Thursday, March 28, 2024
Vol. 159, Issue 13
Decorah, Iowa 52101 www.decorahnewspapers.com
One Section email: news@decorahnewspapers.com
Price One Dollar phone: 563-382-4221
fax: 563-382-5949
Pawns in Winneshiek Dairy Banquet is April 12 motion, kings in power The 61st Annual Winneshiek County Dairy Banquet will be Friday, April 12, at the Festina Community Center. The meal will be served from 7 to 8 p.m., with the awards program starting at 8 p.m. The meal will consist of beef brisket, baby reds, honey glazed carrots, strawberry fluff, brownies and ice-cream served by U2 BBQ Catering. Dairy Herd Information Association (DHIA) awards, several individual awards and scholarships will be handed out, along with the crowning of this year’s royalty. Tickets will be available at the door the night of the banquet.
Fourteen-year-old Fox Lana contemplates his next move in a chess game held during a recent meeting of the Decorah Sjakklubb (Chess Club). Lana, who hopes to be a grandmaster one day, is an ever-present figure at the city’s chess club meetings as well as a member of the Iowa Pawn Stormers traveling scholastic chess team. INSET BELOW- Lana proudly displays his second place trophy from the 2022 Dubuque Scholastic Open. (submitted) By Becky Walz
E
ight pawns, two knights, two bishops, two rooks, one queen and one king all mean just one thing — chess. Introduced in the 15th century in southern Europe, it is now the most popular game and growing everywhere, including Decorah which has a club with approximately 20 members. Five years ago, Fox Lana sat down for his very first game with his dad, Scott, and was soon hooked. “I wasn’t the greatest and I actually got destroyed. But now I like the strategy behind the game of chess and how far players calculate ahead to make moves. I just love the sheer fun of it and it’s really addicting,” said the Decorah middle schooler. “I have won a game in two moves, and I have played a game where I made more than 100 moves. Skill is a factor that is somewhat predictable, but even the most skilled chess players can lose to weaker opponents.” Chess club Receiving his first chess set from his father in 2019, Lana’s interest in the game continued to grow and he joined the Decorah Chess Club in 2021 as one of the youngest members. The group, which meets Wednesday evenings and some Saturday afternoons, now includes a player in elementary school. The Decorah teen also joined the Pawn Stormers Traveling Chess Team in Cedar Rapids to compete in tournaments throughout the Midwest. Its 16 members range from ages seven to 18 and meet virtually every Thursday and once a month in person. “During the virtual meetings, our two coaches instruct us, and as a group we share different tactics and analyze each member’s highlighted games
from tournaments and competitions,” explained Lana. “At the monthly meeting, we have matches in person and chat with one another about strategies and positions, and we also do a simul, where each player has a board set up and the two instructors split up and play a game with every member.” Aside from playing in clubs, Lana plays online regularly as well and said he has competed a g a i n s t individuals in Vatican City, Brazil, Russia, India and China. He favors two websites — chess.com and lichess.com. Throughout the 2023-24 Pawn Stormers season, the team traveled around the Iowa/Wisconsin/ Illinois area to attend competitions. Lana placed in the top three at every tournament he attended, earning cash prizes, medals and trophies. At the season’s last tournament held the first week of March in Schaumburg, Ill., Lana not only placed first overall in his division, he swept the tournament by being the only player out of 80 child and adult contestants to win all five matches he played.
Princess candidates Kelsey Timp is the 16-year-old daughter of Robin and Brett Timp. She has two sisters and one brother and is a junior at South Winneshiek High School. She works for Irish Grove Dairy where they milk 200 cows and sell their milk to Foremost Farms. Her sponsor is Farmer’s Union Co-Op. Hanna Vagts is the 16-year-old daughter of Sara and Derrick Vagts. She has one sister and one brother and is a junior at South Winneshiek High School. She works for Walz Dairy where they milk 160 cows and sell their milk to Wapsie Valley. She also milks for Irish Grove Dairy where they milk 200 cows and sell their milk to Foremost Farms. Hanna is active in volleyball, SODA, Holstein Association, Hereford Association, Youth Beef Team, FFA and a seven-year member of the Co-Champions 4-H Club where she has been secretary and treasurer. After high school, Hanna plans on attending Iowa State for Ag Business/ Dairy Science. Her sponsor is South Winn Vet Clinic.
