DEFIANCE -- Allison Marie Kite of Hopkins, MN and Jonathan William Hackbart of Plymouth, MN were married on August 20, 2016 at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Defiance. Father Guthrie Dolan performed the 3:30 p.m. double ring ceremony.    Allison is the daughter of EAnn and Dan Christensen, Defiance; and Michael and Lorraine Kite, Milton, FL. Jonathan is the son of James and Karen Hackbart, Plymouth, MN.

    MARYVILLE, MO -- Kimberly Dacy and Joshua Lefeber both of Maryville exchanged marriage vows on September 3, 2016 at St. Gregory Barbarigo Catholic Church in Maryville. The 3 p.m. double ring ceremony was performed by Father Martin De Meulenaere.        Parents of the couple are Paul and Amanda Dacy, Grandview, IA; and Dan and Charlene Lefeber, Portsmouth.

    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.

 MAPLETON -- To say that the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton girls basketball team regrouped at halftime Monday night would be an understatement. The third-rated Spartans trailed Akron-Westfield 33-20 during the intermission of their Class 1-A, Region 1 final in Mapleton, bearing little resemblance to the team that won its first two postseason games by an average of 45.5 points. Exira-EHK turned the ball over 11 times in the first half, struggled to

 Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton is making its third straight trip to Des Moines after reaching the 1-A state semifinals in 2015 and bowing out to Newell-Fonda in last year’s first round. The school’s communities have a strong history at the Girls State Tournament as EH-K qualified eight times (its final appearance in 1997) and Exira qualified six times, capped by a state title in 2010.