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Discussion of Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center draws large crowd again at Tuesday session

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors held a pair of regular sessions within the past week, one of them delayed a day by the President's Day holiday. Coverage of both the Tuesday, February 16 and Monday, February 22 Board of Supervisors meetings appears below:

New Albin Fire Department, local hovercraft owner help rescue man from icy waters of Minnesota Slough

Editor's Note: The following article was first published in the February 10, 2016 edition of the Fayette County Union newspaper of West Union. It is being reprinted here with permission from the Fayette County Union and includes some additional comments from local individuals involved in the rescue effort.

by Chris DeBack,
Fayette County Union
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

Thursday, February 25, the National Park Service (NPS) will begin seeking the public’s comments on a Draft Cultural Landscape Report and Environmental Assessment (CLR/EA) for Effigy Mounds National Monument. The public is encouraged to download and comment on the Draft CLR/EA during the public review period, which will run from February 25 through March 25.
A Cultural Landscape Report serves multiple purposes. First, it documents what is known of the park’s landscape: its origins, its evolution over time, its cultural features, and its current condition. Second, it proposes treatment recommendations for managing the landscape in order to ensure the long-term preservation of its resources and values.

Winneshiek Energy District is working with local partners to bring five Go Solar! Workshops to Allamakee, Chickasaw, Clayton, Fayette and Howard counties in February and March of 2016. Attendees can learn solar basics, meet contractors and see solar in action at host sites, among other things.
A solar workshop is scheduled for Allamakee County for Thursday, March 3 in the Community Room at Farmers & Merchants Savings Bank in Waukon. The workshops will be held according to the following schedule:
• February 25: Clayton County; Keystone AEA in Elkader
• March 1: Chickasaw County; New Hampton Community Center
• March 3: Allamakee County; Farmers and Merchants Savings Bank in Waukon
• March 8: Howard County; Cresco Bank and Trust in Cresco
• March 10: Fayette County; West Union Public Library (tentative).

The expressions on faces and numbers on the scoreboard tell the tale as members of the Kee girls basketball team race toward their fans with the State Tournament qualifying banner they received after defeating Lynnville-Sully in a 61-58 overtime thriller Monday, February 22 in the Class 1A Region 3 championship game held at Cedar Falls High School. The Hawk triumph advances Kee to the State Basketball Tournament for the first time in school history, where the Hawks are now slated to match their number-five ranking and 22-2 season record against fourth-rated and 23-1 Burlington-Notre Dame Monday, February 29, beginning at 11:45 a.m. at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Find additional coverage of the Kee basketball girls' historic feat on pages 15A and 16A in this week's edition of The Standard, and look for a celebratory commemorative banner to be released later this week that you can be a part of by calling The Standard at 563-568-3431.

Award nomination deadline February 26; Dairy Princess applications due March 1

The Iowa Auctioneers Association (IAA) held its annual convention February 5-7 in Ankeny. Auctioneers and auction professionals from across the state gathered to partake in educational seminars, networking and various auction-related contests.
Jeffrey Sweeney of Waukon has been attending the IAA Convention with his family for several years. Sweeney’s grandfather, Ray E. Sweeney, was named IAA Man of the Year in 1992 and is a Hall of Fame member. Jeffrey’s father, Jeff L. Sweeney, is a Past President and Hall of Fame member. Jeffrey’s sister, Jodi Sweeney-Egeland, has been honored as the 2007 Iowa Bid Calling Champion, the 2008 International Bid Calling Champion, Auctioneer of the Year, and just completed her term as President of the association.

Flooding concerns addressed through conservation

by Lissa Blake

A newly formed group concerned with controlling floodwater received a recent shot in the arm.
The newly-formed Upper Iowa River Watershed Management Authority (UIRWMA) received news it was awarded $5.5 million as part of a National Disaster Resiliency Competition grant, which allocated a total of $96.8 million to eight watershed authorities across the state of Iowa over the next five years.

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors hosted a capacity crowd of more than three dozen individuals at its regular meeting Monday, February 8, most all of those attending for one agenda item - Discussion regarding the Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center. Although a half hour had been allotted for that discussion during Monday's meeting, not all points were able to be addressed within that allotted time, and the discussion was asked to be added to the next meeting agenda as well, with that meeting taking place Tuesday, February 16 due to the President's Day holiday falling on the usual Supervisors' meeting day Monday.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports that two wild deer harvested in Allamakee County during the recent hunting season have been confirmed positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), marking the third year in a row the disease has been confirmed in a wild Iowa deer, all in Allamakee County.
“This is disappointing but not altogether surprising,” said Dr. Dale Garner, chief of Wildlife for the Iowa DNR. “This region was a focal point for increased surveillance and thanks to hunters in the area we exceeded our goal of 400 samples. Our next step is to host another public meeting up there, listen to their concerns and discuss options available going forward.”