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www.driftlessjournal.com | news@driftlessjournal.com | 563-382-4221 | Tuesday, April 4, 2023 | Vol. 5 Issue 14

Allamakee locations join six-county NEIA Greenhouse kickoff tour May 6-7

Passing the crowns...

The crowns were passed on to the 2023 Winneshiek County Dairy royalty at the 60th annual Dairy Banquet in Festina Saturday night. The 2022 and 2023 royalty are pictured together following the coronation including front (l-r): 2022 Little Mr. Herdsman Blake Elsbernd, 2022 Little Miss Squirt Reagen Gallagher, 2023 Little Miss Squirt Emerson Wemark and 2023 Little Miss Squirt Claire Elsbernd. Back: 2022 Alternate Dairy Princess Anna Dietzenbach, 2022 Little Miss Squirt Addison Elsbernd, 2022 Dairy Princess Addison Wemark, 2023 Dairy Princess Kendra Elsbernd and 2023 Alternate Dairy Princess Avery Humpal. More photos of the award winners will be published in the Thursday, April 6, Public Opinion. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Becky Walz)

Jones’ Fillmore County court dates moved to June Allamakee arson charges approved

in that.” Jones requested permission to speak, and once granted, stated, “I just wanted to apologize. I read the paper wrong and was looking at the last one [date].”

By Kate Klimesh At the Fillmore County Courtroom in Preston, Minn., the judge, attorneys and staff were awaiting the arrival of Mindy Jones to her Omnibus Hearing and Settlement Trial Monday, March 27, at 1 p.m. Public Defender Milind B. Shah had been assigned to Jones’ case just that day; her application for a public defender was ﬁled March 24 and Judge Jeremy Clinefelter ordered a public defender be assigned March 27. Frustration was felt among those in the courtroom as Jones did not attend her hearings in-person as required, but instead attended via Zoom. Jones was then warned by the judge

Mindy Jones that she is expected to attend all in-person hearings physically in-person. Fillmore County Attorney Brett Corson stated, “This is not the ﬁrst time she has not appeared in-person when ordered.” Judge Clinefelter replied, “I share your frustration

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automatically. The new website has been built by Calmar’s Iroc Web and Graphic Design with a more user-friendly interface and design. Driftless Multimedia appreciates viewers’ understanding as they transition their website to its new interface. Full function will be restored as soon as is possible. The website will be accessible through www.driftlessjournal.com or www. decorahnewspapers.com.

Rescheduled dates The Omnibus Hearing is for 33 separate felony charges alleging that Jones had deposited 11 of the victim’s checks without the victim’s knowledge into various Harmony, Minn., bank accounts belonging to Jones or Jones’ business ventures, totaling $37,138.50. Jones had been living with the victim near Cresco at the time of the incidents, resulting in a total of 33 felony counts of theft, theft by check, theft by swindle, receiving stolen property and check forgery. The Settlement Hearing is for 14 counts of felony theft by swindle, theft by check, theft over $5,000 et al, Theft – take without consent and issue dishonored check for allegedly writing $34,000 in bad checks to the victim for merchandise received by Jones to be sold at Jones’ business. Both the Settlement Hearing and the Omnibus Hearing have been rescheduled for an in-person date of Thursday, June 8, at 2 p.m. Following the Settlement Hearing June 8, Jones will have a jury trial beginning Monday, June 19, at 9 a.m., in Preston,

Just in time for Mother’s Day weekend, the Northeast Iowa Greenhouse Season Kickoff offers a wide range of offerings all across northeast Iowa. In Allamakee County, four greenhouses will join the slate of locations, including Beechy’s Greenhouse, Hochstetler’s Greenhouse and Pop’s Produce in Waukon and Windy Pines Greenhouse in Dorchester. Established by the Northeast Iowa Tourism Association, the greenhouse self-guided tour allows participants to experience over 1,000 ﬂowers, plants and more at greenhouses across Allamakee, Chickasaw, Clayton, Fayette, Howard and Winneshiek counties. In Allamakee County, the four greenhouses have rich traditions of growing and gardening, with products ranging from seeds, shoots and vegetable starters for gardening, hanging baskets, annuals and perennials, shrubbery, trees, as well as a full complement of decorations, pots, mulch, soil, compost and more. Some, like Pop’s Produce, even offers fresh produce in season, with melons, peaches and garden items. It seems more people have taken up gardening since the COVID-19 pandemic, and with increasing prices at the grocers, visit local greenhouses early to get the best selection. Greenhouses have reported a noticeable increase in people wanting to get out, take care of their yards and garden to grow their

Jones trial update continued on page 10

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own food since the lockdowns of 2020. They’ve also adapted to meet the increased demand. Stacy Linderbaum of Windy Pines Greenhouse noted, “Each year, we try to grow more kinds of tomatoes and peppers, and other vegetables and ﬂowers as we can to offer more plants and a better selection of varieties.” She also noted that while the ﬁrst weekend in May might be a bit early in the growing season for planting outside, it is still a great time to travel around, enjoy the beauty of the region with friends and family, and see for yourself what’s available at different greenhouses. “In the various greenhouses, we all seem to grow something a little different, and we all experiment with new plants. You can get an idea of what’s out there, and always come back to pick up those items that can be planted when the soil is warmer,” she said.

Linderbaum assured that there is no such thing as a brown thumb, “Have patience and know you may fail, but keep at it and learn what works and you’ll get it.” She suggested that those less familiar with gardening can always ask the folks working at the greenhouse for suggestions on getting started. The most important part is to have fun and get out of the house. The full listing of Greenhouse Season Kickoff self-guided tour participants is located online at www.visitiowa.org/uploads/2023-greenhouse-guideweb.pdf. Most greenhouses offer ﬂats for purchases, but having an empty milk crate in the trunk can keep plants from tipping over on the greenhouse tour travels. Set that on a plastic tarp or trash bag to keep the trunk clean.

