COUNTY – The Shelby County Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCC&I) is hosting a business plan competition, with the winner receiving $15,000 and second place $5,000 in business support.    Todd Valline, SCCC&I Executive Director, said the goal of the competition is to help a great business idea get off the ground to provide a product or service to Shelby County that is not currently available in the area.    “The Shelby County

    ANKENY – A Harlan native participated Friday, April 23 in the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) Fashion Institute’s seventh-annual Gala, held at the Ankeny Campus Black Box Theatre.    Cierra Hoegh, a 2020 Harlan Community High School graduate and first-year student at DMACC, created the Rainbow Luau design worn by fellow student Emma Sandberg.  Hoegh wore the Deco Dress designed by Sandberg at the live shows.    Hoegh just happene

    AVOCA --     The drive from Runk Wood’s Avoca home to his road construction job in Lincoln, NE, on April 20, 2021 quickly became a day he will never forget.    Between 5:30 a.m.-5:45 a.m., Wood was traveling on Interstate 80 coming into Council Bluffs and had just passed the Highway 6 exit when he saw in the distance what looked like the size of a basketball a fire in the median.    The Walnut native said  he is not one of these drivers th

    ELK HORN – Elk Horn’s Grace on Main restaurant was honored with an excellence in tourism award last week at the 2021 Iowa Tourism Conference.    The Italian eatery was named one of two outstanding dining businesses in the state.      A total of 25 award winners across 13 categories were announced during a ceremony Wednesday, April 28.

    COUNTY – Public health nurses Lori Hoch, Cathy Drury, Cathy Buman and Jane Klein have done a remarkable job of managing everything from public information and contact tracing to vaccination distribution and manning the phone lines during the past year.    They have worked one-on-one with the schools and long-term-care facilities.  They’ve done pharmacy runs for patients or picked up groceries for those who are sick and need food.  They coo

    HARLAN – Long-time Harlan Newspapers Family Living Editor Kim Wegener has announced her resignation effective this week after 35 years of service with the newspaper and Shelby County community.    Wegener said last week that she has accepted a position as features writer with Algona Publishing in Algona.  In her resignation, Wegener said the move allows her to be closer to family in northern Iowa.    “I am very thankful for the opportunity

    HARLAN – Elementary students in the Harlan Community Schools last week planted their first elementary garden, coordinated by Ellen Walsh-Rosmann, Director of Wellness, Food and Nutrition Services for the Harlan Community Schools.    The garden will provide opportunities for hands-on-learning, inquiry, observation and experimentation across the curriculum, motivate students to eat and love fruits and vegetables, promote physical activity an

    COUNTY – The youth in Shelby County are among the most prioritized and protected in the nation, according to a new ranking of the nation’s counties based on a variety of criteria including poverty, hunger, mortality, teen births, school dropout data and COVID-19 vulnerability.    The first-ever ranking of how each county in America protects and provides for its children reveals the most disadvantaged counties are mostly comprised of commun

    Harlan - Tiarks School of Dance, located on downtown Harlan’s square, is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year and capped off the year with their dance program entitled, Better When I’m Dancing  at the Harlan Community High School auditorium last weekend.    The show had been scaled back a little due to the COVID-19 pandemic.    Last year, the show was held outside on the downtown square due to the pandemic.More than 200 involved    M

    SHELBY – The City of Shelby has filed a petition in Shelby County District Court seeking title to an abandoned property in the city limits of Shelby.    The property is located at 204 Plateau Street, and includes a building which is abandoned, vacant, and dilapidated according to Chapter 657A.10(3) of the Iowa Code.    Respondents in the petition include Keith Cyr, Sharon Cyr, Shelby County, and other persons in possession.    Keith Cyr an

    MANNING – The IKM-Manning and Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton School Boards and Superintendent Trevor Miller have signed off on a superintendent sharing agreement for the 2021-22 school year that will slightly change the number of hours Miller will serve each district.    Each board has approved the agreement, that will allow for a 70/30 sharing agreement as opposed to the current 80/20 agreement.    “70/30 will allow me to be at Exira-EHK one a

    HARLAN -- According to the latest economic impact study by the Iowa Hospital Association, Myrtue Medical Center generates 724 jobs that add $30.2 million to Shelby County’s economy.    The business and household needs of hospitals and their employees creates a “multiplier” effect that supports thousands of additional jobs.

    HARLAN --  Work has begun this month on the 7th Street Bridge project in north Harlan with demolition work.    The project includes a 70 foot long by 24 foot wide, two-lane concrete slab bridge with some water main relocation, grading and a detour route for residents to the north to navigate while the construction is being completed.    Some of the bridge components are being salvaged and provided to the Shelby County Trails Committee.    

    DES MOINES -- Harlan FFA members traveled to the Iowa State FFA Leadership Conference in Des Moines on April 18-20 to compete and participate in various activities. This year Harlan FFA had 34 students in attendance.    A total of 5,000 FFA members, advisors and guests across Iowa gathered for the 93rd Iowa FFA Leadership Conference.

    HARLAN – Auditions for the Harlan Community Theatre’s summer production of Beauty and the Beast will be held Monday-Tuesday, May 3-4 at 6:30 p.m. at Harlan Community High School.    The musical marks the return of the Harlan Community Theatre following a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.