News Center newsletter

Pfizer booster/second doses for individuals vaccinated March 11 and 12 at VMH will be administered:

- Walk-in Thursday, April 1: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at either the Main Entrance or lower ICN Entrance of VMH
- Walk-in Friday, April 2: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at either the Main Entrance or lower ICN Entrance of VMH

Moderna booster/second doses for individuals vaccinated March 12 at VMH will be administered:

- Walk-in Friday, April 9: 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Main Entrance of VMH only

Vaccination cards are required. Individuals must bring their vaccination card that lists their primary dose information to these clinics so that booster dose information can also be documented for your records.

There will be no primary/first doses administered at these walk-in clinics.

Donations continue to be received for the Veterans Memorial Hospital Medical Clinic. Recently, a generous donation of $10,000 was received from FreedomBank of Waukon. Pictured above, left to right, at the registration desk of the renovated clinic is Dave Martin, Hospital Maintenance and Project Supervisor; Michael Coyle, Hospital CEO; Laura Baxter, RN, Clinic Manager; Dr. Dave Schwartz, Clinic Physician; Nancy Schoh, Market President, FreedomBank of Waukon; Kathy Mueller, President, FreedomBank; and Kevin Hanson, President, Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation.

Needed renovations to the clinic building are nearing completion with a date of May 3 set for the clinic opening. Donations are still being accepted by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation. All gifts to the Foundation are tax deductible. Anyone with any questions about the campaign or Foundation is invited to call the hospital at 563-568-3411. Submitted photo.

The regular monthly blood drive will be held Monday, April 5 from Noon to 5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon, but an additional second blood drive is also being offered in April.

Thanks to the efforts of the Christensen family, the Julie Christensen Memorial Blood Drive will be held Wednesday, April 21 at the Waukon Wellness Center from 1-5:30 p.m. in the Senior Center.

Julie Christensen was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia November 27, 2019 and was in the hospital until February 14, 2020. She was then able to come home for a short while before she was admitted back into the hospital March 7, 2020 for more chemo and a stem cell transplant from an anonymous donor in Germany. It was a perfect match. Julie’s stem cells grafted well and she became Leukemia free.  During this time, Julie received 45 units of blood and 38 units of platelets.

by Jill Fleming, MS, RD/LD

Sure, you can lose weight quickly.  There are plenty of fad diets that work to shed pounds fast, leaving you feeling hungry and deprived.  The problem is that most people can only follow these restrictive diets for a short time, eventually going back to their old way of eating.  I call this the “diet roller coaster”.

Instead of starting a restrictive diet, which lowers your metabolism, why not adopt a few new choices that can turn into lifelong habits?  The weight you lose with new habits is more likely to be permanent.  Here are 10 of my favorite proven habits to promote weight loss:

1. Eat breakfast daily.  This simple habit “breaks the fast” to wake up your digestion. It raises your metabolism, so you will be burning more calories all day long. I recommend eating something within the first hour of waking. Including protein at breakfast will help control your appetite later in the day.

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Dean Bechtel by Jan Ellingson, Randy and Karen Loeb, Ron and Nancy Adam, Mary Ann Hager, Lollie Hirth, Meg Schaller, Carl and Julie Johnson, John and Sharon Dean, Mary Jo Nordheim, and Dean and Sherry Bechtel.

Memorials were also received in memory of Karen O’Malley by Betty Decker, Shirley Schneeberger and Dean and Lynn Sorenson.

Memorials were also given in memory of Clifton Christianson by Mary Ann Hager, Les and Ada Marie Kerndt, Marv and Marge Strike, Chuck and Lois Votsmier, Ron and Nancy Adam, Gladwin and Darlene Anderson, Audrey Angel, Earl and Bev Haas, Lollie Hirth, Lillian Larson, Jim and Bev Larson-Needham, John and Sheryl Prestemon, Meg Schaller, Jerry and Marilyn Troendle and Betty White.

Editor’s Note: The following article and accompanying image appeared in the March 2021 edition of Epic Outdoors® Western Hunting Magazine, a publication produced in Cedar City, UT and specializing in in-depth state-by-state, species-by-species analysis to aid in planning big game hunts in the western United States. The article features the first-hand experience of Waukon native Corey Welsh, whose Colorado mule deer hunt in late 2020 resulted in a cover story and photo for the magazine. Both the article and cover photo image are being reprinted here with permission from Epic Outdoors® Western Hunting Magazine.

Early in the year, I knew I was going to be limited on the amount of time I could spend out West in the fall, my fiance and I were getting married in early October.

Anyone ages 18-64 with underlying medical conditions now invited to sign up at single VMH website

Allamakee County COVID-19 vaccination partners, including Veterans Memorial Hospital, Gundersen Health System, Hartig Drug, Prescription Shoppe Pharmacy and Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care (Allamakee County Public Health), are going to begin working from a single list of people wanting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Anyone interested in being included on this list will need to access the hospital’s website, veteransmemorialhospital.com, to sign up. Those who are not able to sign up online can call 563-568-3411 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. and ask for the COVID line for assistance with this process.

The  Iowa Great River Road, which is part of a national scenic byway that runs 3,000 miles from Minnesota to Louisiana, has been designated an “All-American Road” by the Federal Highway Administration.

To receive an All-American Road designation, a road must possess multiple intrinsic qualities that are nationally significant and have one-of-a-kind features that do not exist elsewhere. The road or highway must also be considered a “destination unto itself.” That is, the road must provide an exceptional traveling experience so recognized by travelers that they would make a drive along the highway a primary reason for their trip. These roads are considered the very best of America’s National Scenic Byways.

Waukon High School both welcomed the newest members from this year (pictured at right) into its local chapter of the National Honor Society and honored those not able to be formally recognized last year (pictured below) at an induction ceremony held Thursday, March 18 at Waukon High School. Pictured at right are this year’s new inductees, left to right - Front row: Abby Wiemerslage, Vivian Khan, Hailey Houg, Kiara Ahlstrom, Madelyn Helgerson, Justine Sullivan; Second row: Brenna Berns, Meridian Snitker, Hannah Teslow, Ashlyn Johnson, Brinley Jones, Ella O’Neill, Emily Bieber; Third row: Tanner Kiel, Vicente Quiroz, Lincoln Snitker, Logan Delaney; Back row: Elliot Kooiker, Aidan Jones, Andrew Osmonson, Braden Hemann, Drew Stock. Not pictured: Hayley Christensen, Janett Farning, Braxton Stewart.

A one-time topic of banter between young co-workers came to full-circle reality this past week, as a long-standing community business is now under new ownership in Waukon.

Once working together in their early careers as powersports enthusiasts, northeast Iowa natives John Jennerjohn and Brody Meier are now back together again as new owners of Iron Hill Harley-Davidson and Iron Hill Powersports after having purchased the long-standing Waukon Harley-Davidson and Waukon Powersports from community pillars Irv Fosaaen and Patty Nordheim.