Top Stories

by Kelli Boylen
freelance writer

by Bob Beach

A meeting of the Public Safety Center Committee has been scheduled for Wednesday, January 28 at 6:30 p.m. in the Board Room located on the first floor of the Allamakee County Courthouse in Waukon. Waukon Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) recently approached the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors and discussed utilizing a site located in the Waukon Industrial Park as a building site for the newly-proposed Public Safety Center.
Per the request of the Board of Supervisors, a site analysis is being completed on the proposed property. The site analysis will be presented to the Public Safety Center Committee at the meeting Wednesday. After review by the Committee, a recommendation from the Committee as to whether or not the site is a viable option will be presented to the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors.

The 2015 Northeast Iowa Pie Championships took place Sunday, January 25 at the Farmers & Merchants Savings Bank Community Room in Waukon in an effort to raise funds for the Hamre-Giesen Chapter of Disabled American Veterans (DAV) based in the Waukon area. Among the activities at the inaugural event was a "celebrity" pie-eating contest (pictured below), which was won by Sandy Halverson of the S&D Cafe for being the first to finish eating her pie within the two-minute time limit. Local "celebrities" listed as contestants in the pie-eating contest included (seated clockwise from bottom left in below photo) Sandy Halverson, Jim Adam of the "Back to Country" band, Allamakee County Sheriff Clark Mellick, Hamre-Geisen DAV Chapter Commander Erik Nykannen, Allamakee County Board of Supervisors Chairman Larry Schellhammer, Jean Brink of Queen Jean Quilting, Eric Kelly of KNEI Radio and Mike Monroe of Monroe Auction Service.

by Patti Ruff, State Representative

Registration for Live Healthy Iowa's 10-Week Wellness Challenge is entering its final week, as the competition runs from January 26 through April 3 this year. Iowans have the opportunity to join the challenge and commit to a healthier lifestyle in 2015, and local participants have an opportunity to maintain the leading role that Allamakee County has taken in its participation in the Community Cup Wellness Challenge since its inception four years ago.
For each of the past three years since the Community Cup Wellness Challenge became part of the Live Healthy Iowa program, Allamakee County has topped the field of entrants in percentage of population participating and completing the Wellness Challenge. The code for participants in Allamakee County to register under to become part of that Allamakee County effort once again this year is LHIALLCO.

by Brianne Eilers

by B.J. Tomlinson

by Bob Beach

Firefighters from the Waukon Area Fire Protection District were called to battle a house fire Thursday, January 15 at 370 Countryside Drive, rural Waukon, the home of the John Opfer family. The call was received at 11:05 a.m., with reports of the house being fully engulfed from basement to roof a short time later. Tanker support from the Postville Fire Department was also called upon to ensure a consistent water supply to battle the blaze. Firefighters were on scene for approximately three hours. No injuries were reported, but the contents of the home were badly damaged and the home suffered considerable smoke and fire damage. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, although early indications point to the origin of the fire being electrical in nature.