“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, September 20 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 counselor Russ Hagen is trained by the State and does not sell or promote any insurance companies, policies or agents. New volunteer Nancy Schoh is now also available for SHIIP counseling at Veterans Memorial Hospital, which is a local sponsor for SHIIP in Allamakee County.
Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care Allamakee County Public Health Office is receiving numerous phone calls requesting a booster, or third dose, of the COVID-19 vaccine. At this time, only those being treated for cancer or who have a transplant history or an immunosuppressive disorder may be due for a booster. Allamakee County Public Health asks that everyone else hold their phone calls at this time and they will announce when the dose is available and the order in which it will be given.
Last week Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon rolled out the new patient portal, called My Care Corner. Patient portals allow patients online, easy access to their personal medical record. The hospital emailed out a notification to all patients directing them to register on this new app.
Patients are instructed to click on the register link, then hit continue to create a new account or log in with current patient portal credentials, if the patient has already set an account up.
Anyone having difficulty with this new program is advised to create a new account in the My Care Corner application. All previous data will transfer into this new patient portal.
Anyone who may need assistance with their account is encouraged to call Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon at 563-568-3411.
Many Iowans have received their COVID-19 vaccinations outside of the state and are not on the State’s registry as having received that vaccine. This includes snowbirds that may have received their vaccine down south this last winter and anyone else who received their vaccine in larger medical facilities in La Crosse, WI, Rochester, MN, Iowa City, etc., or even in the Veterans Administration medical system.
Allamakee County Public Health officials are asking all those who did not receive their COVID-19 vaccine in Iowa to call them so they can register this vaccination with the State of Iowa. Call Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care Public Health at 563-568-5660 for more information to get out-of-state COVID vaccinations registered with Iowa’s Immunization Registry Information System (IRIS).
Kent and Linda Tanner of New Albin are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. The couple was united in marriage September 11, 1971 at St. Peter’s Church in New Albin. They have two children, Chris of Dubuque and Lindsey of Denver, CO.
In honor of the occasion, cards and well wishes may be sent to P.O Box 202, New Albin, IA 52160.
Parents of the bride-to-be, Rob Johnson and Lynn Larson of Waukon, and parents of the groom-to-be, Keith and Faye Beneke of New Albin, announce the engagement and upcoming wedding of their children, Brittany Johnson and Tony Beneke of Waukon. The couple will exchange vows September 11, at the farm of the bride-to-be’s grandparents.
A dance will be open to the public from 8 p.m. to midnight at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon.
The bride-to-be is a 2013 Waukon High School graduate and is currently employed at Waukon State Bank. The groom-to-be is a 2002 Waukon High School graduate and is the owner of Beneke Construction.
In a recent letter to the editor, Dr. Steve Perkins asked us to stop belittling each other, saying there’s just too much anger. He concluded his powerful missive with: “It’s the only life we have together here on Earth… so let’s use it for positivity, kindness and love.”
I couldn’t agree more. It’s an exhausting time for all of us. Emotions run high as we try to navigate our way through a deadly pandemic and an ever-increasing climate crisis, along with an endless array of thorny political issues. Sometimes, it feels like all we have is division.
President John F. Kennedy famously said: “What unites us is far greater than what divides us.” He was addressing the Canadian Parliament at the time so he was talking about the U.S. and Canada, but I believe it can be said of us and our fellow Americans: What unites us is far greater than what divides us.
South of Waukon on State Highway 76 at Rossville, there is a flag flying with some very offensive and inappropriate script on it. Perhaps if someone has this sort of “whatever” to walk out and place this display, that person should stand there and count the number of school buses and automobiles with younger children in them that drive or ride past this display each day. Let your pride be with you.
After 20 long, deadly years, the U.S. war in Afghanistan is finally over. President George W. Bush got the war started, and neither Obama nor Trump was successful in ending it.
But President Biden ends it after being in office for less than a year. Now we can rest assured that not another American soldier’s life will have to end in Afghanistan.
Some may criticize our president for the way this was all handled, noting the “disconnects” in the way the facts were presented (better known as lies), and the bad timing of many of the decisions made. But please, can we maybe, just maybe, give our president even a little credit for what he has done?
The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, as interpreted by the 2008 District of Columbia v. Heller decision, affirms individuals’ right to keep and bear arms in their homes for legal purposes, such as self-protection. Now, as of July first, concealed carry, even without a permit, is legal in Iowa. The right of hunters to own and use the weapons designed for this purpose has never been seriously threatened.
In light of these well-protected gun rights, we have to wonder just what it is that those who advocate making our county a “Second Amendment Sanctuary” want? Are there additional gun rights that they seek? If so, precisely what rights? The right to carry military-style assault weapons on the streets of our peaceful towns? Do they seek sanctuary for right wing militia groups?
