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The Nuffield International Farming Scholars program has announced the selection of its 2018 Nuffield Scholars, which includes two agriculturalists from the United States of America and two from Brazil. Among those Scholars is Waukon area native Brian Dougherty, a 1991 graduate of Waukon High School and the son of John and Rita Dougherty of Waukon.

Dougherty is joined in the honor by Steven Griffin of Washington, NC, the assistant manager for Griffin AG LLC, a farming operation that grows corn, wheat and soybeans for storage and marketing, along with other value-added crop. Also joining those two American selections are two Brazilians, Artur Falcette of Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mauro Nakata of Sorocaba, Sao Paulo.

Thursday, December 7, music students of Sandy Good performed a Christmas concert for the residents at Wellington Place in Decorah. Those students are pictured in the surrounding photos. Pictured above, left to right, are Emily Myers, daughter of Jim Myers and Mindy Myers of Decorah; Creed Monroe, son of Darin and Sarah Monroe of Decorah; Maddox Wiethorn, son of Dan and Amy Wiethorn of Decorah; Klaara Short, daughter of Michael and Torea Short of Decorah; Haylee Hackman, daughter of Jason and Lorie Hackman of Waukon; and Sydney Hageman, daughter of David and Kathy Hageman of Decorah. Pictured at right, left to right, are Alina Tallier, daughter of Aleksandra Tallier, and Ruby Sullivan, daughter of Brian and Jennifer Sullivan, all from Decorah. Pictured below, left to right are: Front row - Addison Wicklund, daughter of Chris and Melissa Wicklund of Decorah, and Jerikah Dodd, daughter of Austin and Marcie Dodd of Decorah.

As new technologies and best practices are introduced in agriculture, Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) re-designs the focus of its academic programs to reflect innovations and ensure that curriculum is workforce relevant. At its December 18 meeting, the NICC Board of Trustees approved the suspension of the College’s Agriculture Production - Associate of Applied Science degree program and approved a new Associate of Applied Science program in its place, Agronomy and Crop Science.

The Agriculture Production program, which presented an overview of a variety of ag production areas, will close at the end of the 2017-2018 academic year. The new Agronomy and Crop Science program, to be offered starting in 2018-2019, focuses on soil health, food production and farm sustainability. New courses include Plant Physiology, Livestock Nutrient Management, Grain Management, Agriculture Fertilizer and Chemicals, and a Special Project.

The postseason honors keep filing in for the Waukon football program after the Indians played to a Class 2A State Championship with a 12-1 season record in 2017, the program’s first-ever State title. The Iowa Football Coaches Association (IFCA) recently released its season honors, naming Waukon High School head football coach Chad Beermann (photo above) the IFCA Class 2A Coach of the Year and Waukon football senior Mitchell Snitker (right photo) the IFCA Class 2A Player of the Year.

The 2017 Waukon volleyball team compiled a season record of 8-29-2 this past fall but showed signs of being able to accomplish so much more. That single-digit win total wasn’t helped along by the Indians’ results in Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) play, as the Tribe netters fell shy of a win in any of their six NEIC dual or tournament matches this season to finish in seventh place in the final league standings.

The return to the volleyball sidelines of a former head coach, Randy Nordheim, who once had the program at its pinnacle with State Tournament qualification in 2003, was cause for added optimism for this season. However, Coach Nordheim would be the first to admit that his time away since then from a game that has changed so much during that stretch likely played a big role in a season that certainly didn’t play out as he anticipated.

The 2017 Kee volleyball season played out to a 21-15 overall record that included a mark of 5-4 in Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) play that placed the Hawk netters in the upper half of this season’s final UIC standings under first-year head coach Lynn Winters. For an overall young squad that featured just three seniors on its roster, the Hawks played to a fairly consistent level of success, never losing more than three matches in a row while putting together a couple of four-plus match victory streaks that included one of the best postseason runs in the history of the Kee volleyball program.

Francis A. Martin, 89, of Waukon died Saturday, December 30, 2017 at Good Samaritan Center in Waukon. Funeral services will be held Friday, January 5 at 1 p.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon with Fr. Mark Osterhaus officiating. Burial with military rites will be at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Waukon. Friends may call from 11 a.m. until time of service at the church Friday. Martin Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Patrick School or the Waukon Good Samaritan Center.

David “Oly” L. Olson, 64, of Harpers Ferry died Saturday, December 30, 2017 at his home. Memorial services will be held Thursday, January 4 at 11 a.m. at Old East Paint Creek Lutheran Church in rural Waterville with Pastor Ken Kimball officiating. Private family burial will be held at a later date in the church cemetery. Friends may call from 3-7 p.m. Wednesday, January 3 at Martin Funeral Home in Waukon.

David Lloyd Olson was born August 29, 1953 in Waukon, the son of Lloyd and Ruby (Uren) Olson. He was baptized and confirmed at Old East Paint Creek Lutheran Church in rural Waterville. He graduated from Waukon High School in 1971 and attended tech school in Des Moines.

August 7, 1976 he married Veronica Hill at Old East Paint Creek Lutheran Church. Dave worked at Jim's DX and for Cooney's Construction, both in Waukon, before he went to work for J.B. Holland Construction in Decorah, where he was a diesel mechanic and equipment operator for over 25 years.

Vernon E. Shogren, 82, of Waukon died Sunday, December 24, 2017 at his home. Funeral services were held Saturday, December 30 at First Baptist Church in Waukon with Pastor Duane Smith officiating. Burial with military honors was at Center Baptist Cemetery, rural Lansing.

Vernon Earl Shogren was born July 2, 1935 at home on the family farm in Lansing, the son of Clarence and Lillian (Johnson) Shogren. He was baptized at Village Creek Baptist Church in rural Lansing. Vernon attended Center #3 grade school and in 1953 graduated from Waukon High School.

After graduating, he moved to North Dakota to farm with his uncle until enlisting in the Navy in 1955, serving two years. Following his honorable discharge, Vernon returned to the home farm in Lansing, raising Black Angus cattle and corn. He also sold seed corn for DeKalb and was on the Farm Service Board. In addition, he was president of Farm Bureau from 1968-1970.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that from Washington, D.C., through Des Moines, to our local boards of officials, it seems that more and more, everything is either black or white, my way or your way.

Sometimes, I think, that is not so much a difference of opinions, as it is a failure to define the terms of the argument. An ultra-conservative northwest Iowa congressman was soundly criticized recently for saying that he felt diversity was over emphasized, and that he favored assimilation.

As though the two things were direct opposites.

I, for one, favor both.