News

Public Views New St. Lucas Fire Station

Published by admin on Wed, 07/14/2021 - 5:30am

The public got a look at the new St. Lucas fire station Sunday with an open house.

With the rain holding off and the mercury in pleasant territory, it was the perfect day for the event.

The total cost for the project was just over $166,000.

With 5,000 square feet, the facility boasts four garage doors along with two water tanks with over 20,000 gallons of water.

The tanks are filled by well, and with the reserve water, even drought conditions, a concern right now in Iowa, would not stop the department’s ability to respond to a blaze.

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Middle Calmar Road ‘Band-Aids’ Not Enough

Published by admin on Tue, 07/13/2021 - 7:30am

Karen Schluter heard 20 years ago that a fix was coming for one of the more prominent roads in the county.

Now, decades later, Middle Calmar Road still has not been fixed.

A resident living along Middle Calmar Road, Schluter has seen the roadway continue to be a problem for years.

During a recent meeting of Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors, Schluter began handing out Band-Aids to members of the board in attendance.

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Winneshiek County Fair Returning

Published by admin on Thu, 07/08/2021 - 4:30am

Final preparation is underway for the Winneshiek County Fair with the event returning after the disruption of 2020.

The midway is set to open to the public at 5 p.m. Tuesday, July 13 and then open at 2 p.m. daily through Saturday, the final day of the fair.

Exhibit buildings will open a bit earlier, running from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily.

Of course, the food will be back, with a bit of variety to please hungry fairgoers.

It will be a chance for the public to check out new construction on the fairgrounds with the new Community Building.

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Spillville Work ‘Better Than Graceland’

Published by admin on Tue, 07/06/2021 - 8:20am

Standing before the Spillville dancehall is a grand set of gates, 12 feet tall and shining a unique color somewhere between bronze and gold.

Accompanying them at the entryway to the Innwood Pavilion and Riverside Park is a similarly grand line of fence extending towards town with a beautiful pedestrian entrance decorated with a crosshatching of interwoven metal. The intricate scrollwork on the gates and fence flows like a sea wave or tangle of vines racing across the length of the construct.

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St. Lucas Celebrates Fun Day

Published by admin on Wed, 06/30/2021 - 5:30am

After a year of absence, the St. Lucas Fun Day tradition resumed.

Cancelled in 2020, the event was back for 2021.

With a mix of old and new, the annual community celebration for St. Lucas was in full swing again this year.

Parking spaces around St. Luke Catholic Church and the park were in short supply as a result.

Rain clouds loomed, but by and large the event went off without a hitch, just with a little wet ground in a few places after rain fell both Friday and early Saturday, leading to the prospect of flash flooding regionally.

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Breakfast Returns Despite Rain

Published by admin on Tue, 06/29/2021 - 7:30am

Farmers have praying for rain as drought conditions crept into Iowa.

An area event celebrating the farm Saturday was right in the midst of that needed rain.

Breakfast on the Farm came back to Calmar over the weekend, returning after COVID-19 fears saw the event canceled in 2020.

With a bigger menu and a slate of activities, the event was all ready to return before the rains came.

Flash flood concerns were present in a number of communities, from Protivin to Lawler to Little Turkey after 2 to 3 inches fell Friday.

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SW Ponders Bond Possibility

Published by admin on Thu, 06/24/2021 - 4:30am

A new high school is among the possibilities as South Winneshiek officials look to the future, eyeing a bond levy up to $20 million as one option as a community survey will gauge community interest and priorities.

Meanwhile, the Iowa Legislature’s vote to end restrictions for a handful of districts that had limited open enrollment out could directly affect South Winneshiek.

During its June meeting, the South Winneshiek school board gave approval to a community survey at southwinn.com that will solicit input.

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Supervisors Hear Chief Winneshiek Image “Racist”

Published by admin on Wed, 06/23/2021 - 5:30am

A Decorah high school student denounced a Winneshiek County logo used on Secondary Roads vehicles as “racist” during Monday morning’s meeting of the Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors, but county officials are not taking immediate action.

Maia Foster, a Decorah High School senior, said the intent was not evil by itself, but the result was bad nonetheless.

She pointed to the “red” coloration of the American Indian used and a “hook nose.”

The image is one of a few different versions various offices in Winneshiek County use.

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Farm-to-School Expansion Could Help Students, Farmers

Published by admin on Thu, 06/17/2021 - 4:30am

Students across Iowa could benefit from the work of the Iowa Legislature with expansion of the farm-to-school program.

With passage of Senate File 578, Iowa’s farm-to-school initiative is set to expand with schools able to be reimbursed for one-third of what they spend on locally-produced food.

The food can be used either in school-provided meals such as breakfast and lunch or in snacks provided to students.

How the program would work is by reimbursing district’s $1 for its expenditures of $3, up to $1,000 per year per school.

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Calmar Museum Site Possible

Published by admin on Wed, 06/16/2021 - 5:30am

The face of downtown Calmar could see a big change with the transfer of the Woodworking Museum of the Heartland from Spillville to Calmar to occupy building space right along Highway 52.

“I’m working out a deal….” said Stanley Maroushek with the museum.

Space would be along Highway 52, near the four-way intersection, utilizing space from the former Memphis BBQ and possibly the old pizza place next door, though Maroushek said he needs to go before his board and get approval.

Stephanie Fromm with Winneshiek County Development and Tourism is providing some assistance.