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VFW Auxiliary Gustave F. Kerndt  #5981 has announced the kick-off of the VFW Auxiliary’s annual Illustrating America art contest. Local students in grades K-8 can share how they view the world through their drawings and paintings while competing for national awards.

Students must submit an original two-dimensional piece of artwork. Coloring sheets, digital art and photography are not accepted. The entry must have been completed during the current 2021-2022 school year and the application must include a teacher or supervising adult’s signature in order to be complete.

Students begin by competing at the local VFW Auxiliary level. The first-place winner from each Auxiliary advances to the District competition with District winners advancing to the State competition. The contest consists of three grade divisions: K-2, 3-5 and 6-8. The State first-place winner in each grade division will be forwarded to Auxiliary National Headquarters.

VFW Auxiliary Gustave F. Kerndt #5981 has announced the kick-off of the VFW Auxiliary’s annual Young American Creative Patriotic Art Contest. Local students in grades 9-12 have the opportunity to compete for $33,000 in national scholarships.

Students must submit an original two- or three-dimensional piece of artwork.  Digital art, photography and jewelry are not accepted.  The entry must have been completed during the current 2021-2022 school year and the application must include a teacher or supervising adult’s signature.

The first-place winner from each Auxiliary will advance to District competition with District winners advancing to the State competition.  State first-place winners compete for national awards.

Ice fishing shelters, left unattended, must be removed from all state-owned lands and waters by February 20. Ice shelter owners are encouraged not to wait until the last minute to get their shelter off the ice. If a shelter falls through the ice, the owner is responsible for getting it out of the water.

The Waukon Music Department will be hosting its 12th annual Pops Concert Friday night, February 25 at the Waukon Middle School gymnasium. Doors will open at 6 p.m. with concert time set for 7 p.m.

The Pops Concert is an annual fundraising event sponsored by the Allamakee Music Boosters. The Pops Concert features high energy musical numbers from the 1950s through today. Groups performing will include the high school and middle school choirs, high school and middle school jazz bands, drumline, featured soloists, song and dance skits and emcees.

Monday, February 28 will be a day devoted to raising awareness for suicide prevention in Waukon and the surrounding community, as the Alive and Running Iowa organization will conduct a pair of events aimed at helping save lives and reducing suicidal behaviors.

Alive & Running Iowa began as a running event held annually in the small Iowa town of Dunkerton but has grown into a non-profit organization to help raise awareness about suicide and suicide prevention. Co-founders Troy Belmer and Ryan Nesbit organized Alive & Running Iowa in 2009 in honor of their friend, Roger, who they lost to suicide when they were sophomores at Dunkerton High School in 1991.

Since then, in addition to conducting the annual running event in their hometown, the two also make presentations and work with numerous other agencies toward that same goal of suicide awareness and prevention.

The Iowa Holstein Association will hold its annual meeting and convention at the Empty Nest Winery Saturday, February 26, beginning with a 6 p.m. social hour. The banquet and awards will take place at 7 p.m.

Guest speaker will be Waukon High School graduate Parker Hesse, who played tight end for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League this past season and will share his perspective on how his motivation to play football correlates to the dairy farmer. Tickets can be reserved by contacting Lynnette Lyons at 563-419-1256 or by email at lyonsdl@acegroup.cc.
 

As part of its Live & Learn: enriching lives through monthly learning series, Robey Memorial Library in Waukon is offering a presentation on the Villisca Axe Murders of 1912 with Dr. Edgar Epperly Thursday, February 24 at 5:30 p.m. in the library’s lower level Community Room.

Sometime during the dark early morning of June 10, 1912, a person or persons unknown bludgeoned to death Josiah B. Moore, his wife, Sara, their children, Herman, Katherine, Boyd and Paul, and two overnight guests, Lena and Ina Stillinger. The sensational crime led to nearly ten years of investigations and trials and the formation of the Iowa Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Dr. Epperly, the foremost authority on Iowa’s worst mass murder, spent over 60 years interviewing eyewitnesses and key figures in the Villisca murder case in addition to examining historical records connected to the crime. He began his research in 1955 as a student in Cedar Falls.

Students from the Waukon High School Speech program were among those who participated in the Large Group State Speech Contest hosted by Decorah High School Saturday, February 5. A total of four performances from Waukon High School (pictured in the surrounding photos) advanced to that State Contest after earning Division I ratings awarded at the District Contest held January 22 at Cascade High School.

The four State performances included a Group Mime entitled “Only 2 to Tango” and performed by Alaina Gebel, Chase Boydston and Ethan Hooten. This performance received a Division I rating and also received an All-State nomination to advance on to the All-State Large Group Speech Festival scheduled for this Saturday, February 19 in Ames.

The Kee High School Large Group Speech program participated in the State Contest held Saturday, February 5 at Decorah High School. Four Kee performances had advanced to the State Contest after receiving Division I ratings at the District Contest held January 22 at Cascade High School, with each of those four performances also receiving Division I ratings at the State Contest.

Kee’s four State Contest performances (all of which are pictured in the surrounding photos) included the following:

The Kee High School Speech program will be hosting a Dinner Theatre Saturday, March 5 at TJ Hunter’s Banquet Hall on Main Street in Lansing. Doors open at 5 p.m. with serving beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Tickets are now on sale and will be sold through February 22 - no tickets will be sold after this date. Tickets may be purchased from a Kee High School speech member (some of which are pictured in the surrounding photos) or from the Kee High School office by calling 563-538-4201. There is limited seating of 200 maximum. No tickets will be sold at the door.

The evening will consist of an elegant dining experience offering a buffet meal of barbeque chicken, smoked pork loin, party potatoes, corn, Oreo fluff and a dinner roll along with a dessert bar. Entertainment for the night will be performances from the Kee High School large group speech teams and a sneak peek from the upcoming musical production of “Little Shop of Horrors”.