News Center newsletter

by Caty Bruening, VMH Laboratory Manager
 
Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that helps your body absorb calcium, which is needed for building strong bones. It also helps your muscles move, nerves carry messages from your brain to your body, and strengthens your immune system.

The best food sources of Vitamin D come from milk or other fortified “milk” drinks, such as soy, almond, oat, along with fatty fish, such as trout, salmon, tuna, mackerel. Beef liver, egg yolks, cheese, and mushrooms also provide a little. Your body can also make Vitamin D from the sun when your bare skin is exposed, but factors such as clouds, smog, sunscreen, old age, and having dark-colored skin can reduce the amount it makes.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, March 19, at 10 a.m.  The meeting will be held at Veterans Memorial Hospital in the Large Conference Room, located on the lower level of the hospital.

This diabetes class is open to everyone who has diabetes or has a friend or loved one with diabetes. For more information on the Diabetes Support Group, feel free to call Angie Mettille, RN, Certified Diabetes Educator at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.

Free sport physicals will be offered at the Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Clinic-Postville for all junior high and high school students who need the physical for participating in school sporting events.  These will be held at the Postville Clinic on the following dates and times:
• Tuesday, March 10   5-6:30 p.m.
• Thursday, March 19  5-6:30 p.m.
 
Students are asked to please sign-up for these physicals at the Postville High School Secretary’s office and pick-up a physical form. These forms must be signed by parents prior to the event and brought along to the physical.

Physicals will be performed by Postville Medical Clinic providers. For more information, feel free to contact the Veterans Memorial Hospital Postville Medical Clinic at 563-864-7221.

Each March, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics National Nutrition Month® (NNM®) campaign brings people together to celebrate how informed food choices and healthy habits can fuel better living. The 2026 theme, “Discover the Power of Nutrition,” highlights the everyday impact nutrition has on helping individuals and communities thrive.

Week 1 Focus: Power Your Day with Good Nutrition!

What you eat fuels how you think, feel, and perform. This month, take time to discover how smart food choices can help power your day.
• Choose more whole foods and less highly processed foods
• Start with a balanced breakfast to jump-start energy
• Build meals with lean protein, whole grains, and a variety of colorful fruits and veggies
• Choose healthy fats
• Choose foods and beverages with less sugar and salt
• Eat more fiber and be sure to get plenty of water as well
Small choices add up to big benefits.

The local Grief Support Group will again be holding their monthly meeting at Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Thursday, March 5, from 5-6 p.m. in the Meditation Healing Center, located just inside the main entrance of the hospital. Nancy Haberichter will be facilitating the meeting.

This informal meeting is open to anyone suffering from any type of loss whether it be death, divorce, illness or some other grief.

Feel free to attend and bring a friend. This grief support will continue meeting the first Thursday of each month at Veterans Memorial Hospital.
 

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Ozzie Quandahl by Bruce and Lynn Anderson; Ian, Mariss and Tate Anderson; Les Askelson; Arden and Sharon Auna; Sandy Bacon; Beth, Betsy, Carrie and Kelly Baxter; Jim and Charlene Baxter; Roger Bergen; Edith Bloxham; Laurie Bulman, Spencer, Sydney, Austin and Sawyer; Pud Bulman and Family; John and Alice Burke; Todd and Kathy Cahoon; Robert and Kristi Campbell,  Michael and Catherine Cassarella; Janice Cooper and Don Dehning; Herb and Ann Dehli; Kevin and Jenny Dixon; Jerry and Michelle Donahue; Joe and Mary Egan; Mark and Lori Farley; Karen Ferring; Nancy and Dan Gardner; Beverly Gavle; Lee Gavle; Mike and Cindy Gibbs; Frank and Patty Goltz; Jim and Karen Gray; Glenda, Lawrence, Trevor and Kiera Green; Debbie and Larry Griffin; Bev Haas; Roger Hammel; Dave and Barb Henry; Lee and Dannette Hermeier; Lori and Randy Hover; Helen Johnson; Pat Joy; Lisa and Jeff Kelm; Karen and John Kerndt; Duan

Waukon High School senior Zach Perkins signed a letter of commitment to play football for Cornell College in Mount Vernon at a Thursday morning, February 26 signing event in the Waukon High School gym. Pictured at right at that signing event with Zach are his parents, Stefanie and Steve Perkins.

“I felt like it was a great spot where I could live the next four years of my life,” Perkins said of making his decision to attend Cornell College and play football for the Rams. “The culture there was really great, and the education program was something that I really admired. I feel as if the coaching staff are not only great coaches but really good people.”

Lady Hawks soar higher than touted Orioles to earn program’s third State Tournament qualification

The Kee girls basketball team had its focus solely on the number “one” when they took to the court in the Class 1A Region 4 championship game against Springville Wednesday, February 25 at West Delaware High School in Manchester.

A long-awaited honor will be bestowed upon a long-time teacher and coach from the Allamakee Community School District this Saturday, March 7, but that honoring will be for the work she did on the basketball court long before Waukon became her home.

Deb (Kaune) Tweedy, a teacher of 41 years at Waukon High School and more recently East and West Elementary Schools before her passing May 12, 2018, will be inducted into the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) Basketball Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2026 in a ceremony scheduled for halftime of the Class 2A State Tournament Championship game, which is scheduled to begin at 4:45 p.m. this Saturday and will be televised as part of Iowa PBS coverage of this year’s State Tournament, as well as livestreamed on iowapbs.org and the Iowa PBS YouTube channel.

Allamakee County Treasurer Nicki Smedsrud would like to remind property owners the second installment of property taxes is due by March 31, 2026. Those tax payments can be made in person at the Allamakee County Treasurer’s office in the Allamakee County Courthouse at 110 Allamakee Street in Waukon between the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Property owners are reminded to bring their tax stubs with their payment to ensure proper credit. To avoid penalty on the second installment, payment must be received in the Treasurer’s Office by Tuesday, March 31. Penalty will begin to apply April 1.

E-check and credit card payments are also accepted online at www.iowatreasurers.org. Property owners will need their receipt number to pay by e-check, and this can be found on their tax statement.