COUNTY – The crazy spring weather has wreaked havoc on the county’s gravel and dirt road systems, and hopes are that sunshine and warm temperatures this weekend will help the roads heal from a winter that hasn’t been particularly kind.    “Right now the roads are in tough shape,” Shelby County Engineer Dan Ahart said this week.  The two weeks of warm temperatures toward the end of February followed by rain, snow, ice, colder temperatures,

    CHICAGO, IL -- McKenna Boardman and Ellen Keast from Harlan Community High School Student Council joined thousands of other student leaders at a Leadership Experience and Development (LEAD) Conference in Chicago, IL on February 10-12.    LEAD Conferences offer experiential leadership skills development to students and advisers, and are a program of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), which also administers the

    HARLAN – Five individuals were arrested and charged with various drug-related crimes following a bust at a Harlan residence last week.    Shelby County Sheriff reports indicate that on Monday, Feb.

    STATE – The Iowa Department of Public Health Bureau of Health Statistics is taking steps to exchange any newborn birth certificate from May, 1993 to October, 2009, where the birth certificate is a small, wallet-sized card.    The newborn birth certificate wallet cards issued during this time period did not contain enough vital record information to be used for identification purposes, essentially making them less valuable for the purpose t

    HARLAN – Family, friends and community members turned out Friday, Feb. 24 to honor Shelby Countians at the annual Shelby County Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s awards banquet, including Roger Schmitz who was named Shelby County Volunteer/Citizen of the Year.    Also honored were a number of other award winners, including Non-Profit Business of the Year, Business of the Year, and New Business of the Year.

    HARLAN -- The City of Harlan will pay former city administrator Terry Cox $19,388.08 for unused sick leave and an additional $2,120 in attorney fees.    The Harlan City Council approved the settlement last Tuesday and authorized Harlan Mayor Kate Kohorst to sign the agreement.    Kohorst explained that the city had received a letter threatening litigation in regard to the payment of Cox’s unused sick leave.    “We proceeded to meet with co

    COUNTY -- Shelby County Emergency Management announced this week that it will again be issuing local fire danger assessments for the spring season.    Bob Seivert, Shelby County Emergency Management Director, said despite the recent snow and rain, there have been several grass and brush fires, especially when the weather was warmer in February.    “With the record breaking and unseasonably high heat, dead vegetation is extremely flammable,

    COUNTY – County officials have pushed back a review of budget options until today with hopes of finalizing a 2017-18 budget plan and holding a public hearing on the budget proposal March 14.    Shelby County Auditor Mark Maxwell, who also serves as budget director, said he’s been working diligently to develop budget proposal options for the county’s board of supervisors to review, but hadn’t yet finalized those options as of last week when

DES MOINES -- For the second time in three years, Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton has reached the semifinals of the Girls State Basketball Tournament.

    HARLAN -- The Harlan Community Schools raised more than $250 last Tuesday evening for The Native Fund.  As part of the fundraiser, some staff were recipients of a pie in the face, including vocal director Chase Schoemaker.  Administering the blow is junior Kara Rueschenberg.  HCHS’s Ellen Keast is president of the Iowa Association of Student Councils, and said each year the group partners with a non-profit organization to help raise funds,

    ELK HORN – The first-annual Tivoli Fest World Aebleskiver Eating Championships will be held this year during the Tivoli Fest celebration in Elk Horn, with hopes of bringing professional eaters from across the nation to the community to show off their eating skills.    Major League Eating and International Federation of Competitive Eating officially have sanctioned the event, announcing it as a “delicious new culinary discipline” to add to

    HARLAN -- The Harlan Municipal Utilities and the City of Harlan will be increasing their contributions to the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce and Industry, following actions this past week.    The HMU Board has agreed to increase its industrial development contribution from $25,000 to $40,000 beginning with the HMU fiscal year July 1. Management said the money would come equally from the electric and gas utilities budgets.

    IRWIN -- Three students and one adult were injured when a school bus and wide load vehicle collided in foggy conditions east of Irwin Tuesday, Feb. 21.    Shelby County Sheriff reports indicate deputies were called out at about 8:15 a.m.

    COUNTY -- The finalists for the 2017 Shelby County Chamber of Commerce and Industry Awards have been announced, as follows:•  Business of the Year:  Milk & Honey, 4 Seasons Travel, Beauty N the Beast.•  New Business of the Year:  Living Well Home Care and American Wealth Group.•  Non-Profit Business of the Year:  Salem Lutheran Homes and Rehabilitation Center, and West Central Community Action.•  Citizen/Volunteer of the Year:  Roger S

    HARLAN -- Myrtue Medical Center and Harlan Community School are collaborating together to provide a free community educational “notMYkid…or is it? What We Don’t Know” seminar, slated for Thursday, March 2 from 6-8 p.m. at the Harlan Community High School auditorium.