.m., the road has been reopened to traffic.