The Ferryville Tourism Council has made the decision to cancel the planned Bald Eagle Day event that had been scheduled to be held in Ferryville, WI Saturday, March 5. The difficult choice was made when some council members expressed concerns about the prevalence and risks of COVID-19 and variants. As a result, the program presenters have all been contacted and rescheduled for 2023.
Prairie du Chien Tourism and Chamber of Commerce will be holding their Eagle Day events this weekend, February 25-26 at Hoffman Hall. Those Eagle Day events offer another area option for area residents and visitors to learn more about Bald Eagles of the region.
Become a mentor ... Evie and her mentor, Maryann, (both from Lansing) do so many funs things, like seeing plays together. The Youth Mentoring Bowl-a-Thon is scheduled for March 19 in Decorah. Submitted photo.
Youth Mentoring at Helping Services for Youth & Families is hosting a bowl-a-thon Saturday, March 19 at Skyline Lanes in Decorah. This event aims to raise $7,000 to connect youth in Allamakee, Howard and Winneshiek counties with a mentor.
Currently, 75 people are involved in Youth Mentoring at Helping Services. Now is the time to strike up a conversation with friends, neighbors, club members and co-workers to form a team to bowl. Proceeds support those youth and adults being friends in mentoring, and involvement can happen in two important ways: register to bowl and/or donate to the cause.
State Tournament qualifiers ... Waukon boys bowling junior Cody Huinker and senior Chase Boydston (left to right) made history for the Waukon bowling program by being the bowling Tribe’s first multi-individual qualifiers for the State Bowling Tournament. Huinker bowled to a third-place finish and Boydston finished right behind him in fourth place at their Class 1A State Qualifying Tournament in Dubuque Tuesday, February 15 to become the first State Tournament qualifiers for the bowling Indians since 2020 Waukon High School graduate Matt Rozzell qualified as a lone individual during his sophomore season in 2018. The two were scheduled to compete in the Class 1A State Tournament individual competition Tuesday, February 22 at Maple Lanes Bowling Center in Waterloo. Photo courtesy of Amanda Peterson.
The Waukon bowling teams had the bittersweet result of having their season ended for a majority of this season’s team members while also being able to celebrate a bit of history for the program Tuesday, February 15 at their Class 1A State Qualifying Tournament being hosted by Dubuque Wahlert High School at Cherry Lanes in Dubuque. Team champions and the top four individual finishers earned qualification for this year’s season grand finale, and although each team finished shy of that required championship finish, the Waukon bowling boys had two individuals place within the top-four individual finishers to earn their way to this season’s Class 1A State Tournament.
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Reversing his fortune on the way to a State Tournament pin ... Waukon wrestling 126-pound junior Jakob Regan drives into Davis County senior Dawson Townsend on the way to a first-period reversal in their first-round consolation match at the Class 2A State Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines Thursday, February 17. Regan went on to pin Townsend in 2:44 for his one win in three matches at the season grand finale, where he finished just one match shy of a podium finish within Class 2A’s 126-pound top-eight finishers in the second State Tournament qualification of his high school wrestling career.
A second qualification for the Class 2A State Tournament in his first three years of high school wrestling resulted in another step forward for Waukon junior Jakob Regan among the Iowa high school wrestling elite this past week. After qualifying as a 106-pound freshman two seasons ago and suffering consecutive losses for an early exit on day one in that State Tournament debut, Regan sandwiched his first season grand finale victory in between a pair of losses to top-five finishers in this season’s Class 2A 126-pound weight class Thursday and Friday, February 17 and 18 to finish just one match shy of standing among the top-eight finishers who would make the 126-pound podium at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
Final pair of double-doubles ... Waukon boys basketball senior Braden Hemann soars to the basket in the Indians’ 73-47 win over Oelwein in the opening round of Class 2A District Tournament play at North Fayette High School in West Union Monday, February 14. In the Tribe’s two postseason tournament games this past week that ended up being the final two games of Hemann’s four-year varsity career for the Indians, he recorded a pair of double-double statistical efforts that included 15 points and 10 rebounds in the Indian win over Oelwein and another 13 points and 10 rebounds in Waukon’s 54-53 season-ending loss at Monticello Thursday, February 17 in the Class 2A District Semifinals. Photo courtesy of Jerry Wadian, Fayette County Newspapers.
The Waukon boys basketball team had its 2021-2022 season brought to a close, but not before taking an initial strong step down the postseason trail and putting itself into position to repeat that feat, only to have that opportunity yanked away in the closing seconds. That initial step was a 73-47 win over Oelwein in the opening round of Class 2A District 9 play Monday, February 14 at North Fayette Valley High School, but an abrupt end to that postseason trail came Thursday, February 17 at top 10-rated Monticello by virtue of a 54-53 loss in the questionable closing seconds.
