MANNING — A former IKM-Manning middle school reading teacher accused of sexual abuse has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors. While employed with the school district, Cassidy Sue (Branning) Kraus, 24, allegedly “enaged in multiple sexually oriented acts with three different students, the youngest of which being 13 years old,” according to the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office. Kraus was arrested in October, and charged with Sexual Abuse i

HARLAN — Solutions for today’s challenges may lie within the unseen and unexplored trials. When Ezekiel “Zeke” Q. Christensen, a 16-year-old sophomore, signed up for the new iJAG class at Harlan Community High School in the fall of 2023, his friend mentioned it was an easy class with field trips.

 SHELBY COUNTY — Donald Trump won “The first in the Nation” Republican presidential caucus held throughout Iowa on Monday, in the coldest caucus on record. The former president secured 69% of the 477 votes cast in the Shelby County caucus, held at Veterans Auditorium. Florida Gov.

 HARLAN — Nori Griffith has joined the Harlan Newspaper staff as a graphic designer. Griffith received a Bachelor of Science in Media Communications with an emphasis in animation from John Paul the Great Catholic University north of San Diego, CA in Escondido in August 2023. Prior to attending college, she lived in Idaho and Nebraska, and was born in North Carolina. Her parents are both from Iowa and met attending Iowa State University.

 While searching through the digital archives of the Harlan Newspapers, I stumbled across a story from December 27, 1911. “Santa Claus Girl makes good report”, the headline read, “Christmas cheer bestowed on one hundred and twenty-six Harlan children” underneath. The article began by saying the week before Christmas, “The Santa Claus Girl” told her friends she wanted their help so no child in Harlan would be missed by Santa Claus.

 SHELBY COUNTY — The Shelby County Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Omaha Community Foundation, is pleased to announce that grant applications are now being accepted from organizations providing charitable services in Shelby County. As part of this spring grant cycle, approximately $135,000 is available to support Shelby County nonprofit organizations and community projects.

 HARLAN — The wall by the Christmas tree in the home of Patrick and Lorene (Lori) Pucelick is full of family photos. “We have one son, Lucas,” Patrick said. “And our daughters are Clara and 14 others.

 HARLAN — Benedetta (Benny) Migliori has seen more snow in the few months she has been in Iowa than she has ever seen in her lifetime. “I just love the snow,” the 17-year-old from Sicily said. While it is possible for Italy’s largest island to have snow, it usually occurs in the mountains, not in the area where Benny lives. “I can’t wait for it to snow again,” she said.

 DES MOINES — Four members of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department were amongst the six honored for acts of bravery at the 2023 Governor’s Lifesaving Awards and Sullivan Brothers’ Award of Valor ceremony held at the State Capitol Building Monday, December 18. “The greatness of our state  really does lie in our people. Iowans are brave, they’re big-hearted and generous,” Gov. Reynolds said during the ceremony.

 MANNING — Blue Bird Corporation, the leader in electric and low-emission school buses, and IKM-Manning Community School District displayed the school district’s first electric school bus this week during an open house. The school district chose to add an electric bus to its 15-school bus fleet because it wanted a cleaner, emission-free bus.“We’ve heard a lot of great things about the Blue Bird Vision Electric school bus.

AREA — Alayna Hansen is the new Ag in the Clasroom Coordinator for the Loess Hills Area Farm Bureau. “I have a passion for agriculture, and I love to share my knowledge with the students and the teachers”, Hansen said. The main goal of Loess Hills Ag in the Classroom is to help teachers in Carroll, Crawford, Harrison, Shelby, and West Pottawattamie Counties integrate agriculture into science and social studies learning, Hansen said. Through cr

AREA — The holiday season can be a stressful time for many, but for the nearly 100,000 dementia caregivers in Iowa the holidays can be especially challenging.

SHELBY COUNTY —  Chief Judge Stephanie Rose, of the Federal Southern District of Iowa, issued a permanent injunction Monday, December 4 to block zoning ordinances in Shelby and Story Counties. However, Shelby County Board of Supervisor Steve Kenkel said the judge only changed the injunction from temporary to permanent until a ruling on the lawsuit is made. The lawsuit is scheduled for January. “They have not ruled, it’s on pause.

 HARLAN —  The Harlan City Council voted to accept the retirement of City Clerk/Finance Director Jane Smith at its meeting Tuesday, December 5. “It’s been a great team to work with,” Smith said. Smith will officially retire April 1, 2023, and has agreed to continue to work with the city until a replacement is found.

 SHELBY COUNTY — The Board of Supervisors approved Shelby County  Engineer Brandon Burmeister’s resignation at the Board meeting Tuesday, December 5. “This decision was not an easy one,” Burmeister stated. “An opportunity has presented itself, and I feel this change will be beneficial to my long-term career goals and objectives.” Burmeister was appointed Shelby County Engineer in November 2017 after Dan Ahart retired.