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JOURNAL
www.driftlessjournal.com | news@driftlessjournal.com | 563-382-4221 | Tuesday, March 21, 2023 | Vol. 5 Issue 12
Winneshiek County Dairy Banquet is April 1
The 60th Annual drawing, riding Winneshiek Counbike and going to ty Dairy Banquet the pool. will be held SaturEmerson Weday, April 1, at the mark is the nineFestina Communiyear-old daughter ty Center. of Eric and Darcy A meal by U2 Wemark. She has BBQ will be two brothers and served from 7 to one sister, and her 8 p.m., including family milks 560 beef brisket, baby Holstein cows and reds, honey glazed sells their milk to Kendra Elsbernd Claire Elsbernd Emerson Wemark carrots, strawberry Foremost Farms. acres of corn and alfalfa. Little Miss Squirt fluff, brownies and They farm 1500 She is a junior at South Winn candidates ice cream. The awards ceremoacres of corn, soybeans and hay. Claire Elsbernd is the nine- Emerson attends third grade at ny begins at 8 p.m., with DHIA High School where she participates in swimming, FFA, year-old daughter of Jay and Carrie Lee in Decorah. She is a awards, several individual SODA, cheerleading, band/ Leslie Elsbernd. She has two member of the Lincoln Leaders awards and scholarships handmarching band and 4-H. brothers and one sister, and her 4-H club, Iowa Junior Holstein ed out, along with the crowning On the farm she likes to help family milks 150 Holstein and Association, shows dairy at the of this year’s royalty. her dad with the cows and work mixed breed cows and sells Tickets are available at the fair, dances for Brenda’s School with the calves, whether it be their milk to Foremost Farms. of Dance and participates in door the night of the banquet. vaccinations or just feeding They farm 600 acres of corn, basketball, soccer and wresthem. She loves to play with her beans and hay. Claire attends tling. She helps on the farm by Princess candidate Kendra Elsbernd is the dog and run around with her. third grade at Notre Dame in feeding and moving calves and 16-year-old daughter of Peter She enjoys seeing her chickens Cresco. She takes piano les- can often be found in pens that and Kristi Elsbernd. She has and seeing how many eggs they sons, serves at Mass and is on her “pet” cows are in. Her hobone brother and two sisters, have. For fun she likes to swim, the summer swim team. She bies include playing with her and her family milks 340 cows read, craft and knit. Her sponsor helps on the farm by feeding favorite cow, Sprinkles, playing calves and watching gates. Her with her cats, drawing and ridand sells their milk to Foremost is South Winn Vet Clinic. hobbies include reading, art/ ing bike. Farms. They also raise 600
Relief, Recover, Rebuild Local heroes recognized in Spring Grove
Hundreds attended Spring Grove’s Relief, Recover, Rebuild Recognition Celebration Feb. 25 sponsored by the city’s Chamber of Commerce. The event honored the local heroes who rallied together to contain the devastating December fire on Main Street. Fire Chief Trent Turner thanked his team of local volunteers along with firefighters from six surrounding communities including Brownsville, Caledonia, Decorah, Eitzen, Houston and Mabel who joined forces to fight a fire that lasted nearly 10 hours and nearly drained the city’s two water towers. “I just want to thank everyone for coming and joining us for a night of fun and thankfulness. We live in a great community, and it’s times like this that show just how great it really is,” stated Spring Grove City Administrator Jana Elton. Pictured above are the Spring Grove Firefighters. (submitted photo)
Women’s Weekend Out in Severe Weather Decorah March 31-April 2 Awareness Week March 27-13
Severe weather season is right around the corner and the Winneshiek County Emergency Management Agency reminds everyone of the National Severe Weather Awareness Week March 27-31.
