News Center newsletter

Janet B. Miller, 90, of Waukon died Saturday, March 1, 2025, at Good Samaritan Society in Waukon. A celebration of life will be held Saturday, April 26 at 11 a.m. at Martin - Grau Funeral Home in Waukon, with Pastor Kim Gates officiating. Burial will be held at a later date at Sixteen Cemetery, rural Harpers Ferry. Friends may greet the family from 10 a.m. until the time of services Saturday, April 26 at the funeral home.

Janet Berniece Miller was born June 16, 1934, the daughter of Andrew and Floy (Clausen) Jones. She was a member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Waukon. Janet attended school through the eighth grade at Ion School in rural Harpers Ferry. January 20, 1953, Janet married Stanley Miller, and the two later divorced.

Throughout her life, Janet was a hard worker and was employed at Shelly Globe Factory, Procter and Gamble, and spent a good portion of her life farming. After living in Iowa City, she moved to Waukon in 2009.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is seeking public comments on a draft Environmental Assessment, or EA, for its proposed Blackhawk Park bank stabilization and erosion protection project. The proposed project is upstream of Lock 9 on the Upper Mississippi River on the Wisconsin side, adjacent to Vernon County, WI.

The purpose of the project is to stabilize the bank and shoreline at five sites with seven work areas around Blackhawk Park that were affected by the flooding events in spring 2023. Construction would occur in summer 2025. There will be temporary effects to recreational activities in the immediate area during construction, which will last several weeks.

More than 100 people gathered at Effigy Mounds National Monument the morning of Saturday, March 1 to speak out in favor of federal employees and the lands they protect as part of a planned nationwide show of support for all 433 National Park sites across the United States. Due to recent actions through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), about five percent of National Park Service staff has been terminated nationwide, totaling approximately 1,000 employees thus far. In addition to mass firings at federal agencies across the country, the National Park Service is also facing budget cuts based on DOGE actions.

“Without adequate resources for protection, parks face impacts that can never be reversed. We need to preserve our national treasures for all generations to come,” said Pam Havlicek, whose daughter lost her seasonal ranger job at Yellowstone National Park.

Andrew Karvel will continue serving his 50-year prison sentence for May 2022 strangulation of Daniel Lundy

The August 2023 conviction of a Lansing man found guilty of second-degree murder in the May 2022 death of his roommate has been affirmed by the Iowa Court of Appeals, according to documents filed within the State of Iowa Judicial Branch. An appeal was filed on behalf of Andrew Raymond Karvel, now age 68, two months after an Allamakee County jury found him guilty of strangling 83-year-old Daniel William Lundy in the home they shared at 650 South 2nd Street in Lansing.

Everyone is invited to attend a presentation on human trafficking in the state of Iowa this Thursday, March 6 in Room 113 of the Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Waukon Center, located at 1220 3rd Avenue NW in Waukon. The presentation is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., and those attending can watch the film “Gridshock” and hear a presentation on human trafficking in Iowa from Stacy Besch of Team Iowa, a priority initiative on combating human trafficking.

An Iowa survivor of human trafficking will talk about her experience and her book, “She Survived,” that was recently published. She will also talk about what she is doing to educate students across the state of Iowa through her organization, The Lighthouse Foundation.
 

Allamakee County Treasurer Nicki Smedsrud would like to remind property owners the second installment of property taxes is due by March 31, 2025. Those tax payments can be made 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 Monday, 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.

Leon Pleasant served in the United States Air Force (USAF) as a photographer beginning at the end of World War II. During his long career, he took many photographs of historical and experimental aircraft, including those flown by famed USAF pilot Chuck Yeager, who was the first human to break the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 in 1947. Yeager also had a cameo appearance in the movie “The Right Stuff” which recounted his service as a mentor to the NASA astronaut program.

A portion of Pleasant’s personal collection has been donated to the Allamakee County Veterans Museum. The collection of 150 photos has been converted to digital images which can be better displayed and viewed on a large video screen. His collection will be presented for viewing Saturday, March 8 at 10 a.m. and again Friday, March 14 at 1:30 p.m.

Plans have been announced to hold the 2025 St. Patrick's Day Parade in Waukon Sunday, March 16, beginning at 1 p.m. All are invited to participate in this year’s parade with an Irish-themed entry at no cost. Any businesses, organizations, families or individuals wishing to have an entry are asked to be lined up by 12 noon that Sunday, with float entries lining up in the parking lot of WW Homestead Dairy and the former Northern Engraving plant, tractors unloading and lining up at the Sweeney Auction Service parking lot and horse units gathering at the Croell Redi-Mix plant in southeast Waukon.

For additional information about the St. Patrick’s Day Parade contact the Sweeney family at Village Farm and Home in Waukon at 563-568-4577 or the Waukon Chamber of Commerce at 563-568-4110.
 

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, March 3 to address a full agenda of items. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Arvid Hatlan with council members Steve Wiedner, Dave Blocker and John Lydon present. Council member Nicholas Engrav attended the meeting via Zoom web-conferencing.

During Public Comment, Mike Johnson addressed the council and expressed interest in being considered for appointment to fill the current council member vacancy, a position previously held by his brother, At-Large council member Kevin Johnson, who passed away February 11.

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

The regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD) was held at Kee High School Tuesday, February 18. Board President Bobbie Goetzinger called the meeting to order. Also present were board members Joe Manning, Melanie Mauss, Arla Wagner, and Heather Lutz (via Zoom), along with EACSD Superintendent Nick Trenkamp and Board Secretary Michele Martin. There were no visitors.

The meeting agenda was approved with the exception of removing Business Item A: 2025-2056 District Calendar. The board approved the February consent items, including the minutes of the January meeting, February bills, the Secretary’s Financial Report for January, and the January Student Activity and Food Service reports.