HARLAN – Iowa Freemasons gathered Saturday, March 6 in Harlan to honor and pay tribute to three 2020-21 officers of the Grand Lodge of Iowa of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.    Honorees were Dennis R. Heflin, Grand Master from Harlan; John D. Lloyd, Deputy Grand Master from Osceola; and Donald (Donnie) A.

    HARLAN – Students in the Harlan Community Elementary Schools will soon have the opportunity to learn about food and gardening through an interactive, hands-on experience being planned for this spring and fall.    Ellen Walsh-Rosmann, Director of Wellness, Food and Nutrition Services at HCS, said the district is seeking donations for a small teaching garden hoped to be constructed in April at the elementary school.    “We will be growing ju

    HARLAN – Harlan Municipal Utilities management is seeking remediation financial solutions for its ratepayers due to the high costs of natural gas and electricity during last month’s unprecedented cold weather.    The extreme cold drove energy prices high for utilities nationwide.  Locally those costs are being passed on to ratepayers, but hopes are there will be financial remedies that eventually will be provided to customers here.    HMU

    HARLAN -- The Harlan Lions Club donated enough food for 200 families during its latest mobile food drive, a key to the continued efforts to tackle food insecurities in Shelby County, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.    Lion’s Club Representative Sharon Hoffnagle said it was another successful event on February 22.  A mobile food pantry is a traveling event that delivers food directly to families in need for a one-day distribution. 

  HARLAN – Hitting the outdoors has been the theme this past month for Iowa State University Extension’s after-school program, designed to get students to experience nature during the spring semester.    On Thursday, Feb.

HARLAN -- Members of the Harlan Fire Department last week trained on ice rescues at Little George Lake in south Harlan.    Harlan Fire Chief Roger Bissen said this type of training is key to prepare firefighters when they respond to an emergency related to recreational activities involving frozen lakes and ponds such as ice fishing.    “We are equipped with ice suits that are also considered a flotation suit,” said Bissen.  “We can stay in ice

    HARLAN -- Three Harlan Community High School speech students have qualified to compete at the state level after earning Division I ratings at districts this week.    On March 2, the HCHS Speech Team competed at a virtual Iowa High School Speech district competition held through Johnston High School.  The students competed in various events via recordings.  Although this year’s formatting was different than in past years, the students’ perf

    HARLAN -- The Harlan Community Schools Jazz Program hosted a concert Friday, Feb. 26 where the Harlan Jazz Experience, Harlan Jazz Ensemble and Harlan Middle School bands were recording for virtual contests.    Family members were able to be in attendance for the recording session, getting one of the first glimpses of the band performances this year, due to the pandemic.

    ELK HORN -- After closing for COVID-19 precautions last November and moving to online programming, the Museum of Danish America has reopened to the public.    The museum’s new hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Masks and social distancing are required.    During the closure, staff worked to refresh the galleries.

    HARLAN -- The Myrtue Medical Center Board of Trustees approved the proposal to lower the current tax levy of $1.15366 per thousand taxable valuation to $1.13185 for the 2021-2022 fiscal year.    Approval was made following the February 23 public hearing for the county tax budget where no written or verbal comments or objections were received.    Taxable valuations are expected to be at $938,867,330 for 2021-2022 up from $921,116,431 in 202

    COUNTY – Kirk and Christine Petersen, Harlan, have been honored as citizen/volunteers of the year by the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce & Industry.    The award announcement was made Friday, Feb.

    HARLAN -- Justin Schechinger has been honored as the 2021 Firefighter of the Year by the Harlan Fire Department.  He was presented the award during the department’s meeting on Monday, Feb.

TENNANT -- Firefighters from the Harlan Fire Department and Shelby Fire and Rescue participated in a training burn Saturday, Feb. 27 in Tennant.  New firefighters got the chance to see what it’s like to battle a fire from inside the structure as well as from the outside.The building was donated for fire training.
 

    HARLAN – Extreme cold covering much of the United States in mid February forced an astronomical increase in natural gas prices to the point where utility companies are now seeing the real financial hits that number in the millions of dollars.    For the Harlan Municipal Utilities it amounts to approximately $1.9 million in unanticipated natural gas costs, which are now being passed on to its ratepayers.    Many Harlan residents began recei

    ELK HORN – Elk Horn’s Public Library has been named a five-star library by Library Journal, and is one of only three libraries in Iowa to receive such an honor.    Library Director Alissa LaCanne said this week the library was notified in December of the award.  Library scores for the honor are based on physical circulation, circulation of electronic materials, library visits, program attendance, public internet computer use, wi-fi session