HARLAN -- Myrtue Medical Center CEO Barry Jacobsen was awarded by the Myrtue Medical Center Board of Trustees a three-year renewal on his annual contract which included an 11.86 percent base salary increase to $230,000.    In addition in 2017, as part of Jacobsen’s incentive package, he received a $10,280 bonus for meeting his 2017 goals.    Following a recommendation by the compensation committee, the board of trustees voted to award Jacobsen

COUNTY – Employees of the Shelby County Emergency Management Association (EMA) who received positive performance evaluations will see their one percent merit raise effective January 1, 2018 after all.    The Shelby County Board of Supervisors voted 3-0 Tuesday, Jan.

HARLAN – Faith Sound, the interdenominational, contemporary music group based out of Harlan, is kicking off its concert season with performances in Harlan and the surrounding area during the next few months.    The first performance of the year was Sunday, Jan. 7 at 10:30 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Harlan.

SHELBY -- Carstens 1880 Farmstead, Inc. will hold its annual meeting on Tuesday, January 9 at the Shelby Community Hall in Shelby at 7:30 p.m.    An election for positions on the board of directors will be held. 

COUNTY – The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office’s fundraising efforts to raise monies for the purchase of a K9 officer to serve the county have been successful.  Hopes are the dog can be on duty in the first quarter of 2018, and plans are to fundraise to support a second K-9 unit in the future.    Sheriff Neil Gross said fundraising initially began in July and the community embraced the project.  “The goal was to interact with the community and ra

COUNTY – Shelby County has thrown its support behind an initiative to change the name of the East Branch of the West Nishnabotna River to the Avoca River.    “We are not changing the name of the East Nishnabotna River,” said Steve Kenkel, chairman of the Shelby County Board of Supervisors.  “It’s the East Branch of the West Nishnabotna River.  That’s very confusing.”    Kenkel said Shelby County received correspondence from the U.S.

REGIONAL – The Iowa Department of Education released its Iowa School Report Card this month, with area schools rating from high-performing to needs improvement on the new system’s scale.    Iowa’s schools are rated on certain educational measures, including math and reading proficiency, college and career ready growth and readiness, how many students are improving academically each year, efforts to close achievement gaps, graduation rates, att

REGIONAL – The number of registered sex offenders that call the greater Shelby County area their home has increased in the past two years, according to Iowa’s state sex offender registry.    Shelby County and areas surrounding the county have 31 registered sex offenders as of this month, as opposed to summer, 2016 when there were 26 registered sex offenders listed in the area.  Some offenders are new to the area while others remain on the list

REGIONAL – The annual weather summary from the Farmers Almanac says this winter will be milder than normal with more snow than average.    If December is any indication of the rest of the winter months to come, then the almanac may be accurate.  That’s despite those bitter cold temperatures in early December, but the rest of the month has been about normal.    The almanac paints a picture of the coldest temperatures of the winter in late Decem

The AHSTW Dance Team is entertaining this year at halftime of boys and girls basketball games. 

DES MOINES -- Maggie Hatcher, a longtime volunteer at the Principal® Charity Classic, presented by Wells Fargo, has been recognized as the 2017 PGA TOUR Champions “Volunteer of the Year.”    The award was announced in December during the TOUR’s annual meetings in Boca Raton, FL with Hatcher being selected as this year’s outstanding volunteer across all 26 PGA TOUR Champions events.

COUNTY -- Gene Gross, Chair of the Shelby County Community Foundation, announced that approximately $117,000 in grant funds are available for Shelby County nonprofit organizations and that applications are due no later than February 1, 2018.

Feature video: https://youtu.be/l9Juq-DAeUo Thank you speech: https://youtu.be/OKW5qEx925U

REGIONAL -- After having fallen in each of the three previous years, the average value of an acre of farmland in Iowa saw an increase in 2017. The average statewide value of an acre of farmland is now estimated to be $7,326.

HARLAN -- With half the school year now over, the four foreign exchange students at Harlan Community High School this year took a moment to share memories they have made during their first few months in Harlan.    Anna Bornhøft, Isa Marques and  Hannah Bläsius will be students at HCHS until May 2018.    Clara Brunner was scheduled to return home to Germany after Christmas.    Anna Ellegaard Bornhøft is from Denmark and she is residing with Sha