DES MOINES (Feb. 28) -- At least on paper, Wednesday’s Class 1A girls state basketball quarterfinal between Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton and AGWSR looks like a great 4 vs. 5-seed matchup. The 7th-ranked Spartans (23-1) and No. 8 Cougars (21-2) will tip things off at 3:15 p.m. inside Wells Fargo Arena as the second of four 1A first round games. The winner will return to Des Moines Friday at 1:30 for a semifinal against either No.

 HARLAN (Feb.

 CARROLL (Feb. 23) -- The IKM-Manning boys basketball team moved within one win of the state tournament on Friday night, defeating Tri-Center 51-42 in a Class 1A, District 15 final played at Kuemper Catholic. The game was postponed 24 hours due to inclement weather and the Wolves’ Substate 8 final vs. third-ranked Remsen St.

 COUNCIL BLUFFS (Feb. 20) -- The Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton boys got just the start they wanted in Tuesday’s district battle at St.

 WATERLOO (Feb. 19) -- Bowling just below his season average, Harlan Community sophomore Darren Stein placed 33rd out of 53 participants in the Class 1A Boys State Bowling Tournament held February 19 at Waterloo’s Cadillac Lanes. Competing as an individual qualifier, Stein rolled games of 155 and 203 for a total of 358, finishing one pin behind Shenandoah’s top two finishers, Jordan Ross and Aaron Whitslar.

 AVOCA (Feb. 19) -- The final chapter has yet to be written in the basketball storybook of Sophia Peppers and Kealey Nelson, but the plot thus far has certainly been well worth the read. Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton’s senior duo combined for 38 points and 19 rebounds Monday night, clinching a fourth consecutive trip to the Girls State Basketball Tournament as the seventh-ranked Spartans defeated No.

HARLAN - Last spring, an estimated 70 students received local scholarship awards from 48 sponsoring organizations, totaling close to $230,000 in funding.  In 2018 there are 11 new scholarships plus an additional 33 scholarships come from other sources which would likely bring the total to well over $500,000.  
 

    HARLAN – The Harlan Municipal Utilities Board of Trustees and members of AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) Iowa Council 61 have reached a tentative bargaining agreement.    The board and union representatives met in closed session in early February and came to a tentative three-year agreement.    Union employees will be granted a two percent salary increase per year for the next three years, on July 1, 2

    HARLAN -- Three Harlan Community High School speech students have qualified for the Iowa High School Speech Association state contest to be held next weekend in Nevada following outstanding performances at district competition recently. Jayden Swanson, Tim Mumm and Josh Rihner are heading on to state speech for their individual performances.      On February 24 the HCSD Individual Speech Team, under the direction of Ms.