The excited foursome of Hattie, Martha, Kaden and Tim get ready to rumble at the 2023 Youth Mentoring Bowl-A-Thon. (submitted photo)

Successful Youth Mentoring Bowl-A-Thon

Helping Services for Youth & Families announced results from the community’s support of the 2023 Youth Mentoring Bowla-Thon held Sunday, March 26, at King Pin Entertainment Center in Decorah. Local sponsors and 52 bowlers raised $8,400 to provide caring adult role models for youth in Allamakee, Howard and Winneshiek counties. There were many cheers as bowlers experienced strikes, spares and even

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Pop’s Produce of Waukon is one of four featured Allamakee County greenhouses on the May 6-7 greenhouse tour. (submitted photo)

gutter balls. Youth Mentoring in Allamakee, Howard, and Winneshiek counties provides an adult mentor to youth ages six to 16. Mentors spend a minimum of four hours a month with a youth doing simple things together. For information on mentoring at Helping Services, contact Kathy or Colinne at 563387-1720, mentoring@helpingservices.org, or visit www.helpingservices.org/mentoring.

In the most recent Decorah Public Opinion: • 2023 Nordic Fest Theme announced • Iowa School bathroom law discussed • Helping Services celebrates 50 years of service • Obituaries, law enforcement reports, legal publications & more!

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Vol. 158, Issue 13

Decorah, Iowa 52101 www.decorahnewspapers.com

One Section email: news@decorahnewspapers.com

WCHPC receives Country School Association of America award The Winneshiek County Historic Preservation Commission’s recently published tour book, “A Self-Guiding Tour of Country Schools of Winneshiek County Iowa,” has been chosen as winner of the 2023 Country School Association of America (CSAA) Scholarship and Artistry Award for the best essay, book, website, video or other published work on an aspect of country schooling. According to the CSAA Director, Joan

The Decorah Public Opinion publishes Thursdays.

Prouty, “The Scholarship and Artistry Committee commends the efforts of all involved to put this tour book together. Your compilation resulted in a wonderful publication for community citizens and tourists to locate these rural icons.” WCHPC Chair Steve Johnson stated a formal presentation of this award with a certiﬁcate and the $300 award will be held on June 13 during the 2023 Annual Country School Association of America’s Conference in Lancaster, Penn. WCHPC has been invited to deliver a presentation at

the June conference. According to Johnson, “Our current goal by publishing this book is to inform and alert the public to the role country schools played in our county’s development and history. The commission believes this publication will create a greater awareness of these once rural icons for our community citizens and visiting tourists.” The award-winning tour guides are available for purchase at Dragonﬂy Bookstore, Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce and Winneshiek County Historical Society.

Call 563-382-4221 to start your subscription today! DMS students head to NHD state competition

NHD state qualiﬁers (l-r): Thatcher Brown, Noah Potvin, Olivia Rissman, Jillian Volz, Naomi Kutz, Jayden Lundtvedt, Emma Cline, Myla Leitz, Olivia Volkmann, Grace Stockman, Kaelyn Kuhn and Nina Sessions. (submitted photo)

Several eighth grade Decorah Middle School students participated in the regional National History Day (NHD) competition Tuesday, March 22, at Northeast Iowa Community College where 12 students were recognized as ﬁnalists and will participate at the state meet in Des Moines Monday, April 24. This year’s theme was “Frontiers in History: People, Places,

Individual performance 1st place: Jillian Volz: Martha Matilda Harper: A Frontier in Franchising (Individual Documentary) 1st place: Noah Potvin: Star Trek: Frontier in Diversity (Group Documentary) 1st place: Nina Sessions and Kaelyn Kuhn: Julia Child Individual exhibit

3rd place: Thatcher Brown: Froelich Tractor: Frontier in Modern Tractors. Special award – Iowa History: Thatcher Brown Individual websites 1st place: Naomi Kutz: Jane Bolin: Leading the Frontier for Equality in Law 2nd place: Olivia Rissman: Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa

Katherine Johnson: Mathematical Trailblazer Individual paper 1st place: Olivia Volkmann: Running Past Frontiers: Roberta “Bobbi” Gibb’s 1966 Boston Marathon 2nd place: Myla Leitz: Loving vs. Virginia 3rd place: Emma Cline: Newsboy Strike of 1899

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“Vikings and Gnomes and Trolls, Oh My!” The 2023 Nordic Fest Theme was unveiled this week: "Vikings and Gnomes and Trolls, Oh My!” The 56th Fest is scheduled for July 27-29, in Decorah. Ariana Cervantes, the 2023 Nordic Fest Board President, shared the announcement early this week, stating, "These Scandinavian symbols are part of our everyday life in Decorah; you can hardly walk a block downtown without seeing Vikings, gnomes or trolls featured in our local businesses and homes. From the Skjaldborg Viking Encampment in Heritage Park at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum to the Decorah Bank & Trust Co. trolls, Hans and Hilda, you’ll be sure to find these symbols featured throughout Nordic Fest as well.” Fest organizers said Vikings, gnomes and trolls have played significant roles in Scandinavian history and folklore, and the Nordic Fest Board hopes to continue to see them play big roles at Nordic Fest in 2023. In addition to highlighting ways in which Vikings, gnomes and trolls already have traditionally appeared at the Fest, businesses and organizations are also encouraged to incorporate them into other offerings and parade float entries this July.