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Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and several other government officials visited Waukon Wednesday, October 19 as part of their 99-county tour prior to the upcoming election. They are pictured above at the Allamakee County Farm Bureau office in Waukon, where they addressed the crowd in attendance, and they also later stopped at the St. Patrick School Soup Supper taking place that evening as well in Waukon. Pictured above, left to right, are Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, U.S. Representative from Iowa District 1 Rod Blum, Iowa Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds, Iowa District 28 Senator Mike Breitbach, Iowa House of Representatives District 56 candidate Kristi Hager, and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad. Submitted photo.
 

The Waukon boys cross country team and Kee girls cross country team will both be represented at the 2016 State Cross Country Meet Saturday, October 29 at Fort Dodge.
The Waukon cross country boys qualified for that season grand finale for the third straight season in championship style, winning their Class 2A State Qualifying Meet at Monticello behind the individual championship finish of senior Tyler O'Neill and top-five individual finish of senior Austin Day - both of whom also qualified as State Meet individuals.

Members of the public are invited to the next meeting of the Allamakee County Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee set for Wednesday, October 26 in Lansing.  The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. and will be held in the Kerndt Brothers Community Center, located at 370 Main Street in downtown Lansing.

At the meeting, planners will outline the goals of the hazard risk assessment process, and then provide a brief overview of hazards identified by the State of Iowa Hazard Mitigation Plan and those that the Allamakee County Emergency Management Coordinator has identified as impacting Allamakee County in recent years. Meeting attendees will then break into small groups to discuss hazards impacting the county itself and communities throughout the county. The committee will come together at the end of the meeting to come to a consensus on which identified hazards should be profiled in more detail within the updated hazard mitigation plan.

New pedestrian crosswalk signage (such as pictured at right) has recently been placed in the middle of streets in four different locations in Waukon, but in addition to creating awareness of safety for pedestrians and motorists has also created some confusion for each as well. Waukon Police Chief Phil Young advises that the new crosswalk signs have been placed to help raise more awareness of a State of Iowa law that has been in place but has not necessarily been adhered to. Section 321.327 of the Iowa Code, entitled "Pedestrians' Right-Of-Way," states, "Where traffic-control signals are not in place or in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if need be to so yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection."

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, October 17 to address a variety of topics, including the consideration of appointing a new member to the Planning and Zoning Commission, credit card policy recommendation and consideration of bids for a culvert replacement on Oak Hill Road.

During the Public Comments portion of the meeting, Jack Knight provided an update on the results of serving on an ad hoc committee in Clayton County that provided recommendations for the rezoning of land to be used as a mine by Pattison Sand Company. Knight indicated that he was glad to do the work and provide recommendations even though Clayton County did not utilize the recommendations provided. Knight said the ad hoc committee had recommended requiring blasting notifications and other requirements to help prevent neighbors from being adversely affected by the mine activities.

Concrete Foundations, Inc. of New Hampton is currently working on multiple locations of street repair within Waukon as part of the 2016 PCC Street Program that was approved by the Waukon City Council earlier this year. PCC refers to the Portland Cement Concrete process that involves replacement of the top layer of cement that traffic makes contact with. Several intersections and thoroughfares are currently closed with roadblocks and orange safety fencing as work continues, including the 400 block of Eighth Avenue NW (pictured above) near the former sale barn location and the intersection of Third Avenue NE and First Street NE (pictured below). Concrete Foundations was the qualified low bidder for this project at $318,000. These street repairs have a projected completion date of October 31 with weather being a consideration that may extend the completion timeline. Standard photos by Joe Moses.
 

Members of the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors traveled to multiple locations with Allamakee County Engineer Brian Ridenour Thursday, October 6 to inspect flood damage and ongoing pavement projects, mainly in the southern and eastern portions of the county. An additional tour is planned for later this month of the more northern areas of the county. The group made stops that included the paving projects on Cherry Valley Drive near Postville and at the Wexford Bridge north of Harpers Ferry, and also looked at damage from August and September heavy rains and flooding that still needs to be addressed as County road crews continue to work on repairing damage experienced during the last two months. Pictured at right is a landslide along Village Creek Drive that eroded a bit of the roadway and washed a good portion of the bank into Village Creek below.

Area law enforcement authorities report they are aware of the recent "clown" incidents that have reportedly taken place in certain locations throughout the nation and have been reported to a somewhat lesser degree on the local level. Although the local level reports are considered to most likely be copycat prank versions of what has been viewed on the national scene, these acts have resulted in a number of calls and reports from Allamakee County residents expressing concern and fear.

Area law enforcement authorities would like to assure local residents that this situation is being taken very seriously, and encourage everyone to consider the safety and health repercussions of such acts not only on innocent or intended victims but also potential negative reactionary results in response to fear or shock. Authorities remind individuals that those caught participating in these or similar acts will be charged and prosecuted accordingly.

Friday, October 7 at approximately 1:15 p.m., the Waukon Fire Department responded to a stove fire in the upstairs apartment of this duplex located at 208 Second Avenue SW in Waukon. Flames were reportedly confined to the stove and immediate kitchen area, with the residence suffering smoke damage. All occupants of the residence were evacuated and no injuries were reported from the incident. Standard photo by Joe Moses.