Community News Stories

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VERNON COUNTY OFFICE OF
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
318 FAIRLANE DRIVE, SUITE 5 Brandon Larson, Director
VIROQUA, WISCONSIN 54665 Telephone: (608)637-5266
Fax: (608) 637-5502
Brandon Larson, Director of Vernon County Emergency Management
608-637-5266
brandon.larson@vernoncounty.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
County Office Building Restrictions
Viroqua, WI, March 17th, 2020-
In an effort to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, and create social distancing, effective Tuesday,
March 17th at 4:30pm all Vernon County buildings will be closed to the public. Starting
Wednesday, March 18th at 8:30am a number of Vernon County employees will be working
remotely, consistent with continuity of operations plans that have been developed. The plans
were recently updated as Coronavirus emerged as a global pandemic. Countywide, wherever
possible a number of county employees will have the technical capability to work outside of an
office setting and, effective today, are beginning to reduce face to face human contact. This will
help provide social distancing at work consistent with public health recommendations. Using
prevention, we can slow the spread of the disease and protect the most vulnerable.
There will also be County staff present and working in the County buildings. Vernon County
officials are encouraging people to conduct business with County Departments via phone and
email when possible. If you need to meet with a county department you are asked to call ahead
and make an appointment with that department. A list of department phone numbers can be
found below, and also on our website www.vernoncounty.org
Aging and Disability- 608-637-5201 Child Support- 608-637-5335
Circuit Court- 608-637-5364
Clerk of Courts- 608-637-5340
County Clerk- 608-637-5280
District Attorney- 608-637-5357
Emergency Management- 608-637-5266
Health Department- 608-637-5251
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Highway Department- 608-637-5452
Human Services- 608-637-5210
Information Technology- 608-637-5375
Land and Water Conservation- 608-637-
5480
Personnel- 608-637-5303
Register of Deeds- 608-637-5371
Resource and Community Development608-637-5379
Sheriff- 608-637-2123
Solid Waste and Recycling- 608-634-2900
Treasurer- 608-637-5367
UW Extension- 608-637-5276
Vernon Manor- 608-637-5400
Veterans Service- 608-637-5323
Zoning and Sanitation- 608-637-5270
If you would like more information please contact the Vernon County Emergency Management
office at 608-637-5266 or the Health Department at 608-637-5251.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Nate Furler, Marketing & Outreach Manager, Oneota Community Food Co-op

563-382-4666, nate@oneotacoop.com

Oneota Co-op Launches Phone and Online Ordering Offerings and Closes to Customer Foot Traffic

Decorah, Iowa, 03/17/20 –

During the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak the Oneota Community Co-op has been following our Pandemic Plan to protect employees, members, customers and vendors as this virus has progressed. Having a safe and sanitized shopping environment has always been a top priority for us and has presented many challenges to continue normal operations. The Co-op, as all grocery stores in the area, is an essential business for our community and this virus has forced us to think about how we can do business in different ways.

In order to ensure that we can continue to provide groceries and supplies to our customers in a safe manner, beginning at 1pm today (Tuesday, March 17) the Management Team, in conversation with our Board of Directors, has made the decision to close the store and secure it from outside normal customer traffic. Beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, March 18, the Co-op will launch online and phone ordering systems for customers. Phone orders may be placed from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, Monday through Friday, by calling the Co-op at 563-382-4666. Curbside pick-up at the front of the Co-op will be utilized for both phone and online orders. Please check www.oneotacoop.com for links to the online ordering platform and follow the Co-op on Facebook and Instagram for updates through the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision to close the store to customer foot traffic was not made lightly – but we feel it is our responsibility to keep our employees safe, and by limiting outside exposure to the interior of the store we can help to ensure that we will stay open and continue to serve our community.

The Board, management team, staff and I want to thank everyone in our community for your overwhelming support as we navigate this situation. The need to balance the safety of our employees with meeting the needs of our community will continue, but it will look different for a while. Thank you for your patience.

This has not been easy, but your kind words and virtual hugs go a long way!

David Lester, GM

As the coronavirus crisis has escalated, Winneshiek County residents have watched people around the world panic. It doesn’t matter which channel; the news is bad and filled with dire warnings. Fortunately, in these unprecedented times, our community members and leaders are looking for ways to keep our community members healthy, our businesses solvent, and our economy stable. They are taking the call to slow the spread of the virus and lower the curve seriously. They may even show the rest of the world how caring, ingenious, and creative rural Iowans can be.

