Top Stories

Members of the Kee High School Homecoming Court for 2019 include the King and Queen candidates from the Senior class pictured above, as well as the underclassman attendants pictured below. Pictured above are, left to right: Front row - Senior Class Homecoming Queen candidates Rachel Walleser, Carly Rask, Matteson Weymiller, Laura Colsch, Kristina Dibert; Back row - Senior Class Homecoming King candidates Nate Winters, Cade Rasque, Brayden Gavin, Ryan Schulte, Joey Snitker-Derespina. Pictured at left, front to back and left to right, are: Junior Attendants Alexis Johnson and Deepanshu Dabas, Sophomore Attendants Maggy Weymiller and Jaylen Drape, and Freshman Attendants Neva Peterson and Tom Troendle. Details of this week's Homecoming events at Kee High School, along with celebratory pages, can be found on Pages 6A-7A inside the September 25, 2019 print edition and e-edition of The Standard. Photos courtesy of the Kee High School Yearbook.

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

“What did you do before LIFT opened?” asked a volunteer.

“We went hungry,” said a client.

Lansing Iowa Food Trust (LIFT) opened one year ago during the first week in October at 220 South Third Street (the former Rethwisch Lumber building) in Lansing. Board members are pleased with the number of people that they have served in the past year. They are particularly proud that in a recent Readers Digest contest, LIFT was designated the “Nicest Place in Iowa.”

They will find out in the November issue of that publication as to whether they won the designation of the “Nicest Place in the U.S.” They feel this is quite an accomplishment for only being an organization for one year.

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

Monday, September 16, Main Street Lansing hosted a public meeting at Kerndt Brothers Community Center in Lansing to review the results of the recent Lansing Market Study survey. A total of 488 consumers responded to the survey, which was well past the goal needed to reach an accurate sample size of the community. In addition, 51 local businesses responded to a specialized survey created to dive deeper into business needs in Lansing.

The local Market Study Committee will next conduct a work session in October to work on a plan of strategies to further aid the Lansing market. The final document with recommendations should be completed by November.

The report of a possible abduction in Decorah resulted in extensive law enforcement presence in Waukon late Friday afternoon, September 20. Upon further investigation involving multiple area law enforcement agencies, it was determined there was no additional evidence of an abduction and no one was found to be in any danger.

According to a release from the Decorah Police Department, at approximately 3 p.m. Friday, Decorah Police dispatch received a text message to 911 in regard to a possible abduction from the Decorah Middle School. An immediate investigation that included follow-up with cellular phone and tower technology resulted in officers conducting extensive searches in both the Decorah and Waukon areas, including the Parkview Trailer Court and the initial block of First Street NW in Waukon. All of those investigative efforts found no further evidence of any abduction or the endangering of any individual, according to the release.

Students from Waukon High School will join thousands of other youth and any others who may be interested on athletic fields across the nation Wednesday, October 9 to share their Christian faith with fellow students and the general public. The local event is now in its eighth year and will start at 7 p.m. at the Waukon High School football field that Wednesday evening. Attendees are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on. In the case of inclement weather, the event will be held inside the Waukon High School gymnasium.

Featured speaker for this year’s event will be Michael De Jong, a resident of Iowa who is a husband and father to five children. He will share his message of how Jesus rescued and saved him during the darkest moments of his life.

The Friends of Yellow River State Forest are working to establish the fire tower at Yellow River State Forest (pictured above) on the National Register of Historic Places. Any assistance with any historic documents pertaining to the fire tower would be much appreciated. The group is looking for newspaper articles, documents and/or pictures anyone may have of the tower, or even anecdotal stories of their fondness for the tower. With the historic aspect in mind, the further back the materials go (even 50 years), the better. Email documents, stories, etc. to dvpeters@goacentek.net. Mailed documents or letters can be sent to: Friends of Yellow River State Forest, P.O. Box 171, Harpers Ferry, IA 52146. Submitted photo.
 

Although the storm that swept through northeast Iowa Thursday, September 12 was forecasted to possibly produce strong winds and hail, it was heavy rain - reported to have dumped as much as six inches in some areas of southeast Allamakee County that evening - that caused the most concern and left behind the most visible scars. The severity of the rain has ultimately resulted in several closed rural gravel roads, along with camping sites in the Yellow River State Forest.

BUSY EVENING FOR FIRE DEPARTMENTS
All Allamakee County fire departments were called upon for storm spotting shortly after 4 p.m., but for those in the southeast portion of the county their call to duty didn’t end there. The evening’s heavy rains quickly raised creeks and filled otherwise dry-run areas with rolling water along Great River Road, in Yellow River State Forest and in other areas in southeast Allamakee County, northeast Clayton County and over into southwest Wisconsin.

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital, together with Elliott Jewelers of Waukon, will be hosting its 15th annual Women’s Health Day wellness event and luncheon Tuesday, September 24 at the Waukon Reception and Banquet Center. All ages are invited to attend this educational event, beginning at 11 a.m. with a wellness fair offering a variety of free health tests and information, and a salad luncheon and program held from Noon to 1 p.m.

Tickets are available at Veterans Memorial Hospital and Elliott Jewelers in Waukon. Tickets will also be available at the door, until the event is sold out. The proceeds from this event will be used to purchase a new fetal heart monitor and baby bassinet for the Maternity Services Department.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session at the Waterville Community Center Monday, September 16 to address a full agenda of items including the discussion and acknowledgment of the Fiscal-Year 2019 Official Report of the County Engineer, discussion and consideration of changes to the Allamakee County ATV/UTV Ordinance proposed by the Allamakee County ATV/UTV Club and updates for the Waterville Public Library and City of Waterville.

During Public Comment, Allamakee County Auditor Denise Beyer provided a reminder for those wanting to run for city council, mayor or school board that candidate paperwork is due by 5 p.m. this Thursday, September 19 in the Auditor’s office at the Allamakee County Courthouse. Beyer advised that the combined city and school elections is new for this year in the state of Iowa.

The counties of Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, Howard and Winneshiek in northeast Iowa, including all communities within, are designated as Regional Planning Affiliation 1 (RPA-1) by the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT). Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC) is the state-designated administrator for RPA-1, providing multimodal transportation planning services, program administration and technical assistance to all communities in the five-county region.