Top Stories

Replacement to begin by 2024; Public can comment to DOT by July 22
 

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) and Wisconsin DOT held a public informational meeting at Kee High School in Lansing July 9. Several DOT officials were available at the meeting to answer the public’s questions about the project. A series of display boards explained the processes that have been completed and the future plans, along with options still being considered for location and design elements.

July 16 coronation event kicks off 166th Allamakee County Fair

Three Allamakee County young ladies are vying for the title of 2019 Allamakee County Fair Queen. Those three candidates for this year's crown include Diana Davison, Cayla Nolting and Soraya Reyes, all three of them being students at Waukon High School this past school year.

The crown of Allamakee County Fair Queen and all the honors and responsibilities that accompany it will be bestowed upon one of those three candidates Tuesday evening, July 16 during the Allamakee County Fair Queen Coronation event being held at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon to kick off the 166th Allamakee County Fair.

by Kristin Kopperud-Stinn

Shopko Hometown store, located at 819 Eleventh Avenue SW in Waukon, closed its doors forever June 23, 2019 after its parent company Shopko Stores Operating Co., LLC declared Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in January of this year.

Laurie Brink and Von Collins were two of the longest working employees at Shopko’s Waukon location. Both Brink and Collins started working at the store when it was still a Pamida and was located on Rossville Road, where the Waukon Banquet Center sits today.

Even well prior to the June 23 closing of the Shopko location in Waukon, local efforts led by Waukon Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) Director Ardie Kuhse to sustain the business were put in motion and have since transfered from preservation of the local business to occupancy of the now vacated property. Kuhse noted that contact was initially made with Shopko corporate leaders when the first announcement of store closings was made earlier this year - even though they did not include the Waukon location, reiterating the fact that Shopko was a vital part of the local business community and was  supported by the community and surrounding area by record sales.

“The sales did speak well for Waukon, and Waukon was spared the first and second round of store closings,” Kuhse said. “In the end, they could not restructure and no other corporate retail businesses stepped in to buy them out, thus the final closing of all stores and bankruptcy filing.”

by Lissa Blake

It wasn’t a typical call to the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Department (ACSD). But when dispatch received a call of an individual or individuals seen boarding a cargo train, the ACSD took measures to end the illegal activity and make sure nothing greater - or worse - became of it, using some creative tactics along the way.

According to Allamakee County Sheriff Clark Mellick, about mid-morning Tuesday, July 2, his department received a call stating that at least one individual had been seen jumping onto a train in Marquette that was heading north. A call to the Canadian Pacific Railroad helped officials get the train stopped just north of Harpers Ferry, but no riders were seen during that initial search.

The year 2019 marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day, historically considered the single most pivotal day in World War II. The heroics of that fateful day, June 6, 1944, in Normandy, France are certainly worth singing the praises of, and an alumnus of Waukon High School will be directing the very effort to do just that this Monday, July 8 at the D-Day and Liberation of France Choral Festival held in Paris, a grand musical commemoration in honor of those who fought for freedom during what’s considered to be the world’s greatest invasion.

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

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.

SET IN NE IOWA
Working on this concept since 2014, Meggers wrote  the screen play and worked tirelessly to get this film concept to the big screen, while also supporting himself as a substitute teacher. Meggers, a Mason City native, grew to love the Lansing area when he spent many summers with his dad in northeast Iowa along the Mississippi River.

Joint meeting with Iowa and Wisconsin DOT to be held in Lansing

A joint Public Information Meeting with the Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation (DOT) has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 9 between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. at the Kee High School, located at 569 Center Street in Lansing. The proposed improvements on the Iowa 9 (Black Hawk) Bridge connecting Iowa and Wisconsin at Lansing will be displayed and discussed.

Details of the proposed project will be discussed at the meeting. Iowa DOT and consultant staff will be present to discuss the project informally. Interested individuals are encouraged to attend to express their views and ask questions about the proposed project.

Public can vote until July 21

Reader’s Digest has revealed the 50 “Nicest Places in America,” the result of a national crowd-sourced effort to uncover places where people are kind and treat each other with respect. With one nomination from each state being selected as a finalist, the Lansing Iowa Food Trust (LIFT) in Lansing was selected as the contest finalist for the state of Iowa and the public can now vote to determine which finalist gets a cover story in the November issue of Reader’s Digest.

In an era of unprecedented cultural and political divides, “Nicest Places in America” is Reader’s Digest’s response. For the third annual search, Reader’s Digest editors sifted through over 1,000 stories of kindness submitted over 31 days from across America to name 50 finalists, one from each state.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources wants to notify the public that, although the Mississippi River water level has finally lowered for opening many boat ramp accesses, the Army Road access in Allamakee County at New Albin is still closed.  Excessive flood debris, erosion of road rock, and stumps that have pushed up from under the road are making travel hazardous at this time.  DNR personnel are quickly improving the hazards for safe access, hopefully by this coming weekend June 29 and 30th, but there are no guarantees.  The public may call Wildlife Biologist Terry Haindfield at 563-380-3422 if they need an update on the conditions.