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Mark “Bob” Wagner  was born February 13, 1947 in Waukon to Mark and Mary Dougherty Wagner. He passed December 19, 2025 from a long illness.

A memorial will be held at a later date. Memorials can be made to: Wexford Foundation, c/o Mary Egan, 1296 Great River Road, Harper’s Ferry, IA 52146.

Bob was raised on a farm in Lansing and attended St. George High School, Lansing and Rock Valley College, Rockford, IL. He served in the U.S. Army and deployed to Vietnam.  He worked for what originally was Barber Colman Company in Loves Park and their subsidiaries for over 52 years. He and his wife of 55 years, Karen Schott Wagner, moved to Virginia with the company for 13 years and returned to work back in Rockford for a few more years before he retired.

Dolores Marie (Delphey) Schmitt, age 87, died January 2, 2026, at her home in Madison, WI. She was born March 2, 1938, to Edward A. and Mildred M. (Hogan) Delphey in Dubuque.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, January 16 at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church, 401 South Owen Drive, Madison, WI. Visitation will take place from 9:30 a.m. until the time of service. Interment of ashes will be at a later date at St. Joseph’s Paint Rock Cemetery, Harpers Ferry.

Dolores grew up in Harpers Ferry on the bank of the Mississippi River where her father, grandfather and uncles worked together as commercial fishermen. Many of her fondest childhood memories were of helping them and spending time on the riverbank with her sister, cousins, and her dear friend, Judy (Wiedner) Indihar.

The items below summarize the top news stories that appeared in The Standard during the second six months of 2025, July-December.

JULY
The City of Lansing is seeking assistance from downtown property owners in preparation for a significant infrastructure project slated for 2028. The upcoming full reconstruction of Main Street, designated as Iowa Highway 9 through downtown Lansing, includes not only roadway resurfacing but also the complete removal and replacement of sidewalks.

Veterans Memorial Hospital physicians and staff announce that the First Baby of the Year born at the hospital for 2026 is Kolter Joel Lubben, son of Karson and Nevaeh Lubben of Waukon. Kolter was born January 1, 2026, at 4:40 a.m. He weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces and was 20-1/2 inches long at the time of his birth. Dr. Dave Schwartz was the provider assisting with the delivery.

Grandparents are Judd and Shelly Lubben, Danny Bushau, Chasity Bushau, and Addie and Donnie Copeland. Great-grandparents are Rose Schaffer, Francis Lubben, Ray and Cathy Peterson, Randy and Karen Bushau, and Dave and Christine Enyart. Gordon and Karen Anderson are great-great-grandparents.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met Friday, January 2 for its annual organizational meeting in addition to its Monday, January 5 regular session meeting. The Standard’s coverage of those two meetings is below.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 2
The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors organizational meeting Friday, January 2 was called to order by County Auditor Denise Beyer. The appointments of Tom Clark as Board of Supervisors Chairperson and Dan Byrnes as Chairperson Pro-Tem were approved. Supervisor Dennis Keatley was present in addition to Clark and Byrnes for this first Supervisors meeting of the new calendar year.

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, January 5 to address a full agenda of matters including discussion of the City Facade Grant Program, consideration of change orders relating to the 4th Avenue NW Addition and discussion of the agreement relating to the Allamakee Child Care Solutions Fund. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Arvid Hatlan with council members present including Steve Wiedner, Nicholas Engrav, Cassie Handke, Tim Smedsrud and John Lydon. There was no comment during the first Public Comment portion of the meeting.

A new drop site has been started locally for a natural health food distributor bringing bulk and specialty health foods to communities all across the nation. Initiated in December, an Azure Standard drop site has been established in Waukon for more convenient access to healthy organic foods and natural products at family-friendly and bulk prices in a unique approach.

Azure Standard is a family-owned company that specializes in organic, non-GMO (Genetically Modified Organism), and natural foods and products. They offer a wide variety of items including bulk grains, flours, beans, snacks, baking supplies, spices, household goods, and wellness products. Instead of shipping directly to individual homes, Azure uses a community drop-site system, allowing customers to order online and pick up their items once a month at a local location - an effort that helps keep costs affordable.

Top Patriot’s Pen VFW Essay Contest entries from Waukon Middle School sixth grade ...
Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 4117 and its Auxiliary selected the top entries from Waukon Middle School’s sixth grade class for its VFW Youth Scholarship Essay Contest. Pictured at right, left to right, are Brooklyn Corwin, First Place; Regan Miner, Second Place; and Raven Sweeney, Third Place.

Top Patriot’s Pen VFW Essay Contest entries from Waukon Middle School seventh grade ...
Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 4117 and its Auxiliary selected the top entries from Waukon Middle School’s seventh grade class for its VFW Youth Scholarship Essay Contest. Pictured at right, left to right, are Nash Cunningham, First Place; Lail Curtin, Second Place; and Elsie Retallick, Third Place.

Iowa Farmers Partner with NRCS to Invest Millions in Conservation Funding
Iowa farmers and other private landowners invested millions in conservation practices to help treat natural resource issues on their lands last year, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Through four major Farm Bill conservation programs offered in Iowa, the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), Iowa farmers contracted with NRCS to address natural resource concerns such as soil erosion and water quality on about 258,000 private land acres in Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25).

Workshops to be held in five locations across Iowa

Specialists with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach are once again teaming up with ISU Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering specialists to bring planter equipment expertise to farms across the state February 2-6 with Planter University.

The workshops are an opportunity for farmers, agricultural service providers, equipment and precision ag dealers and others to gain insight into how planters function; optimizing settings for individual seed, field, and equipment needs; and improving understanding of planter wear and calibration. Prior attendees have noted the value this workshop provides, with 80% of 2025 survey respondents stating it was worth more than $10 per acre to their farming operation.