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by Brianne Eilers

The Effigy Mounds National Monument Quarter, the 36th such coin in the America the Beautiful® quarter series from the U.S. Mint, was officially unveiled Tuesday, February 7 during a program at the Waukon High School gymnasium. A crowd numbering over 1,000 of Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) students and members of the public were able to experience the Native American heritage instrumental in the history and creation of the mounds depicted on the new quarter through the sounds of traditional drumming and singing from the Iron Mound Drum Group as they opened the program, and that group also played while the Andrew Blackhawk American Legion Post 129 presented the colors at the start of the program.

Staff, residents being transferred to other facilities through June of this year; future depends on budget

The Iowa Department of Corrections (DOC) has announced a plan to reduce its fiscal year 2017 budget by $5.5 million, and the Luster Heights prison camp facility in Allamakee County will be one of four DOC facilities feeling the direct impact of that reduction with what has been termed a "temporary suspension of operations". The budget reduction announcement was made Wednesday, February 8 by DOC Director Jerry Bartruff in a media release.

Designation could open funding and other preservation resources

Preservation Iowa has designated nine properties for 2017 Most Endangered designations. Among those properties are the Stone Schoolhouse located in Lansing.

According to information gathered and reported by Preservation Iowa, the Stone Schoolhouse was built in 1863 and cost $5,000 to build. It operated as a school until 1973 and is reportedly the oldest schoolhouse that was in continual use west of the Mississippi. Its architectural style and building materials are emblematic of the period in which it was built and the local materials available for such a construction.

The building had a new roof added in the 1960s and there were some emergency repairs to the foundation in the same time period. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is currently under the ownership of the City of Lansing.

At its Monday, February 6 regular session, the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors signed a resolution proclaiming February 2017 as Effigy Mounds National Monument Awareness Month. The proclamation coincides with the U.S. Mint releasing a new Iowa quarter February 7 which includes a design featuring Effigy Mounds National Monument. Pictured above following the signing of the resolution are, left to right, Allamakee County Economic Development Executive Director Val Reinke, Effigy Mounds National Monument Superintendent Jim Nepstad, and Allamakee County Board of Supervisors members Dan Byrnes and Larry Schellhammer. Standard photo by Joe Moses.
 

Award nomination deadline March 1; Dairy Princess applications due March 1

The 2017 Allamakee County Dairy Banquet will be held Saturday, March 25 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon. The meal will be served from 7-8:30 p.m., with the program starting at 8 p.m. The annual celebration recognizes the importance of the dairy industry in Allamakee County and the contributions dairy families make to the industry.

The U.S. Post Office in Waukon will be offering a pictorial postmark (pictured above) in honor of the new Iowa quarter design featuring Effigy Mounds National Monument being released into circulation this week. Dustin Green, Postmaster at the Waukon Post Office, says his Waukon facility will have the new postmark available for the next 30 days and that anyone wanting this new commemorative postmark can bring in any item to have the postmark stamped on it, as long as that item has an uncanceled postage stamp on it. Green said the Waukon Post Office also has stamps and envelopes for purchase that can then have the new postmark stamped on them. He also said the Harpers Ferry Post Office will have a similar postmark commemorating the new coin release featuring Effigy Mounds. Submitted image.
 

A consistent update of local information for RAGBRAI® XLV

RAGBRAI® Director T.J. Juskiewicz and Assistant Director Scott Garner met officially Wednesday, February 1 with available members of the Advisory Boards and Executive Committees for the local RAGBRAI communities in both Waukon and Lansing for the first time since the announcement was made that Lansing would be this year's final RAGBRAI destination, Saturday, July 29, and Waukon would be the final overnight stop, Friday, July 28, for this year's annual ride. The RAGBRAI staff provided a general overview of what designated route communities can expect and should prepare for during the next few months prior to the annual event.

Message from Iowa native and current International Space Station astronaut Peggy Whitson part of February 7 event

Area residents and coin enthusiasts will get their first in-person look at the new quarter honoring Effigy Mounds National Monument and the state of Iowa - and many will get to take at least one of those quarters home with them at a special event Tuesday, February 7. At a launch ceremony open to the public and scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday at Waukon High School, the United States Mint is releasing the Effigy Mounds quarter into circulation as the first quarter released in 2017 under the U.S. Mint’s America the Beautiful Quarters® Program.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution at its January 9 regular meeting in support of suspending the issuance of Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) construction permits. This measure is, in essence, a non-binding stance to open up discussion and a review, on a statewide level, of the Master Matrix, a scoring system used in the siting of CAFOs by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

by Lissa Blake

The sale of Camp Tahigwa to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) should maintain the integrity of the Girl Scout camp property for years to come.

That is the message from the Board of Directors of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois (GSEIWI) and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF), who are working together on the recently-announced transaction. The GSEIWI Board recently voted to sell the camp property located near Dorchester to the DNR, with the stipulation that the land be permanently maintained as a natural space for public use.