Community News Stories

Friday May 24th

• The Tomah VA Medical Center will host a Memorial Day Ceremony on Friday at 10am at the Veterans Hall in Tomah.

Sunday May 26th

• On Sunday May 26th the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery in Preston will host a Memorial Service. The public is invited to attend. There will be music beginning at 1:30 and a 2pm Ceremony.
• Clermont American Legion will host a Memorial Day pancake breakfast on Sunday from 8 am to 1pm at the Clermont Opera House along with Auxiliary bake sale and silent Auction
• There will be a Memorial Weekend Pancake breakfast on Sunday from 7a m to noon at the Harpers Ferry Fire stations

Monday May 27th

• The Wadena legion will be hosting their legion Memorial Services on Monday at 10:30 at the Wadena All Veterans Memorial. There will be Dinner to follow at the Legion Hall.
• Harpers Ferry/Waterville Memorial Day Parade and Program will be held on Monday May 27th. Beginning at the Old East Paint Creek Cemetery at 7:15, Waterville at 7:45, Cherry Mound at 8a, Paint Rock at 8:15, Cota Creek Bridge at 8:30, Harper Ferry Sandy Point Cemetery at 8:40. Then a memorial mass will be held at St Ann St Joseph Church at 9am, parade to follow at approximate 10am. Parade line up begins at 8:30 and transportation will be provided for those unable to March in the parade. The Legion and it’s Auxiliary will also be having a pork chop dinner at 11am.
• Waukon Community Meals will be serving Memorial Day Supper at the First Presbyterian Church in Waukon on Monday from 5 to 7pm.
• There will be a Memorial Day lunch held at the Hauge Lutheran church, rural Decorah, on Monday from 11am to 1pm.
• Decorah memorial Day services will be observed beginning with a parade at the West Decorah Bridge at 10am. The parade, featuring Grand Marshals Howie Bernatz and Bob McQueen, will process to the courthouse where Memorial day ceremonies will continue featuring speaker Jim Burns. All Veterans who wish to participate in the parade should meet at 5th Ave at 9:30, for those unable to march there will be a flatbed trailer provided. Decorah Quilts of Valor will be conducting a presentation ceremony at 3pm at the VFW Post in Decorah. They will be awarding quilts of valor to Mel Macal, Pat Corrigan, Collyn Bridges, Ferneva Brimacomb, Tom Klimesh, Dennis Fisher, Ray Koshatka, Jim Mensen, Larry Elf Lectenburg and Chuck Humpal.
• There will be a Memorial Day pancake breakfast serving from 8am to 11am at New Hope Methodist Church in Red Mound Wisconsin. Carry outs will be available and there will also be a bake sale.
• The Waukon Memorial Day Parade, muster time 9:15, step off 9:45, is going to be rerouted due to construction. It will start out in the St. Pats parking lot and individuals may park there or in the parking lot behind Waukon State Bank. The parade will head east on 1st Ave SW toward Kwik Star. The parade will then head south (right at Kwik Star) on Rossville Rd and run all the way to the Oakland Cemetery. Should the parade be canceled due to weather, the program will still take place at the Waukon Reception Center on Rossville Rd. Avenue of flags will not be put out this year due to construction and possibility of rain. However, we will be putting out the 18 KIA flags only at the cemetery Saturday morning. For the Memorial Day dinner at the vets club, there is parking in the city parking lot south of the courthouse, the two courthouse parking lots, behind the Vets Club and the Farm Bureau Building.
• The Mabel VFW Post will be conducting Memorial Day Services beginning at Highland Lutheran Cemetery at 7:30, then Hesper Lutheran at 8:30, Hesper Public at 9am, Burr Oak at 9:45am, Henrytown at 10:15, Prosper at 10:45. They will march from the Mabel Legion to the Steam Engine grounds at 11:20 am with a program, featuring speaker Eddie Macha and music by the Mabel-Canton band, will be held at the Steam Engine Grounds beginning at 11:30. There will be a potluck meal held after the services at the Mabel American legion. In case of rain the program will be held at the High School Auditorium
• The American Legion in Spring Grove will be having a program on Monday beginning with a parade from the school to Viking Memorial park at 9:45. The program begins at 10am featuring speaker Legion Commander Anne Doering and music by the Spring Grove High School Band and decoration of crosses by the Boy and Girl Scout troops of Spring Grove. In case of inclement weather the program will be held at the school
• High Roller Skating Centers in LaCrosse and Eau Claire will be hosting skates on Monday from noon to 4pm to raise money for the A Million thanks Fund a Scholarship program that raises fund to provide higher education scholarships for children of fallen military members. 50% of all center admissions will be donated. For more information log on to high roller skating dot com
• McGregor memorial Day Events begin with a memorial service at St Mary’s Catholic Cemetery, a parade leaving MFL MarMac Middle school at 10 processing to the riverfront and there will be a memorial service at 11am at Pleasant Grove Cemetery featuring speaker Mike Ayers.
• New Albin memorial day services will be held at 9am at the Community Center featuring music by the Kee Middle School Band and readings from the book Veterans from the Heartland by Maury Gallagher and a presentation of Quilts by the NEIA Quilters.
• Lansing Memorial Day services begin at 7:30 on Monday morning at Wexford Cemetery, then to Gethsemane Cemetery at 8:15 , 8:30 am flag raising at Thornton Manor, 9am flag raising at Mount Hosmer and a Navy Remembrance Ceremony at Sweeney’s Boat Landing at 10am. There will be a parade at 10:15 and a program at Oak Hill Cemetery at 11am featuring music from the Kee High school Band and a memorial day address by Dustin Benzing. If it is raining the program will be held at Kee High School.
• American legion Post 467, Spillville/Ridgeway will host Memorial Day Services at the Ridgeway United Lutheran Cemetery beginning at 9:30 featuring speaker Dan O’Brian.
• A Memorial Day program will be hosted by members of the Belding Fox Slagle Legion Post 189 at 10:00 a.m., Monday, May 27 in front of the Waucoma Veterans Memorial. Following the program, all are invited to the Waucoma Event Center for coffee and treats. In case of rain the program will be held at the Waucoma Event Center.
• The Calmar Memorial Day observance will begin with visits to cemeteries. Veterans will start the day at Springfield Lutheran at 7:30 a.m. and then move to Calmar Lutheran at 7:45 a.m., Festina at 8 a.m., St. Aloysius at 8:15 a.m. and Lake Meyer at 9 a.m. The day’s observances will conclude at the Winneshiek County Freedom Rock in Calmar at 9:30 a.m. A Memorial Service will take place at the South Winneshiek Auditorium at 10 a.m. Robert Gross, administrator at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery, is the planned speaker with the Rev. Robert Gross as clergy.

