Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
June 2: ERP Phase 2
June 2: PARP
submitted by Matthew Welsh, Resource Conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), USDA
Measuring erosion occurring on the land can be done in a number of different ways. The type of erosion will dictate how that is evaluated. A common type of erosion in our landscape that is often not quantified is ephemeral gully erosion. This type of erosion is characterized as small channels formed by concentrated flow. They are small enough to be leveled back off by tillage and will reform in the same location after rainfall events.
New resource gives producers insight into the relationship between environment and production practices
The negative impacts of drought, high nitrogen prices and other high prices associated with pasture management have left some pastures in the state in less-than-ideal condition.
As the 2023 growing season approaches, Aaron Saeugling, field agronomist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, discusses important considerations when improving thin or over-grazed pastures. A recent article written by Saeugling for ISU Extension and Outreach’s Acreage Living Newsletter highlights these considerations and provides resources for pasture improvement.
Oftentimes in rural communities, when a neighbor is in need, farmers are the first to step up and help. Yet when they’re the ones in need of assistance, they hesitate to ask for that same help they so freely give.
Spring can be a stressful time for some area farmers as they prepare for another growing season, and that stress can have a negative effect on their mental health. That’s why officials at Gundersen Health System say farmers need to focus on themselves and reach out when feeling overwhelmed by the demands of their work – even if that’s something they’re not inclined to do.
“Often there are worries about a stigma associated with mental health, and people are afraid to seek help. They don’t know where to seek help,” said Kimberly Lansing, MD, a physician at Gundersen Health System and director of curriculum for the Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine. “For farmers, it’s always been this ‘pull yourself up by the bootstraps.
Diamond Vogel and Keep Iowa Beautiful have announced the grant awards for the 2023 Paint Iowa Beautiful program. The program provides free paint to a wide variety of public service projects throughout Iowa.
Among those award winners is the Main Street Lansing program. The free paint will be used to spruce up wood trim work on three commercial buildings located on Main Street in Lansing.
“Diamond Vogel is thrilled to work with many local volunteers that help build communities and enhance their communities’ economic vitality. Passionate volunteers like those engaged in Paint Iowa Beautiful make Iowa a great place to live,” said Doug Vogel, Vice-President, Marketing, of the Iowa-based company.
Join Upper Iowa Audubon Saturday, April 15 at 1 p.m. for a view into the world of the Barn Owl. Brian Preston, Executive Director of Dubuque County Conservation, will present a program on the life history, habitat and presence of this endangered species in Iowa.
The World of Barn Owls program will be held at the Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center in Lansing. The Center is located south of Lansing at 1944 Columbus Road/Great River Road.
For those interested, there will also be a birding hike at 9 a.m. that day, weather permitting. All Upper Iowa Audubon programs are free and open to the public.
Join the International Crane Foundation and more than 1,800 volunteers Saturday, April 15 from 5:30 to 7:30 a.m. for the annual Midwest Crane Count. Each year participants travel to their local wetlands and favorite birding locations to survey the Sandhill and Whooping Cranes and report the data collected.
The survey takes place in more than 150 counties in seven states - including all of Wisconsin, and portions of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio. Each crane count site will have a county coordinator who will assign a site and provide instructions on how to participate and report the data.
Visit cranecount.org to view the list of county coordinators and find other useful links on how to download the data sheet and enter data. The coordinator listed for Allamakee County is Lee Cox.
Meenah Keenan has been selected as a Certified Student Practitioner at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau (HLAB), an in-house clinic of Harvard Law School in Cambridge, MA. Each year, HLAB selects 15 to 20 law students from across the country to participate in its summer program. Student practitioners provide legal services to low-income residents in the Boston, MA area while being supervised by HLAB’s clinical instructors.
Keenan is a second-year law student at Suffolk University Law School in Boston, MA where she is a teaching assistant and Co-President of the Child and Family Law Association. For the 2023-2024 academic year she will serve as Vice-President of the Moot Court Honor Board, Journal of Trial and Appellate Advocacy. She will also be a Certified Student Practitioner for the Juvenile Defender’s Clinic at Suffolk University.
Allamakee Scholarship Fund, Inc. will hold a Recognition Breakfast Thursday, April 6 at 7:30 a.m. in the Waukon High School cafeteria. Applicants and their parents will be special guests. The breakfast is being held to express appreciation to individual and group donors and to recognize student applicants.
Pledges from the recent scholarship fundraising mailing can be turned in at that time or mailed to Allamakee Scholarship Fund, Inc., P.O. Box 144, Waukon, IA 52172. Organizations and other scholarship donors need to have awards to Allamakee Scholarship Fund Treasurer Amy McCormick at Waukon State Bank by that date also, and Awards Program information can be verified with Guidance Counselor Amy Wasson at Waukon High School. Individuals, families and organizations awarding scholarships this May are encouraged to attend.
The Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD) Board of Directors met at Kee High School in Lansing Monday, March 20 for its regular monthly session. The meeting was called to order by Board President Bobbie Goetzinger, with fellow board members Tony Becker, Melanie Mauss, Kelli Mudderman and Arla Wagner also present, along with EACSD Superintendent Dr. Dale Crozier and Kee High and Middle School Principal Dr. Sarah Murray.
The board held a public hearing on the 2023-2024 school calendar, with no public comments being made or received and the board approving the school calendar as presented. The public hearing for the 2023-2024 budget was scheduled by the board to take place at its April 17 meeting. The board also approved and filed the Fiscal Year 2022 audit report.
2023 Waukon girls golf team ... Left to right: Alyssa Connelly, Halea Corwin, Eva Whalen, Faith Cooper. Photo courtesy of Micah Lynn Photography, Micah Miller.
The Waukon girls golf team will return to the team competition level for its 2023 season, as its squad numbers grew four-fold from last spring. The 2022 Waukon girls golf season featured just one player last year, that being first-year varsity player Alyssa Connelly. This season, she will be joined by three of her classmates in fellow sophomores Faith Cooper, Halea Corwin and Eva Whalen.
Connelly may come into this season as the lone returnee from last spring - and thus, the lone returning letterwinner, but that’s certainly not all. She also brings back that experience at a high level as an All-Conference performer last spring.
The Lady Indians were scheduled to open their 2023 season with a home meet against Decorah and South Winneshiek Tuesday, April 4. They will then play back-to-back nights on the road, at Crestwood Monday, April 10 and at Luana against MFL/MarMac, Oelwein and Postville Tuesday, April 11.