Winneshiek County Development and Tourism just announced a new project with Decorah Now. Executive Director Stephanie Fromm noted, “We live in a part of the world where people are ingenious problem solvers. We know what it means to act locally and buy local. We know from past experience that our citizens our resilient, innovative, and caring. We care for each other and take care of each other. We have strong families and work every day to have strong local economies. What we are and how our rural communities’ function in Northeast Iowa is very different than New York or Seattle. That is why we knew we wanted our response to be different and why Winneshiek County Economic Development and Tourism was so excited to partner with Decorah Now to establish the Decorah and Winneshiek County Mutual Aid Network. It won’t be the only thing we do, but it is the first and we believe one of the most important.”

Fromm noted that the network will function through Decorah Now to help community members, businesses, and organizations from throughout Winneshiek County and beyond, share information and resources, read more about what is happening locally, let others know they are available to help, and/or to ask for help, suggest ideas, and share positive stories.

Why and how did it come about? This effort came about in part because several people want to help and didn’t know how to get in touch with people who needed help. Kayla Scholl, Brad Crawford, and Liz Rog from Decorah Now were thinking that our community needed a way to streamline communications so that we could meet the needs of individuals and the community as a whole. Crawford explained, “We were wondering how we could connect people. So for example, what if someone could safely offer temporary child care to families, especially health care workers, who must continue to work during this time? How would they get ahold of those people that need help? What if at risk community members just need someone to pick up groceries or household items? Are there businesses that could offer temporary work to healthy people who are temporarily out of work?” Scholl noted, “I wondered if we could set up a specific board on Decorah Now for requests for help and offers to help during the COVID-19 outbreak? Contact could be made just like it is when someone is selling/buying on Decorah Now.”

Around the same time, Steph Fromm and Lora Friest from Winneshiek County Development and Tourism were thinking that individuals and businesses needed a way to connect and help each other in innovative ways. Fromm noted, “We wondered, what if we encourage shifts in business policies and management that, if given a chance, could help our community members. For example, why not start more delivery options from our restaurants but if they do, how will they tell people? What if our small business counselors help our downtown businesses, and other small businesses, improve their on-line presence so more commerce can happen on-line, but if they do, how will we get the word out? What about individual community members who need assistance but have no family here? If we have people who want to help, how do we connect them?”

Friest noted that, “Because Winneshiek County Development and Tourism already works closely with Decorah Now, the partnership was obvious. I just gave Brad a call.” Brad Crawford, who has helped businesses and nonprofits create websites, was already at work developing the on-line platforms. The partnership was off and running. Crawford noted that, “Liz reached out to the community, and Lauren Bonney put together a logo in record time!” Soon others were contributing and committed to helping. Fromm noted that she is excited to see what happens and how these on-line platforms inspire people in our community. “We all know of some amazing things that people are already doing so we are excited to get that word out and inspire others. Just yesterday, I was contacted by several people who have committed to paying their child care bills even though their child care is closed. They want to make sure their child care providers are available when the child cares and schools reopen. That is just one of several examples of what is happening here.The individual things that people are doing…they are a big deal.”

When asked what people could do, Brad Crawford encouraged them to go to the website and complete the “I need help” form, the “I can help” form, join the Facebook group and if they can, join the coordination effort.

For more information, visit https://decorahnow.com/mutual-aid-network/ or contact Brad Crawford (brad@decorahnow.com) or Stephanie Fromm (director@winneshiekdevelopment.org).

In response to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic, Winneshiek County is taking steps to protect employees and the public. Cleaning practices have been increased in all offices and plans are in place to assist employees in working remotely if necessary. To protect your personal health and the health of our employees, before visiting a Winneshiek County building please call ahead to see if you can conduct your business electronically or over the phone. Visit https://www.idph.iowa.gov or https://www.winneshiekhealth.org/ for the most up-to-date information about the rapidly evolving situation.

Winneshiek County Assessor – Iowa Code 441.23 requires assessment notices be delivered by April 1^st. Winneshiek Counties 2020 assessment notices were recently mailed to property owners where changes were made in 2019. Please contact this office by email, phone, or mail regarding your assessment notice, to file an appeal, or signing up for any of the various credits and exemptions. All contact information is listed on the top portion of your assessment notice. Please, also review specific dates on the lower portion of the notice. Feel free to contact our office with any questions you may have.  Phone: 563-382-5356 .

