Village Creek Bible Camp, Expresso report case exposures; Public Health reminds people to follow mitigation measures
As summer activity has increased, it was expected that the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 would also increase. Recent news stories through basically every media source confirm that expectation to a great degree across most of the nation, but that trend has now trickled down to a more local level as well this past week.
Eight new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases have been reported in Allamakee County within the past week’s time by the Allamakee County Public Health Department. Even more attention-grabbing is the fact that some of those cases have resulted in the temporary closure of a pair of local entities after case exposure was announced by each of them this past week.
Pair of public reading events scheduled to be held July 11 in Lansing and July 14 on Allamakee County Courthouse lawn
The 2020 Allamakee Bible Reading Marathon is continuing to be held now through Tuesday, July 14 as part of the Iowa 99 County Bible Reading Marathon. Residents of Allamakee County can participate by requesting one or more 30-minute segment(s) of Scripture by using one of the following means:
2. Text or call 563-217-9814. This phone number is operational from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday through July 14.
Participants can start reading their chosen segment(s) immediately, completing them at their convenience, wherever and with whomever they wish. As of Monday morning, July 6, 92 of the 156 segments of Scripture have been selected by readers.
The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, July 6 to discuss noise complaints from a resident, a request to have a pitbull dog as a service animal at a residence, and approval of Park and Recreation Wellness Board appointments.
There was no Public Comment and the council moved into Departmental Reports. Street Superintendent Keith Burrett reported on the new garbage containers placed along portions of Main Street and Rossville Road in downtown Waukon and advised that chip sealing has been completed on several city streets as of last week. Burrett also discussed the potential of having contractor Prairie Road Builders return next year to perform additional chip sealing.
Water and Sewer Superintendent Jim Cooper provided an update relating to the Hidden Creek lift station. He also discussed sewer maintenance including the viewing of areas in need of repair with a sewer camera.
The new tennis court facility in Waukon, located west of Waukon High School near the Waukon Park, Recreation and Wellness soccer fields on the west edge of town, has been open for public use since mid-June. A grand opening event is being planned for a later date with only a windscreen installation throughout the surrounding fencing remaining for the project to be 100% complete. The public is welcome to use the tennis courts any time, day or night, with a light switch and timer (pictured at center) located between the restroom doors at the concession stand for activation of the lights at several pre-set intervals of 15 or 30 minutes, one hour or two hours. Lighting can be activated for evening or early morning tennis matches (as evident in the photo above) with concession stand restrooms (smaller concrete building at right in the photo below) nearby always being accessible.
Students attending need to register through online link
The Summer Prom event that several local parents have been working on since mid-April is being planned to take place Saturday, July 25 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon for Waukon High School students who completed their junior or senior year this past school year, along with their guests. Committee members have been communicating with Allamakee County officials, who say that with the locations and events that have now been opened up and the easing of many restrictions in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, this event should be able to happen as well.
With doors opening at 6 p.m., the evening will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a catered meal being provided at no cost to the students by Rich Schulte of Schulte’s BBQ & Catering of Waukon. The menu will include roast pork with cheesy potatoes. The committee is looking for parent volunteers to help provide salads and desserts.
Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) and eight additional colleges in the Community College Alliance for Agriculture Advancement (C2A3) will receive $529,924.48 over the course of the next four years as part of a cooperative agreement issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS).
The nine Midwestern community colleges that comprise the Alliance boast strong agricultural programs and traditions. The consortium was developed under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the USDA-NRCS and USDA North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (USDA-SARE). NICC is the only college in Iowa to be selected as an alliance partner.
This year’s General Election is scheduled for November 3, 2020. Most ballots cast in the June 2, 2020 Primary Election were by voters who voted absentee from home.
Due to an emergency proclamation for COVID-19 from the Governor, the Iowa Secretary of State’s office mailed an Absentee Ballot Request form to all active voters for the June 2 Primary. Legislation passed after the Primary now requires approval by a legislative council before the Secretary of State is allowed to do a similar mailing for any future election.
IMT Insurance, a provider of personal and commercial insurance products in the Midwest, recently collaborated with its Independent Insurance Agents to support COVID-19 relief efforts in their communities. Agencies made donations, across six states, ranging from $250 - $1,000. Through IMT’s Month of Giving program, Agency donations were matched by IMT, dollar-for-dollar, totaling more than $37,000.
Lansing Iowa Food Trust (LIFT), submitted by Gary DeVilbiss of Kerndt Brothers Insurance Agency (KBIA), was chosen as one of the 2020 IMT Month of Giving recipients. Pictured above at the presentation of a combined $1,000 donation are, left to right, Steve Sopha from IMT Insurance, Lansing Iowa Food Trust (LIFT) Board of Directors Vice President Chris McKee and Kerndt Brothers Insurance Agency President Gary DeVilbiss. The donation was made possible by a $500 grant from IMT Insurance and a matching donation of $500 from Kerndt Brothers Insurance.
Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) officials opened Hwy. 82 (more locally known as the Dike Road) connecting Iowa and Wisconsin via the Black Hawk Bridge at Lansing to single-lane traffic as of Thursday, July 2 after several weeks of having the road closed for repair work on some of the smaller slough bridges along that route.
Officials advise that construction work that is part of the overall original project to maintain and upgrade those smaller slough bridges was scheduled to resume Monday, July 6 and will continue until the project’s completion date, which had originally been scheduled for July 31 and will likely need to be extended beyond that original date due to the unanticipated repair work on those bridges that resulted in the road’s complete closure these last several weeks. The remainder of the project will allow for single-lane traffic with a flagger system controlling that traffic until the project is completed.
The regular meeting of the Lansing City Council was held Monday, July 6, 2020. The meeting centered around the consent agenda and the city clerk’s report.
The consent agenda consisted of council meeting minutes from June 15 and June 17, payments of claims, and Expresso liquor license. A motion was made and seconded to approve the consent agenda with minimal discussion.
The City of Lansing is still looking to fill the deputy city clerk position. Interested applicants should email deputyclerklansing52151@yahoo.com or contact Lansing City Hall at 563-538-4757 to have an application mailed. Applications will be accepted until Noon this Friday, July 10.
