The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors officially hired area native Jay Mathis for the district's Superintendent position at the board's regular monthly session Monday, March 19. Mathis and retiring ACSD Superintendent Dave Herold will be transitioning the rest of the school year before Mathis officially begins his duties July 1 of this year.
Iowa State University Allamakee County Extension and Outreach is hosting a financial workshop, "Making Ends Meet." For those who would like to get more for their money, save money for their financial goals, have money ready for emergencies, develop a plan for spending and saving and be more confident about their money, this program, taught by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Human Sciences Family Finance Specialist Jeannette Mukayisire, is designed to help.
During this two-part workshop, attendees will learn how to make their money work for them. The workshop is free to the public and will meet at the Allamakee County Extension and Outreach Office in Waukon, located at 218 Seventh Avenue SE, Suite #102, Tuesday, May 22 and Tuesday, May 29 from 2-3:30 p.m.
The Lansing City Council met in regular session Monday, March 19 at Lansing City Hall. Discussion centered around renewing the electric franchise contract, Allamakee Housing Survey review of results, summertime city mowing positions being available, hiring a part-time police officer, an open position for a full-time patrol officer and the City Clerk's office being closed Friday, March 30.
Craig Clefesch and Keith Sherman with Alliant Energy were present at the meeting to answer any questions about renewing the 25-year electric franchise with the City of Lansing. Clefesch, Sherman and the council had discussion about adding a franchise fee to the electric bills, although no final decision was made on that proposal. The topic will come up again during a future meeting.
Four Compatibility Determinations (CDs) which evaluate various economic and/or commercial uses of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (Refuge), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are available for public comment through April 9 of this year. The draft CDs re-evaluate the following uses of the Refuge:
As one can tell by the photo above, the streets of Waukon were lined with Irish spirit for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade Sunday, March 18 in Waukon. Under nearly ideal conditions with bright sunshine and temperatures hovering around the 50-degree mark, the event took approximately an hour to display the wide variety of nearly 150 entries. Additional photos from this year's event can be found on Page 14A of this week's print edition of The Standard. All of the parade photos found in this issue, along with many more from Sunday's St. Patrick’s Day Parade, are available for viewing/purchase by clicking on the Photo Gallery link on this website.
The 2018 Allamakee County Dairy Banquet will be held this Saturday, March 24 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon. The meal will be served from 7-8:30 p.m. with the program starting at 8 p.m.
The annual celebration recognizes the importance of the dairy industry in Allamakee County and the contributions dairy families make to this important industry. Every year, top producers from the county are recognized at the banquet. In addition, several other awards are presented that evening, some of which include the following:
• Outstanding Young Dairy Family Award
• Pioneer Dairyman Award
• Distinguished Dairy Family Award
• Service to Dairy Industry Award
• Golden Butter Knife Award.
One-hour message can last a lifetime... Aaron Thomas, son of slain Aplington-Parkersburg High School football coach Ed Thomas, gave a pair of presentations in the Waukon High School gymnasium Tuesday, March 13. Thomas first spoke to Waukon Middle School and Waukon High School students in an afternoon presentation before speaking to area community members Tuesday evening in what he termed "maybe the largest community crowd I've ever spoken in front of."
The Tuesday, March 13 presentations made by Aaron Thomas to students and community members of the Allamakee Community School District may have lasted only an hour, but his message is intended to last a lifetime.
The son of slain legendary Iowa high school football coach Ed Thomas of Aplington-Parkersburg High School, Thomas made a Tuesday afternoon presentation to Waukon Middle School and Waukon High School students. He then addressed area community members later that same evening, both presentations taking place at the Waukon High School gymnasium.
Every day, more than 115 Americans die after overdosing on opioids, according to national reports. In fact, overdose is the leading cause of death in Americans under the age of 50. The misuse of and addiction to opioids - including prescription pain relievers, heroin and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl - is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare.
Experts say the United States is in the throes of an opioid epidemic, as more than two million Americans have become dependent on or abused prescription pain pills and street drugs. Some of these Americans may be family members, neighbors, co-workers or friends to those reading this article. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is focusing its efforts in combating that crisis on five major priorities:
Severe Weather Awareness Week in Iowa is observed March 26-30 and includes the State of Iowa Tornado Drill Day taking place Wednesday, March 28, with Allamakee County authorities and communities planning to take part in this exercise. The drill should consist of the National Weather Service station out of La Crosse, WI issuing a mock tornado watch at around 10 a.m. that Wednesday followed by a tornado warning at 10:30 a.m., at which time the intent would be to activate community warning sirens.
Residents and businesses should use this as an opportunity to think about their plans for seeking shelter during an actual event. As part of his next monthly emergency management article, Allamakee County Emergency Management Director Corey Snitker plans to discuss the topic of severe weather awareness and readiness as weather patterns move into the spring and summer storm seasons.
The Iowa High School Athletic Association chose the Waukon High School trio of junior Leslie Halverson, sophomore Madalyn Ellingson and senior Jasmyn Enyart to perform the National Anthem at the 2018 Boys State Basketball Tournament in early March. That trio performed Tuesday, March 6 at 6:30 p.m. prior to the start of the Class 4A first-round contest between Iowa City West and Muscatine at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines (as evident in the submitted photo above right). The three-part women’s arrangement of the National Anthem performed by Enyart, Ellingson and Halverson was arranged by former Waukon High School choir director Al Leathers. All three singers are currently under the direction of Sarah J. Bieber Palmer. Pictured in the submitted photo above, left to right, are Waukon High School Vocal Music Director Sarah J. Bieber Palmer and her selected Waukon High School vocal music students Leslie Halverson, Jasmyn Enyart and Madalyn Ellingson.