Little Miss Squirt candidate Marian Elsbernd is the nine-yearold daughter of Jay and Leslie Elsbernd. She has two brothers and one sister and is a third grader at Notre Dame in Cresco. Marian’s family milks 155 cows and sells their milk to Foremost Farms. They also farm 500 acres of corn, beans and hay. Marian takes piano lessons, serves at Mass and is in 4-H. She helps on the farm by feeding calves and watching gates. Her hobbies include reading, coloring and riding her bike. Little Mr. Herdsman candidates Henry Balk is the nine-year-old son of Gerald and Sarah Balk. He has two brothers and is a third grader at Trinity Catholic School. His family milks 35 cows and sells their milk to Prairie Farms. They also have 350 acres of corn, beans and hay as well as beef cows. Henry helps on the farm with milking and bedding cows and feeding calves. His hobbies include farming with his dad and playing with farm toys. He also helps out at church. Jared Schmitt is the nine year-old son of Andy and Jessica Schmitt. He has two brothers and one sister and is a third grader at Trinity Catholic School. His family milks 120 cows and they sell their milk to Wapsie Valley. They also have corn, beans and alfalfa. On the farm, Jared helps by scraping the holding pen, bedding and feeding calves, stacking hay and straw, helping out during chopping, driving the grain cart and picking rock. His hobbies include working on projects on the farm, riding his bike and talking farm with his buddies. Kolton Gallagher is the nine-year-
Kelsey Timp
Hanna Vagts
Marian Elsbernd
Henry Balk
Jared Schmitt
Kolton Gallagher
old son of Patrick and Carlena Gallagher. He has one brother and one sister and is a third grader at Mabel-Canton. His family milks 40 cows and sell their milk to DFA. They also have 150 acres of corn and alfalfa. On the farm, Kolton helps with feeding heifers, scraping and milking cows. His hobbies include football, riding in the tractor and going to dairy shows. He is active in dairy judging, showing dairy calves and 4-H.
County Public Health staff ‘terrified’ after March 7 supervisors discussion Kelsay seeks to eliminate duplication of services By Zach Jensen
The Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors is looking for ways to cut costs, and Public Health Administrator Krista Vanden Brink reported during the March 25 supervisors meeting that her staff was “terrified” after the supervisors’ discussion of the issue earlier this month. Monday’s meeting with the supervisors was the second time that Vanden Brink’s met with them this month. During the March 7 supervisors meet-
ing, the supervisors began asking Vanden Brink what the county is getting for its money. Winneshiek County pays $740,000 per year for its public health services, while Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette and Howard counties, which all rely on hospitals for their public health services, each pay less than $170,000 annually. Vanden Brink essentially told the supervisors that comparing Winneshiek County to Allamakee and Howard counties is comparing apples to oranges. “Yes, they’re receiving less in coun-
ty tax dollars from their supervisors, but again, like I said before, the hospitals are paying way more money,” she explained. “They’re paying the wages for all of those staff. They’re paying the health insurance, and that money isn’t enough to take care of the entire agency. They’re also doing a lot more home care. “We have a workforce problem in
Visit us online - www.decorahnewspapers.com
Visit us online - www.decorahnewspapers Public Health
More about the game For those who haven’t played chess, Lana described it as players try to protect the king by strategically placing pieces on squares around the perimeter of it. Each player analyzes opponent’s movements and try to predict movements in order to either strengthen their own defense or strategize an effective offense. “White always goes first, and the goal is to protect your king from being captured by your opponent. All pieces can protect all the pieces, and they can attack any pieces on the opponent’s
Chess continued on page 2
continued on page 4
3-2 vote sends Freeport property sale issue back to the drawing board Vick, Faldet and Vermace vote to reject bids By Zach Jensen Freeport residents may be breathing a sigh of relief after Monday’s meeting of the Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors, during which Supervisors Co-Chair Mark Vick, along with Supervisors Shirley Vermace and Mark Faldet, voted in favor of rejecting the bids received for the purchase of 7.21 acres of land designated as “floodway fringe”. The two bids were opened Monday, March 18 following a public hearing on the issue, which has been a source of discourse among Freeport residents
for approximately the last six months. Freeport residents, along with other county citizens, have implored the supervisors not to sell the land. Their concern is that building anything on the land, that isn’t on stilts, would obstruct the natural flow of floodwaters in that area and could potentially cause worse flooding than what the community has experienced in the past. But, Vick didn’t vote to reject the bids for that reason. Instead, the Supervisors Co-Chair voted against the bids simply because they weren’t high enough. According to information presented
Visit us online - www.decorahnewspapers.com
in previous meetings, the 7.21 acres of Freeport land was reportedly originally assessed at an approximate value of $35,000 per acre or about $250,000 for the whole parcel. The bids opened during the March 18 meeting were in the amount of $142,000 from Iowa Rotocast Plastics, Inc. and $177,450 from Ren Properties, LLC, owned by Russell Novak of Novak Electric. “Two-fifty (thousand) is where I was at,” Vick said. “That’s the figure I had in my mind. That’s what I had in the
Freeport property
continued on page 6