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The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching impact, including the ability to host public events. Unfortunately, the annual Memorial Day Observance Programs which would have been held throughout Allamakee County this Monday, May 25 are not immune to those limitations, as each of the following local communities have either modified their traditional programs or been forced to cancel them altogether:

HARPERS FERRY
American Legion Scenic Post #722 has decided to cancel all of its Memorial Day programs and activities this year. Individual honoring at area cemeteries or memorial sites is welcome with safe social distancing measures in mind.

LANSING
All traditional Memorial Day programs and events are canceled. Flags will still be placed at area cemeteries.

by Heather Homewood, Director of Allamakee County Veterans Services

With Memorial Day deep in our hearts, we would like to solemnly take the time to honor the men and women that died while serving our country in the U.S. military, as the holiday was intended. This Memorial Day we may not see events and programs taking place because of public safety, but do not let that stop you from taking time personally to remember those who died while serving our nation.

If you pass by the monument on the courthouse lawn, you will see the names of those from Allamakee County who where killed in action or those who died while serving. These may have been family members, old classmates, or neighbors. These people were a part of our community and gave something to their community and their country that can never be repaid.

by Lissa Blake

When the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic saw the government shutting down “non-essential” businesses in March, local chiropractor Dustin Rounds started brainstorming ways he could help them in the Waukon community. Although chiropractic is considered an “essential” service and his doors remained opened, Rounds said the closure of local businesses really got to him.

“I started thinking about how it would be if my own business was shut down. I don’t sleep well anyway, because I worry. And when I worry, I brainstorm,” said Rounds.

Rounds said he came up with the idea to donate a certain amount of $5 coupons to different restaurants.

“I thought maybe it would be a challenge to other businesses that were open to help support those who weren’t. I thought it might incentivize people to help these establishments,” said Rounds.

Rounds said he and receptionist Casey Moen started posting things on his clinic’s Facebook page.

Low COVID-19 case numbers in some communities not a reason to ease personal mitigation measures

Allamakee County Public Health’s highest priority is the health and well-being of the community. That local health department strongly encourages everyone to follow all Iowa Department of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines to help prevent contracting or spreading the Coronavirus.

For the first time since the final week in March, Allamakee County’s case count for confirmed positive tests for the COVID-19 infection came in at its lowest weekly total. The past week resulted in just two positive confirmed cases for the county, its lowest case count for a week’s time since just one case was reported during the third week of reported cases within the state of Iowa, March 24-April 1.

Students can fill out survey to express interest; Others are welcome to help with planning and implementation

A committee of parents of junior and senior students at Waukon High School have been “meeting” during the past couple weeks to try to organize a summer Prom-like event for members of those two grade levels since the April 25 Waukon High School Prom was canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. A Facebook group was set up in March for parents of students in those grades, and meeting times and dates have been made known through that Facebook group.

“I think parents want their child to still have a Prom experience and for their child to have a positive memory of this time when we are dealing with the virus,” stated parent and committee member Jo Ann Sherman.

The board of directors of the Big Four Fair held annually in Postville and scheduled to celebrate its 100th year this year June 19-21 has decided to postpone that annual celebration until next year. The board released the following statement in regard to not holding the fair at all this year due to current restrictions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic:

“It is with great sadness we announce that due to the circumstances related to the coronavirus, the Big Four Fair Board has made the tough decision to postpone this year’s fair. The health and safety of our exhibitors, our vendors and our guests is our highest priority and postponing the fair (to next year) gives us that peace of mind.

We look forward to having a safe and wonderful fair next year, June 18-20, 2021, celebrating our 100th fair. This year’s plan will happen next year. Thank You.”
 

Allamakee County Public Health’s highest priority is the health and well-being of the community. Their health department strongly encourages everyone to follow all Iowa Department of Public Health and CDC guidelines to help prevent contracting or spreading the virus.
With the recent release of the Allamakee County COVID-19 statistics by zip code, many phone calls and reports have been received by Allamakee County Public Health by people concerned that businesses and citizens in areas with few cases are no longer taking the personal protective precautions to keep themselves safe from contracting the virus. Allamakee County Public Health strongly encourages the continuation of all safety precautions.

Through his experience as a State of Iowa employee and his leverage as an elected city official, Waukon City Councilman John Ellingson has helped secure the consistent reporting of case count updates from Allamakee County Public Health broken down by zip code within the county. Allamakee County Public Health receives its information from the Iowa Department of Public Health but admitted to Ellingson that there may be a lag time of several days between the complexity of numbers reported to Allamakee County Public Health and the overall more general information the State of Iowa is updating on a daily basis on its website dedicated to coronavirus statistics and information, www.coronavirus.iowa.gov.

A relatively quiet past week of a comparatively low count of new COVID-19 cases in Allamakee County received a couple unsettling jolts both early and late in the week. Those jolts included the fourth death of an Allamakee County resident attributed to complications from COVID-19 to start last week, and a one-day double-digit jump in new positive cases reported later in the week that seemed to coincide with targeted testing in the area and accounted for 10 of this past week’s 14 new cases - the lowest total number of new cases reported for the county by the State of Iowa in a week’s time since early April, one month ago.