Local News

The Clayton Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) honored the outstanding conservation efforts of local farm families during the annual awards banquet Dec. 7, at Freedom Bank in Elkader. This year’s award winners showcase a variety of conservation efforts, and each recipient provides an outstanding example of what people can do to protect the natural resources that everyone enjoys in northeast Iowa. The local awards program is co-sponsored by the Clayton County Farm Bureau. 

Jerome Sass received the 2016 Owner-Operator Award for the Clayton SWCD. Jerome owns and/or operates 300 acres in Monona Township, in northwest Clayton County. Over the last six years, he has implemented a combination of structural and management practices that reduce soil erosion and nutrient loss from his farm.  

By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor

The 93 MFL MarMac juniors and seniors in Tamara Butikofer’s pre-employment strategies class got a taste of the real world Dec. 1, as they participated in mock interviews for their potential careers.

For the interviews, students were split into four groups. Each group went into the gym for a half-hour, during which time the students were matched up with and interviewed by a local business person or Northeast Iowa Community College representative.

This was a new venture for MFL MarMac, Butikofer said.

“We do some mock interviews in class, but never this big,” she explained. 

By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor

This holiday season will be brighter—and warmer—for many MFL MarMac kids and families thanks to the Angels Helping Angels program. 

Established four years ago, when one of the organizers wanted to help a child in the district get a new winter coat, Angels Helping Angels matches “angels” in need of winter apparel, clothing, blankets, hygiene products, food and even holiday gifts with donor “angels” who have offered to provide those items.

The program has aided over 100 children (and some families) of varying ages and degrees of need in each of the last three years. In 2015, 165 local kids received help, and this year’s number of angel recipients is anticipated to be at or above that amount.

The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train will once again bring holiday cheer to the area as it stops in Marquette, at the marina parking lot, on Sunday, Dec. 4, at 2:45 p.m.

Now in its 18th year, the Holiday Train is adorned with thousands of lights depicting holiday scenes on 14 rail cars, one of which turns into a stage for musical performances.

However, putting on a dazzling light display is just half of the Holiday Train equation, as attendees are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item or monetary donation as admission.