Iowa Gov Kim Reynolds and Lt Gov Adam Gregg were in our area this week and Josh Blake was able to catch up with Gov Reynolds at Toppling Goliath to discuss new bills she’s signed. To see more details about those bills click the link below.

Decorah Parks and Recreation is partnering with local yoga instructors to offer Free Yoga in the Park Saturdays, 10-11am, June thru August. This program will be held in the green space west of John Cline School. Bring your own mat or towel (limited supply available). No need to register, just show up! For a complete calendar and list of instructors visit https://parks.decorahia.org/. Yoga in the Park is sponsored by Gundersen Health Clinic and Winneshiek Medical Center.

The Allamakee Community School District is participating in the Summer Food Service Program. Meals will be provided to all children without charge and are the same for all children regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service. Meals will be provided, at a first come, first serve basis, at the site and times as follows:

Waukon Middle School
Mondays-Fridays, June 3rd -June 28th & August 5th -August 16th
Breakfast 8:00am-9:00am
Lunch 11:15am-12:45pm

To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at:
http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:

1. mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture
   Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
   1400 Independence Avenue, SW
   Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
2. fax: (202) 690-7442; or
3. email: program.intake@usda.gov.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Iowa Non-Discrimination Statement:
“It is the policy of this CNP provider not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or religion in its programs, activities, or employment practices as required by the Iowa Code section 216.6, 216.7, and 216.9. If you have questions or grievances related to compliance with this policy by this CNP Provider, please contact the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, Grimes State Office building, 400 E. 14th St. Des Moines, IA 50319-1004; phone number 515-281-4121, 800-457-4416; website: https://icrc.iowa.gov/.”

