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by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, March 13 to address a full agenda of items, including the Public Hearing for the proposed Fiscal Year 2018 Allamakee County budget, the approval of compensation increases for elected officials and approval of County support for libraries.

There were no comments heard or read during the Public Comments portion of the meeting. The Public Hearing for the proposed Fiscal Year 2018 Allamakee County Budget was opened. There were no written or verbal comments from the public. Allamakee County Auditor Denise Beyer provided an overview of the budget before the hearing was closed.

A two percent compensation increase for elected officials, a zero percent compensation increase for the Board of Supervisors and a two percent salary/wage increase for other department heads and non-union employees were all approved by the Board.

submitted by Steph Dugan, Executive Director
Waukon Chamber of Commerce

We have been hearing a lot of rumors flying around regarding RAGBRAI®. We have tried to keep up on top of squashing these rumors as they come up, but there are only a handful of us and we only can imagine the number of individuals starting and passing rumors on.

We thought the best way to handle this situation  and get the word out to as many people as possible would to be to start a column titled “Squashing the Rumors.” This is where we will address any rumors that we have heard and let you all know what we know. If you hear a rumor, please let us know so we can squash it.

by Joe Moses

Iowa House of Representatives Democratic Leader Mark Smith, who is the District 71 Representative from Marshalltown, conducted a listening post event at Robey Memorial Library in Waukon Saturday, March 11. During the hour and a half meeting, Smith listened to and addressed various concerns from the public in attendance, a crowd numbering around 40 individuals.

Smith began the meeting by discussing the de-appropriation bill passed and signed early in this year's new legislative session that has cut $118 million from the State of Iowa's budget and has resulted in the closure of the Luster Heights facility in Allamakee County, in addition to resulting in cuts that will affect community colleges and public education, which Smith indicates will all have a detrimental effect on Allamakee County’s economy.

Here is the final daily RAGBRAI route for Saturday, July 29 from Waukon to Lansing. The entire route will be new RAGBRAI territory as it travels 44.8 miles with some nice climbs totaling 3,200 feet throughout Allamakee County. You will not think you are in Iowa as scenic landscape and winding scenic byways show off the splendor of the Driftless Area. RAGBRAIers will visit the town of Waterville for the very first time and then ride through the Yellow River State Forest. Riders will then pull into Harpers Ferry, another first time RAGBRAI community. Riders can dip their tires, if they wish, in the Mississippi River at one of Harpers Ferry’s many boat ramps. The last 13-mile leg of RAGBRAI XLV will travel north along the Great River Road as we travel to Lansing to end in the river town of Lansing. If you didn’t get enough fun on the bike, you can climb the ultra-steep Mt. Hosmer just blocks from downtown and the river.

Here is the complete RAGBRAI route for Friday, July 28 from Cresco to Waukon. The route travels 60.1 miles as we climb 2,483 feet. RAGBRAIers will visit Decorah during the 51st annual Nordic Fest, which celebrates their Norwegian heritage. RAGBRAI will then make a return visit to the town of Ossian before traveling to Castalia and Postville for the first time before making their way into Waukon. Friday is College Spirit Day where we encourage you to proud wear your school’s jersey or apparel. FRIDAY – JULY 28, 2017 Cresco to Decorah (Meeting) – 19.5 miles Decorah to Ossian – 14. 7 miles Ossian to Castalia – 5.1 miles Castalia to Postville – 6.1 miles Postville to Waukon – 14.7 miles Total Mileage: 60.1 miles Total Feet of Climb: 2,483

Click this link to download pdf of Friday’s Map: http://ragbrai.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017DayMaps_Day6.pdf

Steady progress continues to be made in the construction process of the new Allamakee County Public Safety Center located north of Waukon along Highway 9 at the location of the former Makee Manor property. Allamakee County Sheriff Clark Mellick says the project continues to remain on track for a late April public open house and early May transition into the new facility, despite some limited weather delays during this past winter.

Saturday, March 11, Democratic members of the Iowa House of Representatives will visit Waukon for a legislative listening post. Those Democratic Representatives will listen to local concerns regarding recent efforts to lower Iowa's minimum wage, close down and lay-off employees of Luster Heights Camp, underfund public schools, raise property taxes and close down women's health clinics.

The listening post will begin at 1 p.m. this Saturday at Robey Memorial Library, located at 401 First Avenue NW in Waukon. Saturday's listening post is part of a series of such events being conducted by Iowa House of Representative Democrats throughout Iowa.

"I hope Iowans will join us to share their concerns and learn what's really happening at the State Capitol this year," said Representative Mark Smith of Marshalltown, House Democratic Leader and District 71 Representative.
 

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, March 6 to address a full agenda of items including the Review of Property/Liability and Workers Compensation insurance policies, setting a public hearing date for a zoning district change request and the approval of manure management plan updates. Chairperson Larry Schellhammer was not in attendance and Chairperson Pro-Tem Dennis Koenig called the meeting to order.

The 9:40 a.m. agenda item, the Historic Preservation Commission Report by Marcia Rush, was removed from the agenda and will be rescheduled for a later Board meeting. There were no public comments and no members of the public in attendance.
Tax abatements for Craig Freilinger, Don and Dolores Topel and Mary Ann Bustamante were approved as presented. Manure Management Plan updates for Devin Humpal, West Ridge Ag and Gibbs Dairy were accepted and placed on file.

by Lissa Blake

The Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation (NEICAC) Family Planning Clinic in Decorah will close its doors June 30 of this year. At a meeting Monday night, February 27, the NEICAC Board of Directors voted to close the Clinic when its contract with the Iowa Department of Public Health ends at this year's midpoint.

“The decision was very difficult for the Board,” said David Boss, NEICAC director of community outreach and development.

According to NEICAC Director Mary Ann Humpal, the program has lost over $90,000 per year for the past two years and is looking at losing that much again by the close of this fiscal year.

“We are jeopardizing other programming within the agency,” said Humpal.

Humpal said there are many factors that went into the Board’s decision to close the office, which serves around 600 customers in a seven-county area.

Additional awards distributed at Friday’s annual banquet can be found on Page 4A in this week’s print and e-edition of The Standard.

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