HARLAN  —  A Harlan family recently brought a new life into the world with help from a lifelong friend. Matt and Mary Hoch’s daughter, Ruth, was born October 23, 2022. Ruth’s birth story, however, began over three and a half years ago when the Mary gave birth to her daughter, Hazel. Mary had a previously undiagnosed medical condition, which caused Hazel to be born a month premature.

 By Elizabeth A. Elliott,Editor    HARLAN – An annual tradition is returning to Shelby County as Catholics enter the season of Lent. Fish – baked and fried – will be coming to a parish near you.    St. Michael’s Church in Harlan and St. Joseph’s Church in Earling are hosting fish fries again this year.    To do so takes preparation and team effort. At St.

    DES MOINES – The steps outside of the Iowa State Capitol were awash in a sea of red shirts and signs held high against eminent domain and the potential of CO2 pipelines being built throughout the state.    “(Tuesday) was the big carbon pipeline opposition rally and lobby day.

 HARLAN — Several eighth-graders from Harlan Community Middle School saw the sights in Washington, D.C. this past week.

 By Elizabeth A. Elliott,    Editor    HARLAN — The Shelby County Chamber of Commerce & Industry hosted its 2023 Annual Awards Banquet on Friday at the Harlan Golf & Country Club.With the theme Run for the Roses, guests networked, dined and celebrated Shelby County. Following dinner, guests played 50/50 Heads or Tails and Generational Trivia, followed by the awards ceremony.

    Staff Reports    HARLAN – Michele Monson, RNC-OB, manager of Myrtue’s Birthing Center, was selected as one of the Great Iowa Nurses for 2023 for routinely going above and beyond to ensure safe, compassionate nursing care.    “I am honored to receive the Great Iowa Nurse award. All Great Iowa Nurses are surrounded by other great nurses,” Monson said.

HARLAN —  Producers Livestock Marketing Association, based in Omaha, Neb., announced that Tim Meyer has been named as its new CEO. Meyer will be succeeding Rick Keith, who will be retiring on February 20.    Meyer, a native of a Holstein family farm and long time Harlan resident, has been with the firm since 2012 and serving 10 years as the Senior V.P. of their Producers Livestock Credit Corp. division.

MANNING — Voters in  the IKM-Manning School District will be asked to vote March 7 on the use of $7.9 million in school infrastructure sales service and tax revenue bonds for a series of construction and renovation projects at the Manning campus. If approved, the measure would use the Secure and Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) monies, also known as the statewide one-cent sales tax for education, to fund the project. “The revenue bond (SAV

    SHELBY COUNTY — The Shelby County Trails Committee will be hosting a an all-you-can eat “Dad’s Belgian Waffles” brunch and silent auction Sunday, April 2 in St. Mary’s Parish Hall, Panama.    Proceeds of the event will benefit the continued development of a concrete, multi-use trail extending ballpark to ballpark from Panama to Portsmouth.    Planned construction is from Panama’s Whispering Pines Park along Highway 191 to Portsmouth.

    HARLAN – Mexico has proposed a ban on genetically modified corn from the U.S., as local experts explore the possible impact. According to an article on Fox Business, Mexico purchased more than $10 million worth of yellow and white U.S.

HARLAN — Bursting at the seams with floral arrangements of all shapes and sizes, Floral Elegance prepared a week in advance, preparing thousands of flowers, for an onslaught of customer requests in the name of Valentine’s Day.    The day was rainy, but anything but slow for the flower and gift shop in Harlan.

HARLAN – The Harlan Municipal Board of Trustees received and filed the fiscal year 2023-24 budget at its regular meeting Thursday.CEO Joe Rueschenberg said the budget was reviewed with the finance committee.    Trustee Jim Shelton said Gas and electric are in great standing.    “The water is trending immensely positive and the telecommunications needs close scrutiny,” he said.

    HARLAN — A high-flying visitor — UnityPoint Health LifeFlight — landed in the parking lot across from the Therkildsen Center Saturday as part of the yearly EMS conference. More than 70 nurses, EMTs, and paramedics attended the conference.    Hanah Hill drove three hours from home to attend.    “I like to go to different areas and hear different people speak,” she said.

AREA — According to the Iowa Fire Department Census, out of the state’s 738 registered fire departments, 662 are fully volunteer.

HARLAN —  In 2011, Judi Olson was diagnosed with Artrial Septal Defect (ASD), a discovery that led the Harlan woman down a long  path to recovery.  “The ASD was undetected until I was almost 55,” Olson said.“All in all, I had years of treatments to get to this point.” ASD,  a congenital heart defect present at birth, is a condition where there is a hole or holes in the heart between the artia, or upper chambers.