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by Lissa Blake

After half a century of programming for young girls, Camp Tahigwa is now going to be put up for sale.

Thursday afternoon, August 11, the Board of Directors of Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois (GSEIWI) voted unanimously to sell the 315-acre camp, located in the rolling hills of Dorchester in rural Allamakee County.

The vote included the stipulation the land be permanently maintained as a natural space for public use. The Board has assigned a task force to send an exploratory letter to county conservation groups, as well as the Department of Natural Resources and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.

DISAPPOINTED
Decorah native Brecka Putnam, representing Friends of Camp Tahigwa, an organization which rallied to save the camp, said she is disappointed by the outcome.

A nearly ideal combination of weather conditions, local support and a variety of activities made for another successful Lansing Fish Days celebration this past weekend. The Fish Days grounds and other activity venues proved to be bustling with activity throughout every day of the annual event. See more photos from this year's event on Page 10A of this issue, as well as in the Photo Gallery at www.waukonstandard.com. Photo by Susan Cantine-Maxson.
 

by Brianne Eilers

Anyone who has visited the Waukon City Park this summer may have noticed some work being done on the Valley Trail located near the Indian Springs Pond. Waukon Park, Recreation and Wellness Director Jeremy Strub explained that the trail is being improved using funds that the City of Waukon received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after the devastating flooding that hit Waukon in June of 2013.

“The trails have been here for a while, and just as they were starting to get more use, they got washed out and ruined in the flood,” Strub explained.

by B.J. Tomlinson

As a scheduled stop on his annual 99-county town hall tour, Republican Senator Charles Grassley met with a crowd of approximately 70 area residents for about an hour in Lansing Thursday, August 4 for his Allamakee County visit. Grassley answered questions and encouraged everyone to contact him whenever they have any concerns or questions.

Topics discussed included immigration reform, Medicare reimbursement, Social Security, the Zika virus, the closing of the Lansing Blumenthal plant, sustainable energy  and the minimum wage.  Grassley's briefest answer of the day concerned the question, "Do you support Donald Trump?" His answer was, "Yes", but he did not offer any other comments.

Waukon will be featured in an “Our Town” segment hosted by the KCRG television news station (Channel 9 locally) Friday, August 19. "Our Town" is a featured series each summer by the KCRG station which typically airs during the early evening news broadcasts with live television spots.

According to information received by the Waukon Chamber of Commerce, the "Our Town" broadcast in Waukon will be featuring segments on WW Homestead Dairy and Steel Cow. KCRG is also working on featuring a story about Waukon Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and the former Tierney's building on the corner of Main Street and Spring Avenue in downtown Waukon. KCRG television news anchor Beth Malicki will also be doing a segment on this year’s Toilet Bowl Races being held Friday, August 19 during the annual Waukon Corn Days event.

by Joe Moses

State Representative Patti Ruff of McGregor hosted a listening post sessions with northeast Iowa residents and health care providers at Waukon's Robey Memorial Library Community Room Wednesday, August 3 to discuss their concerns with Iowa's move to Medicaid privatization. Iowa moved to a privatized system April 1 of this year following a delay in receiving federal approval. The program change was originally planned with a January 1 start date.

“I’ve heard from several Iowa families and health care providers who have issues with Medicaid privatization,” said Ruff. “Our goal is to gather more information from local citizens and provide more information and answers to those who are affected.”

Lions Club donates initial $2,000 to the project, Waukon couple pledges to match up to $15,000 in raised funds
 

Memory Gardens lies in the southwest corner of the Waukon City Park, adjacent to both Indian Springs Pond and Eleventh Avenue SW. The area has been developed over the past 10 years by a volunteer group called Community Pride utilizing all voluntarily donated contributions; no taxpayer money has been involved in its development.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, August 8 to discuss a variety of items including a scheduled ATV ride this fall, consideration of the Mississippi Gaming Commission grant submission, and the paving of a portion of Breezy Corners Road. During the Public Comment portion of the meeting, Bruce Palmborg was present on behalf of Main Street Lansing, and he encouraged the Supervisors to consider paving Columbus Road. Palmborg said that this project is worthwhile and should be looked at using the same criteria as the Breezy Corners pavement project.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, August 1 with a full agenda including the consideration of bids for paving a portion of Breezy Corners Road, the solid waste contract extension and the discussion of changing the Board of Supervisors meeting location on occasion. There were no comments made during the Public Comments portion of the meeting with no members of the public present.

Coordinator of Disability Services Kim Waters provided an update regarding the County Social Services meeting that was held July 27 at Titonka Savings Bank in Forest City. Waters provided some mental health statistics that were discussed at the meeting. On average nationally, Waters relayed that 61% of prison inmates have mental health problems and 40% of those have chronic mental prescriptions. The next County Social Services meeting will be held August 11.

Mount Hosmer in Lansing is second location in Iowa to receive pests' natural enemy; harmless to humans
 

Beneficial insects are scheduled to be introduced at some point during this next week or so at Mount Hosmer City Park in Lansing for a biocontrol measure of the emerald ash borer (EAB). These very small stingless wasps target and kill EAB, a devastating exotic pest of ash trees. This control approach known as biological control reunites natural enemies with an invasive pest, in this case to help suppress EAB populations.

Following rigorous testing and research, one or more parasitic wasp species, native to Asia, have been released in 24 of the 27 states where EAB has been detected. Nearly two months ago this biocontrol effort in Iowa began in Fairfield in Jefferson County in southeast Iowa. Additional sites will be utilized pending resources and approval.