Winneshiek County Recorder – most services except passport applications and vital statistics records can be done online, by mail or over the phone. Please call 563/382-3486 or email: recorders@co.winneshiek.ia.us for details.

Winneshiek County Treasurer –Many transactions can be done online with a credit card or by phone or by mail. Please call 563/382-3753 for an appointment before you go to the Winneshiek County Courthouse for Treasurer Office transactions. If your transactions can be done online staff can walk you through the process. Simple vehicle tag/sticker renewals and property taxes can be paid online at www.iowatreasurers.org or by mail to Winneshiek County Treasurer, 201 W. Water Street, Decorah, IA 52101. Simple driver’s license renewals can be processed online at MyMVD.iowadot.gov.

Winneshiek County Sheriff – check the Winneshiek County Sheriff Facebook page and website for adjustments to services. Please call (563/382-4268) to schedule an appointment for any non-emergency services.  https://www.winneshiekcounty.org/departments/sheriff.

Winneshiek County Veteran Affairs – please call the office at 563/382-5786 to conduct business via the phone or to schedule an appointment.

Winneshiek County Engineer – please call the office at 563/382-2951 to conduct business via the phone or to schedule an appointment.

Winneshiek County Auditor – please call the office at 563/382-5085 to conduct business via the phone or to schedule an appointment.

Winneshiek County Public Health – please call the office at 563/382-4662 to conduct business via the phone or to schedule an appointment.

Winneshiek County Environmental Health (Sanitarian)– please call the office at 563/387-4120 to conduct business via the phone or to schedule an appointment.

Winneshiek County Planning and Zoning– please call the office at 563/387-4080 to conduct business via the phone or to schedule an appointment.

Winneshiek County Conservation– please call the office at 563/334-7145 to conduct business via the phone or to schedule an appointment.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Todd Ihde, City Water Superintendent, 563-382-5171
decwat@decorahia.org

City of Decorah Water Dept Warns, don’t flush disposable wipes

Aase Haugen Senior Services has cancelled the Annual Meeting Scheduled for Tuesday, March 17. New date TBD

Library Director Kristin Torresdal said “Our mission centers on serving the community; we have determined that the most important service we can render at this time is to aid social distancing measures and limit community spread. It is our hope that by discontinuing open hours in the short term, we can help protect our most vulnerable community members.”

Public Libraries across the state are announcing closures this week as k-12 schools and colleges and universities are also closing or moving to online education modules.

“Don’t worry about due dates or fines,” Torresdal said, “just hang on to any library materials you have for now and we’ll get things sorted out as we move forward. Community members can still access free e-books and digital audiobooks via our website during this time. Staff will also share recommendations for additional online resources on our social media pages.”

When open hours resume that information will be made available on the library’s website, social media, and in local media outlets. Contact Torresdal at ktorresdal@decorah.lib.ia.us with questions

Update regarding Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): The Minnesota Department of Health does NOT recommend K-12 school closures at this time. For more information from MDH, including guidelines f or school closures from CDC, click here.The BAND AND CHOIR CONCERTS are postponed. More information to come.

Read the Lion’s Roar for all the details!

https://www.springgrove.k12.mn.us/sites/springgrove.k12.mn.us/files/files/Private_User/rachel.udstuen/March 13 (1).pdf

Girl Scout Carnival event to be held 3:30-6:30pm on Sunday March 15th at Luther Regents Center has been cancelled.

Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship Cancels Upcoming Pesticide Applicator Testing Sessions

Events will not be held from March 16-31 out of an abundance of caution

DES MOINES, Iowa (March 13, 2020) – To help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced today that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is canceling its in-person pesticide applicator testing sessions through the end of the month.

“We’re working with public health officials and other state and federal agencies to monitor the rapidly developing COVID-19 situation,” said Secretary Naig. “The health of the public and our employees is our top priority so we are temporarily suspending in-person testing out of an abundance of caution.”

The affected in-person meetings were scheduled to take place between March 16 and 31.

• March 16: Nevada
• March 17: Everly, Mason City and Tama
• March 18: Emmetsburg and Newton
• March 23: Oskaloosa
• March 24: Garner, Orange City and Waterloo
• March 25: Altoona, Muscatine and Rock Rapids

Additional pesticide applicator certification testing sessions may be offered at partner locations later in the year. Visit iowaagriculture.gov/pesticide-bureau for a list of alternate pesticide applicator certification testing dates and locations.