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Rainfall totals nearing double digits from the very early morning hours of Sunday, August 17 through early evening Monday, August 18 helped push the Upper Iowa River out of its banks a bit to the brink of Moderate Flood Stage in northern Allamakee County, as evident in the photos accompanying this article below taken Monday evening, August 18. The first round of storms that moved their way through the tri-state area as Saturday, August 16 transitioned into Sunday, August 17 resulted in an initial Flood Advisory being issued by the National Weather Service for the northern portion of Allamakee County from 11 p.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday, with local reports ranging from four to six inches of rain falling in that timeframe within that portion of the county and west through the Upper Iowa River corridor.

Entrepreneurship Week 2025 is happening September 15-19 at The Works Coworking & Coaching in Lansing. Every workshop event during the week is free and designed to educate, connect, and empower local entrepreneurs and current and future small business owners at every stage of the journey, chock full of “Big Ideas” for all.

Hosted by The Works, in partnership with Allamakee County Economic Development (ACED), this fifth annual week-long event will feature dynamic speakers, practical workshops, and 1:1 coaching to help area entrepreneurs grow their businesses with purpose, strategy, and support. Workshops and coaching also include light meals and snacks from area restaurants and food entrepreneurs.

The monthly Bridge Talk presentations that have been offered in Lansing by the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) since the beginning of the bridge replacement project over the Mississippi River at Lansing took on some added interest for the August meeting.

With that Thursday, August 14 meeting being the first such public meeting since the July 14 announcement by the DOT that the Black Hawk Bridge will be closed and demolished at some point this fall in order to safely complete the new bridge construction, and also following the not fully official reporting of more specific closing and opening dates associated with the project from earlier in the week, Thursday’s meeting was moved from its typical Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library location to the Kerndt Brothers Community Center in anticipation of a larger attendance, which ended up at approximately 50 individuals from Lansing and the surrounding area.

Trudy Baxter, daughter of Kevin and Bobbi Baxter of Waukon who will be entering her senior year at Waukon High School this fall, showed the Supreme Champion FFA Breeding Gilt in the FFA Breeding Swine Show held at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines Thursday, August 7. According to the Iowa State Fair media department, Baxter’s “Cindy” was among the 253 Commercial Gilts exhibited by 198 individuals from 107 FFA chapters at the show, and she not only topped that large Commercial Gilt field but also bested an additional 235 Registered Gilts shown by 154 exhibitors from 91 FFA chapters to win Supreme Champion FFA Breeding Gilt honors.

For the final time in her life span of nearly a century, the Black Hawk Bridge presided over the community event that is said to have originated to celebrate her completion in 1931, as Lansing Fish Days 2025 took place this past weekend, Friday-Sunday, August 8-10, with events such as the youth fishing tournament (photo above) and the bags tournament, among many other events based out of the Lansing Emergency Services building (photo below), being just some of the happenings that took place under the watchful eye of the iconic steel structure that has spanned the Mississippi River for the past 94 years.

The Allamakee County Fairgrounds in Waukon was filled with fun and excitement for two consecutive days at the end of last week, Thursday and Friday, August 7-8, as the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus came to town to end the week. Each of those two evenings featured two shows of the circus performance under the big top, in addition to pony rides and other attractions outside the circus tent (as pictured in the surrounding photos). The Waukon Park, Recreation and Wellness Department sponsored the circus performances, with proceeds from ticket sales for each performance benefiting the department’s program offerings. Photos by Jennifer Bissell.
 

Residents of Waukon or Lansing interested in seeking a seat on the respective city councils for each of those communities, or wanting to run for Waukon Mayor, can now file nomination papers during the filing period of August 11-28. Both of those communities have a primary form of election for city government seats which requires an earlier filing deadline.

The primary elections for those city government offices in both the Waukon and Lansing communities would be scheduled for Tuesday, October 7, according to the Iowa Secretary of State’s office. The city primary election will be held only when the number of candidates who file nomination papers is more than twice the number of seats to be filled for an office. The example cited by the Secretary of State’s office clarifies that if three or more candidates filed nomination papers for mayor, the city primary election must be held.

Friday, August 8, Jocelyn Berges of Waukon was one of four Sprout division acts (ages 2-12) to advance to the semi-final round in Bill Riley’s 65th annual Iowa State Fair Talent Search in Des Moines. Berges is the 10-year-old daughter of Cameron and Sara Berges of Waukon, and she advanced to that next round of competition with her vocal solo.

Each act will perform again either this Thursday, Friday or Saturday, August 14, 15 or 16 in that semifinal round. The Sprouts do not compete beyond the semifinal round of competition, but, if chosen from that semifinal round, they do perform as Sprout Champions in the Championship Show, which is set for this Sunday, August 17 at 1:30 p.m. on the Riley Stage.

by Lissa Blake

It’s an idea that has been on his mind for 22 years. 

And recently, Stanley “Slim” Maroushek has started carving that idea into a reality, as he whittles away at a piece of the nationally famous Cucumber Magnolia tree, removed from the property next to Waukon’s Good Samaritan Society in 2003, after standing there for more than a century.

Maroushek recently started creating a likeness of Chief John Waukon, for whom Waukon is named, out of the largest piece of undamaged wood that was salvaged from the tree.

Maroushek, 82, is the curator of the Turkey River Cultural Center and Woodcarving Museum housed in the former elementary school in Ridgeway. His collection at the museum contains well over 6,000 wood carvings from all over the world, many he carved himself, others he purchased and many that were donated.

He said it was an amazing stroke of luck that the once-famous Cucumber Magnolia tree was rescued from incineration.

The City of Waukon Park & Recreation Department is sponsoring the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus performances scheduled for this Thursday and Friday, August 7-8 at the Waukon Softball Complex, located at 835 Allamakee Street. Show times are scheduled for 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. both days.

Providing family entertainment for 40 years, this one-ring, big top circus has been featured on the A&E Special: Under the Big Top, Nick News: On the Road with Circus Kids, and most recently the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority’s Big Top Town. This year’s performances will feature Big Cats presented by Trey Key, aerialist extraordinaire Simone on the trapeze, the Perez Daredevil Duo on the Tight Rope and Wheel of Destiny, the high energy Macias family hand and foot juggling, and everyone’s favorite Circus Clown Leo Acton.