HARLAN -- Harlan city council members and other city officials have been named to committees for the 2018 calendar year, as approved by the council in late December.    Following is a list of the city committees and those persons serving on the committees: 

HARLAN -- After reviewing in detail the bids received for new heating and AC units for the Exchange Street substation, the Harlan Municipal Utility board rescinded their approval to Camblin Plb-Htg and awarded the contract to Petsche Mechanical.    The original Camblin bid did not include the electrical work for the units, and once added, the Petsche bid was lower.    In other somewhat awkward action and discussion, the Board approved the bid

HARLAN -- The Harlan Municipal Utilities has released their list of wages paid in 2017.    The list, comprised of 37 individuals who received wages the past year, shows over half of the employees made over $50,000.    The top 10 include: Kenneth Weber, $126,878; James Gedwillo, $80,027; David Goede, $74,261; Kenneth Holloway, $73,165; Douglas Hammer, $71,472;    Stephen Gessert, $67,033; Darwin Gessert, $64,262; Dean Gessert, $63,434; Richard

STATE -- Influenza spread and severity is building in Iowa, as the Iowa Department of Public Health reported four new influenza-related deaths today: an elderly (81+ years of age) female and older adult (61 to 80 years of age) female in Southeast Iowa; an elderly female in Northeast Iowa; and an elderly male in Northwest Iowa.    Since October 2017, a total of 14 influenza-related deaths have been reported.

REGIONAL -- Blizzard conditions greeted Shelby County residents Thursday morning, Jan.

COUNTY – The well-being of Shelby County children continues to be better than average, according to the National Kids Count Initiative sponsored by the Annie E.

HARLAN – Twenty thousand pounds of produce had to be distributed and donated to regional food outlets last week after the heat went out at a local business New Year’s weekend.    Farmtable Procurement and Delivery staff and volunteers spent parts of last week loading and delivering squash, onions and sweet potatoes to local food banks, food rescue and soup kitchens in Nebraska and Iowa, so the produce wouldn’t go to waste after the building in

    HARLAN -- Gary Hans Christiansen, 80, Harlan, died January 10 at CHI Health - Creighton.    Services are pending at Pauley Jones Funeral Home in Harlan.    Christiansen was a former mayor of Harlan, serving the city for 12 years from January 1, 2000-December 31, 2011.

DES MOINES - Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 2.9 percent for November. The last time the rate was this low was in December 2000. The state’s jobless rate was 3.5 percent one year ago. The U.S. unemployment rate remained at 4.1 percent in November. 

Here are just a few photographs from 2017.

COUNTY -- Welcome to the 2018 New Year’s Baby Natalie Kay Harrison, born Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 4:14 a.m.

ELK HORN - Late Christmas Eve, a visitor from afar left a package at the Danish Windmill in Elk Horn. Instead of Santa, it was historic millwright Ben Hassett from Louisville, KY who delivered the Windmill’s long-awaited new White Oak wind shaft.    The wind shaft is one of the components of the historic restoration project underway at the Windmill so it can return to being a functional working mill.

HARLAN -- Dave Tyrrel will be the Harlan Municipal Utilities Board of Trustees chairman starting Jan.

COUNTY -- Shelby County is teaming up with Live Healthy Iowa to improve the health of the county’s residents and improve its overall ranking in the newly released Active Index.    Live Healthy Iowa’s 10-Week Wellness Challenge provides participants with a fun opportunity to be active while engaging in a simple and affordable, team-based challenge.    For just $22, each participant receives access to a personal dashboard to record progress, set

HARLAN -- Committee appointments for the Myrtue Medical Center Board of Trustees for 2018 have been released. Jim Zimmerman will serve as chairman of the board of trustees. Additional officers and board members include Terry Torneten, vice chair; Rick Rasmussen, secretary/treasurer; Jeanine Larsen, Leona Konz, Kelli Klaassen and Allan Hjelle.