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by Brianne Grimstad

May 3, 2024 was a day that changed the life of Zach Quandahl of Waukon and his family members.

It was a nice day outside and Zach decided to take advantage of that by taking his Harley-Davidson motorcycle for a ride to meet some friends for supper in New Albin. Traveling along Highway 9, just north of Waukon past the Allamakee County Public Safety Center, the bike began to wobble, and Zach was unable to stop it. He met an oncoming vehicle and clipped the headlight of the car with his left leg.

He continued to ride as long as he was able to and slow the motorcycle down, before he himself went down. He was able to call 911 at 5:11 p.m. for himself.

Four people who encountered the scene of the incident stopped to give assistance, one of them being an off-duty EMT.

Zach’s left leg was lacerated badly, and with help from the bystanders, they used belts to make a tourniquet on his leg. One of the belts, however, broke.

by Joe Moses

State of Iowa Auditor Rob Sand continued his annual 99 County Tour with a Town Hall meeting in Waukon Thursday morning, September 19 at the Sweeney Shelter near the Allamakee County Freedom Rock in Waukon City Park.

Sand began the town hall meeting by providing an update relating to the State Auditor Office’s Public Innovations and Efficiencies (PIE) Program. He noted that this program recognizes the efforts of local governments, including counties and cities in addition to school districts, in saving tax dollars and promoting efficiency. Sand explained that a checklist of items compiled through this program is sent out each year to schools and local governments to provide suggestions with ongoing feedback allowing entities to share and add to these efficiencies.

Election Essentials is a weekly series of articles offering a variety of information regarding elections in Iowa and Allamakee County prior to this year’s November 5 General Election. The information is being provided courtesy of Allamakee County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections Denise Beyer.

Any eligible voter who is unsure if they are registered or unsure if they are registered at the correct address can check by going to the Allamakee County Elections website, https://allamakeecountyelections.iowa.gov/, clicking “Am I Registered”, and entering their name and zip code. See the QR code at the end of this article +to easily check your registration.

Seniors Violet Nehman (left) and Parker Leppert (right) were crowned Kee High School’s 2024 Homecoming Queen and King at the coronation event held prior to Homecoming Week Sunday, September 15 in the Kee High School gymnasium to kick off this week’s Homecoming festivities. The change made last year to an earlier coronation date will now allow the King and Queen to preside over the entire Homecoming Week. Celebratory pages highlighting Kee’s 2024 Homecoming can be found inside this week’s Standard on Pages 14-15. Photo by Danielle Potter.

Pick up the Wednesday, September 18, 2024 print edition of The Standard or subscribe to our e-edition or print edition by clicking here.

Students at Waukon High School have selected their Homecoming Court representatives for the 2024 celebration, with the coronation of this year's Homecoming Queen and King scheduled to take place at the "Burning of the W" pep rally scheduled for this Thursday evening, September 19, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Waukon High School gym. Pictured in the photo above are this year's Waukon High School Homecoming Queen and King candidates from the 2024-2025 Senior class, including: Left to right - Front row: Queen candidates Reese McCormick, Faith Cooper, Mari Delaney, Olivia Dougherty; Back row: King candidates Judah Johnson, Ethan Gibbs, Jaxon Brinkman, Carson Hager.

This Friday, September 20 will feature a first-ever event in the Archdiocese of Dubuque, and it will be taking place in rural Allamakee County. The Johanningmeier and Deering families of Distant View Farms, located at 853 State Highway 76 South, Monona, nine miles southeast of Waukon and about a mile east of Rossville, will be hosting the Archdiocese’s inaugural Rural Life Mass, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Friday. Archbishop Thomas Zinkula, who grew up on a farm with his eight siblings, greatly appreciates rural life and is excited to celebrate this Rural Life Mass in rural Allamakee County. This first-of-its-kind Archdiocesan event recognizes the many people who work the land and live in Iowa’s rural communities.

by Lissa Blake

Sometimes having a real conversation with another human being can really help a person’s state of mind. “Everyone is dealing with a lot of stuff,” said Pastor Grant Vander Velden of First Presbyterian Church in Waukon.

Vander Velden said following the COVID-19 pandemic, when human interactions were at an all-time low, he started hanging out in coffee shops, just to get back to being around people and to be more available for others. “I started having these incredible conversations with people,” he said. “Sometimes you just need some assurance that you are not the only one.”

Vander Velden hosts weekly Talk Times Wednesdays, from 3-5:30 p.m. as a specific time for people to stop in at Aztec Parlor on Main Street in Waukon and simply visit with him.

Those who drive on the Black Hawk Bridge at Lansing will need to be aware that intermittent closures on the bridge have resumed as of Tuesday, September 17, weather permitting, according to an announcement made by the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) Monday afternoon, September 16. Construction crews will continue work on constructing a new pier and driving the pier foundation for the new bridge that will replace the current bridge. Intermittent closures of a half-hour in length will happen on the existing bridge to reduce vibration from construction activity and traffic, limiting the chance of damage occurring.

These closures are anticipated twice a day each weekday and will take place between the hours of 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Weather permitting, these closures will be done by Friday, October 4. Updates will be provided on the Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing Facebook page as well as through other local media sources as construction progresses.

For the second consecutive year, Kee High School in Lansing will kick off the celebration of its Homecoming Week with the crowning of the Homecoming King and Queen taking place at the beginning of the Homecoming Week, rather than during the previously traditional Friday afternoon pep rally event. This Sunday, September 15, Kee High School’s Homecoming King and Queen for 2024 will be crowned at a ceremony beginning at 5:45 p.m. in the Kee High School gym, in conjunction with a “Lighting of the K” event also taking place as part of Homecoming Week 2024, with those events being open to the public. The switch to the Sunday afternoon coronation event prior to Homecoming Week getting underway was made last year in an effort to “have our King and Queen preside over the entire week of Homecoming, rather than just the final half-day,” Kee High School Homecoming faculty sponsors explained.

by Brianne Grimstad

In May of this year, a new business moved into the building at 17 1st Street NW in downtown Waukon. Formerly housing The Copy Shoppe and more locally known previously as JaDecc’S, the building has now taken on a new identity as the home of Natureferm, becoming an R&D (research and development) center where a potentially life-saving drug is being developed in partnership with Iowa State University (ISU), the University of Michigan and a German Research Institute specializing in disease treatments.

Jim and Jody (Van Ruler) Zahn are both Waukon natives and owners of Natureferm. Jim is the son of Bob and Cathy Zahn, and Jody is the daughter of Howard and Dorothy Van Ruler.

After leaving Waukon in 1988, they attended Central College and Iowa State University (ISU). They then spent the next 35 years working in industry, within the fields of Human Resources for Jody and Industrial Biotechnology for Jim.