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Sharon Drahn
Contributing Writer

In a week’s time from initial jury selection to the final verdict being returned - with an extended holiday weekend in between, the first-degree murder trial of 41-year-old Brandon Kasemeier of Waukon came to an end last week. The ending to that trial took a 12-person jury of Allamakee County men and women less than an hour to decide, as they returned a verdict of guilty Tuesday afternoon, May 27 in Allamakee County District Court at Waukon.

Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) officials have announced that a free water taxi and shuttle service connecting Lansing and De Soto, WI will be starting this Wednesday, June 4, and that service will be available during the closure of the Black Hawk Bridge, which began May 17 when pier movement was detected. Within the Monday, June 2 announcement of the availability of the water taxi service, DOT officials also offered the following statement in regard to the continued closure of the Black Hawk Bridge:

“Iowa DOT is reviewing findings from the most recent engineering study and is evaluating ongoing construction for the new bridge which is occurring near the existing bridge. The department has not finalized any repair or reopening plans for the existing bridge.”

The Allamakee County Dairy Promotion Board has scheduled the June Dairy Days Parade to be held in Lansing this year. The parade will be held this Sunday, June 8, beginning at 7 p.m., a bit of a change from its usual Monday night schedule.

Line-up for parade entries begins at 6:30 p.m. at Kee High School on Center Street in Lansing. The parade route will travel from the high school up South 6th Street to Main Street/State Highway 9, taking a right and traveling east down Main Street to South 3rd Street, where another right will take the parade back to Center Street, traveling back to Kee High School.

The Allamakee County Dairy Promotion Board will be setting up its dairy wagon and the Allamakee County Cattlemen will be grilling at the Kerndt Brothers Bank parking lot area and serving from 5-7:30 p.m. For more information, contact Kerri Gibbs at 563-419-2260 or ckgibbs@acegroup.cc.
 

Saturday morning, May 31, at approximately 8:43 a.m., the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Emergency Dispatch Center received a report of a one-vehicle accident on State Highway 76 north of Waukon, between Grand View Road and Iowa River Drive. The accident resulted in fatal injuries for the lone individual involved.

A report issued by the Iowa State Patrol indicates that Daniel M. Fisher, age 64, reported to be from Salem, WI but also being a more recent resident of Lansing and having served for a time as the Executive Director of Main Street Lansing a decade ago, was traveling northbound on State Highway 76 on his 2007 Harley-Davidson motorcycle when he struck a deer in the roadway near mile marker 42. Upon impact, Fisher lost control of the motorcycle and it entered and came to rest in the east ditch, throwing him from the vehicle. Fisher was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident as a result of his injuries.

Sharon Drahn Contributing Writer

With nearly 90 potential jurors summoned to the Allamakee County Courthouse Tuesday, May 20, jury selection began in the first-degree murder trial of Brandon Kasemeier, age 41, of Waukon, who is accused of killing his estranged wife, Jami, January 21, 2024.
Kasemeier was taken into custody in Colorado a day after Jami was found dead in the Waukon home the couple once shared.

Although Kasemeier had requested the trial be moved out of Allamakee County on two separate occasions within the past six months, those motions for change of venue were denied both times. Kasemeier’s attorneys argued that media attention and the smaller rural population of Allamakee County would make it difficult to select an impartial jury; however, court documents noted that Iowa First District Court Judge Alan Heavens ruled that selecting an impartial jury, although challenging, would indeed be possible.

by Jennifer Bissell

A Waukon man recently traveled to Washington, D.C. to speak to local legislators about the impact of renewable energy in Iowa and veterans in the renewable energy industry.

Jim Downing, a retired U.S. Marine Corps veteran, a former police officer and now an 11-year professional in the energy world, was chosen to represent his industry and Project Vanguard during the Clean Power on the Hill event April 29-30. Downing and other representatives from Iowa visited with Iowa legislators about the importance of energy generation in Iowa and grants available for small farmers, business owners and home owners.

Friday, May 23, at 9:01 p.m., the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Emergency Dispatch Center received a report of a one-vehicle accident north of the intersection of Paint Creek Drive and Ness Ridge Road in rural Allamakee County, northwest of Waterville.

A Can Am Maverick off-road vehicle driven by Jason Lee Matthias, age 33, of Cedar Falls was traveling southbound on Paint Creek Drive when it struck a deer in the roadway. The driver lost control of the off-road vehicle and it struck an embankment and rolled onto its side. A passenger, Heather Lynn Jones, age 33, of Raymond, was pinned under the vehicle. Jones was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the vehicle was treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Assisting at the scene of the accident was the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office, Waterville Fire and Rescue Squad and Veterans Memorial Hospital. The accident remains under investigation by the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office.
 

A variety of Memorial Day activities are being planned for the upcoming holiday weekend, including all the traditional Memorial Day observances this year scheduled for Monday, May 26 in all of the area communities within Allamakee County. Those traditions of parades, full cemetery programs and wreath laying are being planned in honor of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in serving their country, with details of some of those celebrations being outlined on this page in their respective highlighted boxes.

by Brianne Grimstad

With Memorial Day on the horizon, many start to think about taking flowers and decorations to cemeteries, getting ready for Memorial Day parades and programs, and reflecting on the American men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect their country and its freedom. Some families can go and visit the graves of their loved ones at local cemeteries, some servicemen and women are interred in cemeteries in other parts of the state or country, some have their final resting place overseas, and some have not yet had their remains found to be brought to their final resting place.

Over 81,000 American service members are still Missing In Action (MIA), and rural Waukon resident Dan Davis is part of a non-profit group called Project Recover that has made it their mission to locate, identify and bring those MIAs back to their loved ones.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday, May 9 at the site of the twin home/duplex project planned by Tailwind Capital Partners, LLC through a development agreement with the City of Waukon at what is locally known as the former “Bresnahan Property” in northwest Waukon. Developers Ben Garrett (a Waukon native) and Jeff Spence with Tailwind Capital Partners addressed the group in attendance including representatives of the Waukon Chamber of Commerce, Allamakee County Economic Development (ACED), the City of Waukon, and the area business community and financial institutions. Following the groundbreaking ceremony, Garrett shared with The Standard that additional marketing and promotion will be taking place to provide multiple listing services (MLS) relating to inquiries and sales of each of the duplex units, which are anticipated to be constructed in phases, two twin homes/duplexes (four units) at a time, based upon buyer commitment.