DECORAH, Iowa —Vesterheim, the national Norwegian-American museum and heritage center, announces it will join museums nationwide in participating in the tenth summer of Blue Star Museums, a program that provides free admission to our nation’s active-duty military personnel and their families this summer.
The 2019 program will begin earlier than in past years, launching on Saturday, May 18, 2019, Armed Forces Day, and ending on Monday, September 2, 2019, Labor Day. Military can find the list of participating museums at arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.

Blue Star Museums is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in collaboration with Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums nationwide.
“We’ve seen the tremendous impact the Blue Star Museums program brings to our military families, and we’re thrilled to be celebrating a decade of support,” said Kathy Roth-Douquet, chief executive officer of Blue Star Families. “Not only are museums fun to explore but are also great for making memories and strengthening military families as a whole.”
“Vesterheim is very pleased to have been a part of this program since its beginning,” Chris Johnson, President/CEO, said. “We continue to welcome active-duty military and their families to explore immigrant history and folk art through the lens of the Norwegian American experience.”

Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more about NEA.

Blue Star Families builds communities that support military families by connecting research and data to programs and solutions, including career development tools, local community events for families, and caregiver support. Since its inception in 2009, Blue Star Families has engaged tens of thousands of volunteers and serves more than 1.5 million military family members. With Blue Star Families, military families can find answers to their challenges anywhere they are. For more information, visit bluestarfam.org.

Vesterheim, the national Norwegian-American museum and heritage center, in scenic Decorah, Iowa, showcases the best in historic and contemporary Norwegian folk and fine arts, and explores the American immigrant experience. This national treasure includes world-class exhibitions and 12 historic buildings. It is also a center for folk-art education, offering a wide variety of classes in authentic Norwegian folk art every year. For more information on the museum’s exhibitions, classes, events, membership opportunities, and ways to donate, check Vesterheim’s website at vesterheim.org, call (563) 382-9681, or write to Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, 502 W. Water St., P.O. Box 379, Decorah, IA, 52101-0379.

Daily admission is $5 for ages 4 thru 64; $4 for 65 & up; 3 yrs and under are free. Save money and time by purchasing a season pass or punch pass online and pick it up at the Park-Rec. Office by May 24, or pick it up at the pool starting May 26. Season pass prices go up $5 after June 1. Credit and debit cards are only accepted online. For more information on passes, daily admission prices, pool schedule, and swim classes, go to https://parks.decorahia.org/decorah-municipal-pool.

Sunrise Care Facilities Women’s Facility will be Hosting an Open House on Friday May 17th, 2019. Sharon Lewis, Women’s Health Manager with Sunrise Care, talks about the facility, what they offer to residents and the specifics about the open house!

Saturday May 18th is Passport day in Winneshiek County!

Lisa Grinna, Deputy Recorder and Passport Agent for Winneshiek County explains the details about passport day.

Sautrday May 18, 2019 from 9am to Noon at the Winneshiek County Recorders office!

We have been following the news stories about this baby’s death and the charges that have been filed against his parents in conjunction with his death. If you were looking for a tangible way to help there are some ideas listed below.

https://www.hugebackfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Baby-Sterling?obId=4394568#/obituaryInfo

Obituary for Baby Sterling

Baby Sterling died August 30, 2017, in Alta Vista, Iowa.

Funeral services will be held 10:00 a.m. Saturday, June 8, 2019, at the Alta Vista Municipal Hall. Interment will follow in Zion Cemetery, Alta Vista.

This is an opportunity for anyone touched by Sterling’s life and death to come together and
share. All are welcome to come to this service.

Donations for Baby Sterling may be made to The Chickasaw County Child Abuse Prevention Council, Inc – 910 East Main Street New Hampton, IA 50659, a 501C3 organization dedicated to assisting families with newborns, and families at risk, through the many service providers who already work in our community.

Winneshiek county master Gardeners Plant Sale, May 18th , 2019 from 8 to 11am at the Decorah Farmers Market. Vegetable seedlings, Perennials, Bulbs and more! Your gardening questions answered!!