by Renée Brich, Lifestyles ELK HORN — Elk Horn will celebrate all things Danish American at the 43rd Annual Tivoli Fest Friday, May 26 and Saturday, May 27. Friday’s Happenings  The celebration begins Friday with a new event at the Fire Station, Olive or Twist from 3 - 11 p.m. Mixed drinks and Iowa, Denmark, and domestic beers will be available. Danish hot dogs will be for sale while supplies last starting at 6 p.m.

 HARLAN — Harlan drivers may experience road closures, as curb and gutter replacement is taking place primarily along various sections of Willow, Durant, and Baldwin Streets over the next couple of weeks, and will likely continue into the middle of June.   Harlan City Administrator Gene Gettys said following this initial work, the asphalt mill and overlay process will begin.

 SHELBY COUNTY — Shelby County voters will have the opportunity to voice their opinion on whether or not they feel funding emergency medical service (EMS) is essential. The Board of Supervisors has drafted a resolution and is asking for public response to declare EMS as an essential service in Shelby County at three separate public hearings, scheduled for May 23, June 6, and June 13, each at 10 a.m.

 STATEWIDE — A Harlan woman was instrumental in the recent passage of Iowa Legislation allowing the sale of raw milk. “Raw milk has been a part of our family since before we moved here,” Arkfeld said. When Esther Arkfeld’s ten-year-old daughter was an infant, she was unable to tolerate any baby formula. Since breast feeding was not an option, both the parents and their pediatrician were at a loss of ideas to help her thrive.

Elk Horn – On Thursday, May 11, Ripple Effect and Marne Elk Horn Telephone donated $10,000 to the City of Elk Horn for the city’s swimming pool house project. The donations will go towards the engineering costs of constructing a new ADA-compliant, family-friendly pool house facility.The swimming pool, built in 1966, is owned and operated by the City of Elk Horn. The original swimming pool and pool house were built using local donations.

 SHELBY COUNTY — Following two fires at the Carroll Landfill this past week, representatives at Carroll County Solid Waste are reminding residents to properly dispose of batteries. Both fires originated from crushed batteries in a semi-truck load of garbage that was transported to Carroll County Solid Waste from one of the West Central Iowa Solid Waste Agencies. Shelby County Solid Waste is one of four agencies in West Central Iowa forming the

 AREA — Michelle Cowan shares her journey through grief and healing in her self-published book Better not Bitter”. Cowan was born in Harlan and raised near Kirkman, one of Cecil and Ann Blum’s eleven children. “Our family roots are right there,” she said. Her family attended church at St.

HARLAN — Nurses at Myrtue Medical Center are being honored with The DAISY Award  For Extraordinary Nurses. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s program to express gratitude to nurses that perform extraordinary care and compassion every day.  The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes.

 AREA  — A seven-year-old dog who was found wandering in Kimballton last week has become the center of a battle between his original owners and the Animal Rescue League of Harlan. When James Charleston noticed the dog last week, he was “in awful condition,” James’ wife, Heather said. “He was scared and smelled like rotten meat. He could barely stand up and his bones were showing.

 HARLAN — The skies above Harlan will soon be buzzing with youth orientation flights. The Southwest Iowa Composite Squadron of Civil Air Patrol (CAP) will be hosting a Cadet Great Start Program for all  12-18 year old youth interested in joining its sublight (also known as Harlan Flight).

Harlan – The world is turning green as we move into spring, but it is not just the plants. Green is also the color for Mental Health Awareness Month, and Myrtue Behavioral Health is encouraging area residents to take this opportunity to reflect on their own mental health.Mental health challenges are very common, as 1 in 5 will have some kind of mental health condition in a given year.

SHELBY COUNTY — Shelby County is joining more than 125 other Iowa local entities who opted to show their support for Iowa Veterans by becoming an HBI community.Home Base Iowa is a one-of-a-kind program designed to connect veterans and transitioning service members with more than 2,300 businesses statewide who have pledged to hire veterans.

HARLAN — Harlan Community High School has hired Southwest Valley High School football coach Anthony Donahoo to be it’s new Athletic Director. Current AD Davis Pattee has stepped down from that role and will be taking on the role of principal at AHSTW.

 HARLAN — Former Harlan Community School District sixth grade social studies teacher Eric Robert Croghan, 31, of Harlan, was charged with sexual exploitation of a minor and with the purchase/possession of a depiction of a minor in a sexual act. The charges were filed May 8, and Croghan was taken into custody by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department and booked into the Shelby County Jail on a $7,000 bond. According to court documents, a search