News Center newsletter

To the Editor:

November 3 Iowans will be asked to vote on an amendment to the Iowa constitution that would require a two-thirds majority of both Iowa House and Senate to pass any bill that raises individual or corporate taxes. As a teacher and principal for 36 years, I believe the amendment would cause further harm to an already stressed education system.

Iowa was once a proud education state. In fact, we chose a schoolhouse to represent us on the quarter. Iowans knew that for our state to grow, to be a place for families to settle and work, we needed strong public schools.

However, as has been widely reported, our school’s funding has not kept up with inflation. Public schools have been starved for more than ten years. Surprise, performance drops when it is no longer valued. Iowa is now ranked in the bottom half of our fifty states for school performance, a dramatic slide from first not so very long ago.

To the Editor:

Here are some questions to ponder:
1) Are we better off now than we were two years ago?
2) Why are our groceries and gas costing us more?
3) How are we being hurt by the Iran war and tarriffs?
4) While some in Washington D.C. are making millions, why are we having a harder time trying to make ends meet?
5) As legislators are guaranteed healthcare for life, will our healthcare costs go up even higher?
6) Do we realize how much corruption is going on in Washington D.C.? Don’t we need to send people there who will fight this?
7) Will we have our freedoms much longer (freedoms of speech, press and freedom to vote)?
8) Will we continue to have a democracy?

We wonder. There is much more, but we’ll close with this: Please try and support those who can and will be our voices for our freedoms and democracy.

Dick and Betty Dinan
Elkader
 

To the Editor:

A simple test to determine if government is managing the economy for you is answering the question, “Are you better off now than you were two years ago?”

If the answer is “yes”, then those leaders should stay in power and you will be better off. If the answer is “no”, then those leaders should be voted out, because their policies are hurting you.

Let’s look at different facets of affordability for the middle class in Iowa based on October 2024 vs. October 2026 prices:

Inflation: 2.6% vs. 3.7% (up 42%) - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Ground beef prices:  $5.59 vs. $6.79 (up 21.5 %) - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Median Sales price for single-family homes:  $250,000 vs. $262,500 (up 5%) - Iowa Association of Realtors

30-year mortgage Interest rates: 6.5% vs. 7.5% (up 15.4%) - Iowa Mortgage Rates

Electricity: $0.11675/kw vs. $0.13398/kw (up 14.7%) - Alliant Energy

Deadlines/Dates
September 16 – December 11: Fiscal-Year 2026 ARC/PLC Sign Up
October 1: Fiscal-Year 2027 Mid-Contract Management on CRP Opens
November 2, 2026 -  March 15, 2027: FY27 ARC/PLC Sign Up
December 7: COC Election ballots due 
December 18: Deadline to apply for FY2027 DMC
December 31: Deadline to Apply for OCCSP

The Allamakee County Conservation Board and the Mississippi Valley Sportsman Club in Lansing will host an Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Hunters Education Online Field Day. The field day will take place Saturday, October 24 at the Mississippi Valley Sportsman Club, located at 1797 Columbus Road, Lansing, from 8-11:30 a.m.  Students should go to the Iowa DNR website to register for the class, under the Hunting & Trapping link and then the Hunter Safety and Education link that can be found at https://www.iowadnr.gov/.

The Hunters Education Online Field Day is open to youth aged 11-17 who have successfully completed the online hunters education course through the Iowa DNR.

Although some of the faces were different, the end result was the same for the Waukon girls cross country team as the distance Lady Indians successfully defended their Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) team championship won in their first-ever time competing in the event last year after a fairly close race this year in which just eight points separated the top three teams, all of which are ranked within the top 15 of Class 2A’s distance elite. North Fayette Valley High School hosted the meet in West Union Friday, October 16, a day later than originally scheduled due to rainy weather, but that delay was worth the wait as all five of the ninth-ranked Indians’ team scorers ran to All-Conference accolades within the top 20 individuals of that 64-runner varsity field to score a team championship total of 56 points, just seven and eight points, respectively ahead of 11th-rated Crestwood and 14th-rated MFL/MarMac.

Indians will now host Bellevue in first-round Class 2A Play-Offs this Friday

It’s not often that a loss can feel like a win, but for the Waukon football team a 32-26 home loss to Crestwood in the final game of the regular season still ended up resulting in a Class 2A District 3 season championship for the Orange & Black, the football Tribe’s first district title since the 2023 season. Friday’s loss forced a three-way tie between the Indians, the Cadets (who suffered their lone district loss to Osage, 20-18, a week earlier), and Osage (who the Indians had beaten, 30-20, in early October) - each of them with a 4-1 record in District 3 play.

The final game of the regular season for the Kee football team was not anticipated to have any impact on the Hawks’ Eight-Player State Play-Off qualification when Kee’s 6-1 grid squad hosted a 1-6 West Central team Friday, October 16. Another strong and consistent overall performance by the football Hawks made further certainty of that lack of impact, as Kee scored in all phases of the game to roll to a 54-0 advantage by the halftime break to keep the Hawk starters out of harm’s way for the second half of the contest and rest them for their first-round play-off match-up to be played in Lansing this Friday, October 23 against Riceville.

“We came out and played really well in the first half,” Kee football coach Chad Winters shared. “With the game in hand, we were able to rest our starters and get some younger kids snaps the entire second half and stay healthy for the play-off game in the process.”

Those who are eligible have until December 7 of this year to enroll in or change Medicare drug plans for 2027. Don’t wait until the last minute. Remember, if you’re on Medicare and don’t have drug coverage, or the coverage you have is not as good as Medicare’s, you will face a penalty for each month you delay enrolling.

Anyone who has questions about Medicare drug coverage should call their local SHIIP counselors at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411. Both SHIIP Volunteers, Nancy Schoh and Vicki Bloxham, are trained and available to meet individually with anyone in the community who wishes to compare the Medicare Part D plans available for 2027.  Appointments are required.  Feel free to call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411 to schedule your appointment. You will need to bring your Medicare card, current Part D plan card and a list of your medications from your pharmacy. SHIIP is a free, confidential service of the State of Iowa.

Enjoy a fun-filled Christmas Fantasy this year Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, November 13, 14, 15, and 16, at the Allamakee Fairgrounds Pavilion. The theme is “A Visit to the North Pole!”

Reservations are being taken now for the many popular events held during this four-day event, marking the 35th annual Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation Christmas Fantasy.