Top Stories

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in a pair of meetings this past week. Coverage of both a January 9 special session and the board’s regular meeting from Monday, January 13 appears below

JANUARY 9
The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met Thursday, January 9 in special session to discuss options relating to the Vet’s Club building located on Allamakee Street in Waukon and the lease involved with the building. Board Chairperson Larry Schellhammer and Supervisors Dan Byrnes and Dennis Koenig listened to comments and suggestions from various stakeholders.

Schellhammer opened the discussion by outlining options available including keeping the Vet’s Club’s operation the same, County ownership of the building, City ownership of the building, developing a joint venture between the City and County, or negotiating a new contract with a private entity.

The month of November ended with a loss of $31,534 for Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) in Waukon, according to information presented at the hospital’s board of trustees meeting held December 18. Year-to-date, the hospital is showing a loss of $433,216.

VMH Administrator Mike Myers noted that hospital officials are “accruing everything right now so there will be no surprises at the end of the (fiscal) year.” He was cautiously optimistic that December may bring some better news. “We are slowly getting things turned around and it shows, but it takes time,” Myers said.

To read the the full article, 2019 Year in Review: A Look Back at July through December, pick up this week's print edition or subscribe to our e-edition by clicking here.

Below is a portion of that article, July through August, summarizing the top news stories that appeared in The Standard.

JULY
Recently, Jack Meggers, an Iowa Arts Council Fellow, debuted his independent short film “The Burial” in Lansing and Des Moines. The film, shot entirely in northeast Iowa in and around the Lansing area, is a psychological, supernatural thriller. Meggers hopes to show this 20-minute film to film production companies on the East and West coasts and in Canada in the hope that one of them will agree to finance a feature length film of the entire story.

by Lissa Blake

December 30 Meeting
They’re open to suggestions. That’s what a number of Waukon Veterans told the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors Monday morning during its regular meeting.

Nine area veterans addressed the Supervisors regarding the future of the Vets Club building. Although Vets Club Incorporated has owned the building since 1950, it leases the land on which it is located from Allamakee County.

The veterans lamented to the Board about difficulties they have had keeping a tenant in the building.

“For the past  8 - 10 years, seems like it’s been hard to try to get a manager in there. The last two have left us where we’ve  had to pay their bills,” said John Regan Jr.

Regan cited low participation in the organization leading to a grim financial outlook.

To read the the full article, 2019 Year in Review: A Look Back at January through June, pick up this week's print edition or subscribe to our e-edition by clicking here.

Below is a portion of that article, January through February, summarizing the top news stories that appeared in The Standard.

JANUARY
Veterans Memorial Hospital physicians and staff are pleased to announce that the First Baby of the Year Contest was won by Harrison Dean Sandry, son of Emily and Kevin Sandry of Cresco.  
Harrison was born January 3, 2019 at 4:09 a.m., weighing 8 pounds, 1 ounce and measuring 20 inches long. Dr. Dave Schwartz assisted with the delivery.

EMT Class offered beginning in January at NICC Waukon Center

by Lissa Blake

(Editor’s Note: This feature article is the fourth and final in a multi-part series addressing the need for additional Emergency Medical Services personnel in Allamakee County.)

Most people would agree that having emergency medical services (EMS) available to any community is essential. But until the Iowa State Legislature changes the law, ambulance services across the state will likely continue to struggle.

“Fire departments and law enforcement are considered essential and cities and townships have to provide those. In the rules for EMS, they may provide the service,” said Jeff Mitchell of Waterville. “The Iowa EMS Association has been working dramatically to try to get that changed, but at this time, they haven’t succeeded.”

Those familiar with the Dr. Seuss book “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” may also be pointing fingers at the green, evil-smiling holiday villain when it comes to thoughts of a white Christmas. As evident in the photo above, the ground surrounding this local holiday display has very little snow cover remaining, and with daytime temperatures forecasted in the 40s through the remainder of this Christmas week, what little snow that does remain likely won’t stick around for long and the only precipitation that is forecasted to fall as the Christmas holiday approaches and is celebrated in the middle of this week is expected to be in the form of rain on Christmas Day.

by Lissa Blake

Results of a recent market study have been analyzed and one thing is clear: those who are most concerned with the future of Lansing are full of ideas about how to make it a better place.

Main Street Lansing recently hosted its second public meeting to roll out market strategies that were identified from the results of that Lansing Market Study made available earlier this year.

After holding a meeting in September to reveal the results of those surveys, the volunteers coordinating the market study started formulating and prioritizing strategies to strengthen and improve downtown Lansing, based directly on what consumers and businesses stated in their surveys.

The lighted village display pictured above was donated to the Dolores Tillinghast Memorial Library in Harpers Ferry by local property owner Cindy Barta to use as a display during the holiday season. The village has been on display since the end of November and will remain in place until early January. Anyone can stop by during library hours to view the display or visit the library and all that it has to offer. “This display is a beautiful asset for our small community to enjoy, it has been enjoyed by many folks of all ages,” shared Dolores Tillinghast Memorial Library Director Jody Delaney. “It’s proof that our small libraries are so much more than books, although that’s very important as well.” Submitted photo.
 

EMT Class offered beginning in January at NICC Waukon Center

by Lissa Blake

(Editor’s Note: This feature on the Postville Emergency Medical Services (EMS) program is the third in a multi-part series addressing the need for additional Emergency Medical Services personnel in Allamakee County. Additional area communities will be featured in subsequent articles.)

Most people take for granted that when they call for an ambulance, someone will always answer that call.

But to keep an ambulance service going, it takes a lot of resources - many of those human.

“I just had no idea what it took to be a volunteer in the EMS (Emergency Medical Services) world until someone recruited me,” said Mindy Koenig of Luana.