Community News

Saturday, October 10, the Waukon High School Marching Indians participated in the Iowa High School Music Association (IHSMA) State Marching Band Festival. Fifteen bands from the northeast corner of the Northeast District representing schools from all four class sizes participated in the festival hosted by Western Dubuque High School in Epworth. The Marching Indians were the first band of the day to receive a Division I rating and the smallest school to receive the top rating.

Thursday, October 29 at 6:30 p.m., the Allamakee County Veterans Museum in Waukon will present another program from its Veterans History Project at the museum located at 105 Allamakee Street in Waukon. A video interview with the late William “Bill” Schneeberger of Waukon will be played.

Schneeberger served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He was working as an electrical engineer when drafted in 1951. After basic training, he was assigned to the Army Signal Corps and stationed at the White Sands Proving Ground near Las Cruces, NM. At this time the military was developing and testing missiles.

The public is invited to attend. There is no admission or membership charge to attend the program. The Allamakee County Veterans Museum is a handicapped accessible facility.
 

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, October 19 at the Dolores Tillinghast Memorial Library in Harpers Ferry as part of the Supervisors’ annual schedule of offsite meeting locations. The Supervisors addressed a full agenda of matters including an update from the Harpers Ferry Area Heritage Society, and the consideration of hiring a permanent part-time employee for the Environmental Health/Planning and Zoning Departments. The meeting was called to order by Board of Supervisors Chairperson Tom Clark with Supervisors Dennis Keatley and Dan Byrnes present.

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, October 19 to address a full agenda of matters including the Resolution to consider the contract for residential solid waste and recycling collection services with Kluesner Sanitation LLC, the Proclamation for the Annual Distribution of Buddy Poppies and a presentation relating to the 1st Street NE Reconstruction Project. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Arvid Hatlan with council members present including Steve Wiedner, John Lydon, Cassie Handke, Nicholas Engrav and Tim Smedsrud.

There was no Public Comment with the meeting moving into Department Reports. Park, Recreation and Wellness Director Jeremy Strub noted that Tuesday, October 20 members of the Iowa State Patrol will be present for the Ted Benda Memorial Bench Dedication in the Waukon City Park’s Freedom Rock Pavilion. Tuesday, October 20 marks the five-year anniversary of Trooper Ted Benda’s line of duty death.

Allamakee Community Players, Inc. (ACPI) will present the show “Play On!” by Rick Abbot Friday and Saturday, October 23-24 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, October 25 at 2 p.m. at St John’s Lutheran Church in Waukon. “Play On!” is a hilarious story of a local theatre group trying desperately to put on a play despite maddening interference from the haughty author, who keeps revising the script. Tickets will be available at the door prior to each performance, or may be purchased online in advance at acpitheatre.ludus.com.

The Allamakee County Conservation Board and the Mississippi Valley Sportsman Club in Lansing will host an Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Hunters Education Online Field Day. The field day will take place Saturday, October 24 at the Mississippi Valley Sportsman Club, located at 1797 Columbus Road, Lansing, from 8-11:30 a.m.  Students should go to the Iowa DNR website to register for the class, under the Hunting & Trapping link and then the Hunter Safety and Education link that can be found at https://www.iowadnr.gov/.

The Hunters Education Online Field Day is open to youth aged 11-17 who have successfully completed the online hunters education course through the Iowa DNR.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, October 12 to address a full agenda of matters including the discussion and consideration of the appointment of County Auditor, the discussion and consideration of a Solid Waste Department personnel matter, and the approval of Secondary Roads transfers.

The meeting was called to order by Board of Supervisors Chairperson Tom Clark with Supervisors Dan Byrnes and Dennis Keatley present. During Public Comment, Clark made note of the ribbon cutting ceremony that took place over the weekend at the Learning Tree Childcare Center in Lansing. Clark and Byrnes made note of the work by Learning Tree Director Jenny Cole and her team with this facility being an asset to Lansing and Allamakee County.

by Brianne Grimstad

The month of August ended up being a very good financial month for Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) in Waukon. The hospital ended the month with a net income of $91,316, far above the budgeted net income of $1,951.

According to numbers shared at the September meeting of the VMH Board of Trustees, gross patient revenue came in at $5.5 million. For the month of August, VMH saw very strong patient volumes in many of its service lines. Inpatient and swing bed had an average daily census of 4.9 patients, compared to 2.7 at the end of June.

Outpatient volumes were also strong, particularly in the areas of lab, CT, pharmacy and the SLS (Senior Life Solutions) program. Cardiac Rehabilitation has also seen good patient volumes, and the surgery department also had a full schedule in August. Speech Therapy and Physical Therapy also had a good month in August.

King of Grace Lutheran Church in Waukon will be hosting an event at the Waukon City Park Sunday, October 11 called “Pumpkins in the Park.” All community members are invited to join King of Grace Lutheran Church for an afternoon of fall fun at the Waukon City Park in the Jaycee shelter from 2-4:30 p.m. that October 11 afternoon. There will be pumpkin decorating, games, a fall photo opportunity, face painting,  treats, petting zoo, balloon animals, and door prizes from local businesses. There will be free pumpkins to decorate and take home. This is a free event for all ages. Join in community fun for the whole family. Visit the King of Grace Lutheran Church - Waukon IA Facebook page for more information. Submitted photo.
 

Two of the global causes that Lions Clubs International focuses on are youth and reducing hunger. Lions Clubs strive to help youth to have healthy, productive lives and have access to nutritious foods. With this in mind, the Waukon Lions Club donated $500 to the Allamakee Community Schools Milk Program September 14 of this year. Donations such as this are made possible by the generous support the Waukon Lions Club receives from the community. Pictured above at the check presentation to the Allamakee Community Schools Food Service Program are, left to right, Waukon Lions Club members Tom and Rosean Phipps and Allamakee Community Schools Food Service administrative staff Kay Gavin and Jessica Keenan. Submitted photo.