Severe weather
Women’s Weekend Out pairs retail shopping, local dining and special events for a whole weekend of Decorah-based fun Friday-Sunday, March 31-April 2. With more than 40 participating locations, major events are planned including: a style show at Hotel Winneshiek Saturday morning, Driftless Jazz at
Impact Coffee March 31, Drag Show April 1, Traveling Tapster and Music at Rendered Unique March 31 and April 1, Comedy Show at T-Bock’s April 1, Craft and Vendor Show at the fairgrounds April 1 and the Flower Wars Event at Decorah Greenhouse April 1-2. Also on tap are several events at Convergence Ciderworks:
March 30 Luna Fest, March 31 Ladies Barn Quilt Night, April 1 Ladies Line Dancing, and April 2 CSA Fair/Local Goods Market. Pre-registration options include purchasing a swag bag for the weekend. Many shops and stores also have specials and deals specifically for the weekend.
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splash event
ON YOUR PURCHASE
March 23 & 24 March 25 9:30AM-5:30PM
9:30AM-4PM
Waukon businesses Tin, Rust and Harmony and Paws Up Pet Supplies were destroyed in a fire in February 2022. The upper portions of both buildings were knocked down to keep the fire contained. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Jennifer Bissell)
Mindy Jones charged with first-degree arson following Waukon fire By Kate Klimesh
The fire that consumed the Waukon Tin, Rust and Harmony building, along with its neighbor business Paws Up and residences above the two stores, in February 2022, has been under investigation by the State Fire Marshalls Office’s special agent. A report was recently released by the Waukon Police Department, that due to circumstances surrounding the fire and the investigation, Mindy Jones was arrested on Monday, March 13, and is being charged with Arson-1st Degree, a class B felony. Jones is also charged with animal abuse, and aggravated misdemeanor, for the death of a canine as a result of the fire. The Iowa State Fire Marshalls Office was assisted by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Iowa DCI lab, the ATF and the Allamakee County Attorney’s Office. Jones was picked up March 13, at 3:42 p.m., at the Black Hawk County Jail, where she had been serving her 120-day jail sentence with work release in Waterloo from the 2022 guilty plea of felony Theft-By Swindle for the fraudulent raffle she coordinated in Harmony, Minn. She was served the arrest warrant and booked into the Allamakee County Jail at 4:09 p.m. Jones was released on a $25,000 bond secured through Statewide Cash Bonds of Waterloo the same day. Per her bond, she agreed to appear at the Monday, March 27, at 10 a.m., at the Allamakee County Courthouse in Waukon for her initial hearing on the charges. Jones had requested to serve her sentence in Waterloo, due to being an essential employee at Schott’s Trucking in Waterloo. As of Feb. 9, Schott’s Trucking representatives reported that Mindy Jones no longer worked for the company. According to the affidavit of the investigation that led to
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charges, the investigation of Jones following the fire included interviews with persons of interest and witnesses to the fire, as well as bank and insurance records of Jones. State Farm Insurance Senior Fire Consultant Mark Dooley, along with three dozen other individuals, examined the building following the fire around April 5-7, 2022. The State Fire Marshall special agent was on the scene Feb. 14, 2022. Their reports included facts that Jones was at the building within minutes of the fire being reported, and the fire had two distinct and separate points of origin. The first point of origin identified was on the first floor, behind the sales counter, and the second was identified as below the east wall of the first floor, at the cold air return duct for the basement HVAC unit. The report lists open flame to combustible materials as the ignition sequence for both fires. All other electrical equipment and potential heat sources were eliminated through independent third-party testing. Both reports concluded the fires were a result of incendiary fires: a fire that is intentionally ignited in an area or under circumstances where and when there should not be a fire. The report stated that Jones had a financial motive to destroy the building and business. Arson in the first degree describes an act of arson committed in the presence of which one or more persons could reasonably be anticipated. Interestingly enough, Jones had filed a civil case in Allamakee County with a demand for jury trial on Feb. 7 against State Farm Insurance for alleged failure to pay the claim filed on the building she purchased in December 2021 for $62,000.
Jones arrest continued on page 7
GARDEN ART FLORAL
Heavenly Made SPRING & Gifts & the Gnome Store
126 East Water Street, Decorah • 563-380-1362 Regular hours: Tue-Fri 9:30AM-5:30PM • Sat 9:30AM-3PM
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