HARLAN -- The ball movement was crisper, the shooting was better and the dry spells were shorter Tuesday night as the Harlan Community girls basketball team showed marked improvement in a 58-35 win over Creston. Taylor Frederick led a balanced Cyclone attack with 18 points and eight rebounds, fellow senior forward Emma Ahrenholtz had 12 points and seven boards and senior point guard Jordyn Moser added nine points and eight assists. HCHS, rank

 HARLAN -- Kenzie Jones rolled a two-game series of 307 to lead the Harlan Community girls bowling team past Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln, 1,954 to 1,710, on Tuesday afternoon at Cyclone Lanes. Jones bowled individual games of 170 and 137 for HCHS, which improved its record to 1-1 on the season. The Cyclone boys, however, lost by just 27 total pins (2,561 to 2,534) and dropped to 0-2 going into Thursday’s meet at Denison. HCHS trailed the Ly

 BOYS TOWN, NEB. -- Eight out of 11 Harlan Community wrestlers placed in the top six last weekend as the Cyclones finished seventh out of 15 teams at the 45th annual Boys Town Invitational, held Friday and Saturday. Skutt Catholic was the tournament champion with 268 points, followed by Bennington (222.5) and Blair (130). HCHS, the only Iowa school in the field, scored 92 points for seventh.

 MANNING -- Sophomore Kia Rasmussen led the IKM-Manning girls with 23 points, eight rebounds, four assists and five steals last Friday night at the Wolves outlasted Tri-Center, 57-55, in Western Iowa Conference play. The Wolves trailed 44-38 after three quarters before outscoring the Trojans 19-11 the rest of the way. Rasmussen knocked down 9-of-13 free throws for IKM-Manning, which finished 27-of-43 as a team from the charity stripe.

 HARLAN -- On the heels of a successful turnaround season on the gridiron, the Harlan Community boys basketball team is seeking similar levels of improvement on the hardwood this winter. Not that last season was a dud by any means.

    HARLAN -- Phil and Pearl Madson of Harlan will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary and Phil’s 92nd birthday on December 27 at the First Baptist Church in Harlan. Friends and relatives are invited to an open house in their honor in the fellowship hall at First Baptist from 9:30-10:25 a.m. and from 11:35 a.m.

    DES MOINES -- Cora Marie Davis and Daniel Ray Jacobs both of Des Moines exchanged marriage vows on August 1, 2015 at the First Christian Church in Des Moines. The 2:30 p.m. double ring ceremony was performed by Pastor Ryan Arnold.    Parents of the couple are Randy and Connie Davis, Harlan; and Dave and Nancy Jacobs, Harlan. 

    HARLAN – Budgeting issues will monopolize this year’s Iowa legislative session, as legislators discuss how best to handle built-in expense increases with less-than-expected revenues.    Those words come from Rep. Steve Holt (R-Denison) and Sen. Jason Schultz (R-Schleswig) who met with constituents Saturday, Dec.

COUNTY – Shelby County this week approved a first reading of an amendment to its winter road maintenance ordinance that, if approved, would spell out financial penalties for residents who push snow into the roadway.    A second reading of the amendment will be presented at the county board of supervisors’ January 4 meeting.    In essence, the amendment calls for penalties for rural residents who push snow from their lanes across the roadway, l