Hard to the hoop ... Kee boys basketball senior Tyson Cota takes the ball hard to the basket in the Hawks’ 60-53 loss at Edgewood-Colesburg in the Class 1A District Semifinals Thursday, February 17. Cota finished the game with a team-high 21 points, his second consecutive 21-point game for the Hawks in postseason tournament play. Photo courtesy of the Kee High School Yearbook. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this webpage.
The Kee boys basketball took one step down its postseason tournament road this past week before that road came to an end later in the week. The basketball Hawks opened their Class 1A District 6 Tournament with a 72-67 win at home over South Winneshiek Monday, February 14 and then gave Class 1A 12th-rated Edgewood-Colesburg a hard-fought battle before surrendering a 60-53 loss at Edgewood Thursday, February 17 to have their season brought to a close.
The Hawks’ 2021-2022 season came to completion with an even 12-12 overall record that includes a 9-7 mark in Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) play that placed the Hawks in a tie for fourth place in the final UIC standings with South Winneshiek. With the season-ending loss the Vikings handed the Hawks, Edgewood-Colesburg advanced on to the Class 1A District 6 championship game Tuesday, February 22 to be played at Starmont High School against Wapsie Valley.
Mary “Genice” Easton, 66, of Waukon passed away Friday, February 18, 2022 at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN from complications with Anti-Phospholipid Syndrome. Visitation will be held from 1-3 p.m. Sunday, February 27 at Hagarty-Waychoff-Grarup Funeral Service on West Ridgeway in Waterloo with a memorial service at 2 p.m.
Mary was born December 15, 1955 in Lake City to James and Mary (Kalous) Nelsen. Mary and Cletus Althoff II married April 30, 2016.
Mary graduated from Lohrville High School in 1974. She studied nursing at Hawkeye Community College and graduated with her LPN. She was employed at Mercy Medical and retired from Life Serve Waterloo.
Cardiac Rehab at VMH: Then and now ... February 13-19 is National Cardiac Rehabilitation Week. Veterans Memorial Hospital began its own Cardiac Rehabilitation program over three decades ago to help fulfill a need in the community - a need that has been and continues to be well utilized. Pictured above is the original Cardiac Rehab unit in the early 1990s. The current unit is pictured below, along with cardiac rehab nurses Amy Rolfs, RN, at left, and Diann Weymiller, RN, at right, with current cardiac rehabilitation patient Dave Bell of Waukon, seated on the center’s NuStep machine. This Cardiac Rehabilitation program is essential for the fullest recovery of a victim of a heart disorder and continues to be well utilized. Submitted photo.
Veterans Memorial Hospital began its own Cardiac Rehabilitation unit over three decades ago to help fulfill a need in the community. Jane Butler of Waukon, who had originally retired from nursing at Veterans Memorial Hospital in 1988, was asked if she would return just a year later to help begin the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program along with fellow nurse, Traci Heidelbauer McGraw.
“It took us over a year to get the service off the ground with Medicare requirements and our training,” adds Jane. “We took out a wall between two patient rooms on the third floor and made that our cardiac rehab department. Our first patient was DuWayne Dietrich, Jane’s husband. Dr. Withers was our Chief of Staff. We had some stair steps and a tread mill, so it was pretty antique compared to what they do now, but it was a start.”
The unit was moved into the Rehabilitation Department during the hospital expansion on 2000 and continues to fill a huge need in the community.
“Welcome to Medicare” Seminar ... Local Senior Health Insurance Information Program volunteers, Russ Hagen and Nancy Schoh will be hosting a “Welcome to Medicare” seminar for all those soon enrolling in Medicare, Monday, February 21, from 5-7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Hospital. These two volunteers also hold regular meeting times at the hospital to meet with anyone regarding their Medicare coverage. To register for this seminar, call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411. Submitted photo.
“Welcome to Medicare” is a free, two-hour seminar offered by the Veterans Memorial Hospital Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) counselors. This program will be held Monday, February 21 from 5-7 p.m. in the Large Conference Room located on the lower level of Veterans Memorial Hospital.
“Welcome to Medicare” will cover Medicare Part A and Part B benefits, the prescription drug benefit (Part D), Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare supplement insurance.
SHIIP, the Senior Health Insurance Information Program, is a service of the State of Iowa. Local SHIIP counselors Russ Hagen and Nancy Schoh are trained by the State and do not sell or promote any insurance companies, policies or agents. Veterans Memorial Hospital is a local sponsor for SHIIP in Allamakee County.
Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care/Allamakee County Public Health will continue to offer walk-in clinics for all doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, each Friday afternoon in February from 1:30-3:45 p.m. in the ICN Conference Room located on the southeast side of the hospital. Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be available.
Parking is available by the orange cones along the golf course for easy access to the vaccine location. Flu shots will also be available and can be safely administered at the same time as the COVID-19 vaccine. Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Be sure to wear a mask and bring an insurance card and vaccination card if coming for a second or booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Both Hartig Drug and Nightingale Pharmacy in Waukon have vaccine available for ages 12 and older. Parental/guardian consent is required. Call them ahead to schedule an appointment for a vaccination.
