REGIONAL -- Members of the Shelby County Farm Bureau approved a $5,000 donation to Loess Hills Agriculture in the Classroom (LHAITC) to support in-classroom programming, educational support, and teacher professional development.

    COUNTY – Shelby County has authorized ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds to pay for an imaging effort that will allow Shelby County Recorder documents to be available for public search online.    The county last month approved a bid from Cott Systems – Records Management Solutions of Ohio at a cost of approximately $148,000, with a $3,000 annual maintenance fee.    Funds for the project have been earmarked from the federal ARPA dollars

    AVOCA -- The City of Avoca took a step forward Tuesday night in the establishment of its budget for the 2023 fiscal year.    Following a public hearing in which no written or oral comments were received, the city council passed a resolution setting the maximum levy at 10.68259.    Tax dollars generated by the maximum levy are expected to cover projected costs on the following line items in the city budget: Regular General, $608,741; FICA a

    REGIONAL – A number of water systems in the Shelby County area, including Harlan Municipal Utilities (HMU), are being awarded at Water Fluoridation Quality Aware from the U.S.

    HARLAN -- The Harlan Community Library and Iowa State University Extension Shelby County are hosting their third-annual science fair Monday, Feb. 28 at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Harlan.    Coordinators are Emily Kurth-Christensen, Harlan Community Library; Mary Taggs, Shelby County Extension and Outreach; and Michael Christensen, Shelby County State Bank.    The fair will be open to the public from 6:30-7 p.m.

    HARLAN – Chad Kroger has been named Harlan’s Firefighter of the Year during ceremonies held at the annual Harlan Fire Department banquet and awards ceremony Saturday, Feb.

    Each day is a success. When the sun goes down, you may not be in the right spot to see it, but there is beauty and victory. Moving one foot in front of the other, taking the breath to face the next thing- the weight of success in these tasks is unmeasurable.    The loads people carry often go silently. People do not want to burden others, or they feel uncertain who they can ask. Factors in our time can isolate and divide.

    HARLAN -- Veda Tucker gave a presentation Tuesday morning, Feb. 15 to Harlan Community High School students about Rachel’s Challenge, the highly-effective violence and self-harm prevention program focusing on school culture and creating safer, more connected school communities.

    MANNING – IKM-Manning has had an incredible 23 students across four speech groups be nominated for all-state status and asked to perform at the all-state festival this weekend in Ames.    “Our kids did a super job at state and we received four All-State nominations -- the most our school has had in a single year for Large Group All-State,” said Judy Jacobsen, IKMM 4-12 Technology & At-Risk Instructor.    Congratulations to Emma Brannin

    HARLAN – It doesn’t look as if the Harlan Municipal Utilities is considering any sale of its telecommunications utility soon as it continues to gather data and information in an effort to position the utility better for its customers in the future.    HMU Board Chairman David Tyrrel said HMU currently doesn’t have an offer to purchase the telecom on the table, and that collectively “we are not entertaining an offer currently and we are not

    NEOLA – A teacher and coach in the Tri-Center (Neola) School District charged with sexual exploitation by a school employee and dissemination and exhibition of obscene materials to minors has had April 26 set as the date for her jury trial.    Ag/FFA Teacher and Girls Softball Coach Josie Mae McMinemee, 26, Shelby, had a preliminary hearing February 3, and will be arraigned on the charges March 14 in Pottawattamie County District Court.

    HARLAN – Harlan Community jazz musicians will have a unique opportunity to collaborate with some of Iowa’s finest college musicians when the University of Iowa Latin Jazz Ensemble comes to town April 9.    Through a partnership effort with the Western Iowa Regents Resource Center (WIRRC) and the UI Arts Outreach Program Arts Share, the group will host a clinic with the HCS jazz musicians and then present a concert that evening.    “We are

    NATIONAL --  In early April, 2021, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) began providing financial assistance for funeral expenses incurred after Jan. 20, 2020 for deaths related to coronavirus (COVID-19) to help ease some of the financial stress and burden caused by the               pandemic.
Full article in the Tribune!

    ELK HORN -- A standing room only crowd turned out Friday, Feb.

    COUNTY – Shelby County employees represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1014-2 and 1014-4 have presented their initial bargaining proposals to Shelby County as contract negotiations officially get under way.    Initial proposals from the union and counter-proposals from the county were exchanged Tuesday, Feb.