HARLAN -- Blame it on the distractions of Homecoming or the after-effects of winning by 62 the week before - Harlan Community simply didn’t look ready for prime time at the start of Friday night’s game vs.

 NEWTON -- For the fifth year in a row, the Harlan Community volleyball team claimed the championship of the Newton Tournament Saturday without so much as dropping a match. HCHS won all five of its matches and finished 10-1 in set play, improving its season records to 19-3 (matches) and 44-13 (sets). The 3rd-ranked (Class 4-A) Cyclones defeated the same five teams as a year ago to win the title, starting with pool play wins over Ottumwa (2-0),

 MANNING -- The IKM-Manning football team put together five touchdown drives of at least 70 yards and rallied back twice against OA-BCIG Friday night for a 33-24 victory in Class 1-A, District 1. Jared Vollstedt’s fourth-quarter TD runs of 8 and 34 yards allowed the Wolves to erase a 24-20 deficit at the end of the third quarter. They also trailed 12-0 just four minutes into the game before scoring 20 unanswered points.

AVOCA -- The AHSTW football team ran its winning streak to five games on Friday night with an impressive 55-14 win over Missouri Valley. The Vikings (5-1 overall, 3-0 in Class 1-A, District 1) steamrolled to a 48-14 lead by halftime, needing just 23 plays to score seven touchdowns on seven possessions.

 ELK HORN -- Drew Buckholdt led the way with five total touchdowns Friday night as Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton celebrated Homecoming week with a 62-20 rout of Woodbine. The Spartans built a 48-6 lead by halftime and played the last two and a half quarters with a running clock, improving to 6-0 overall and setting up a Week 7 showdown of unbeaten teams at defending 8-Player state champion Newell-Fonda.

 AVOCA -- Averaging nearly five ace serves per set, the IKM-Manning volleyball team snapped a short two-match slide in Western Iowa Conference play Thursday with a sweep of AHSTW, 25-14, 25-19, 25-20. The Wolves served 90 percent with 14 aces as a team, led by Rylie Muhlbauer’s 15-for-15, three-ace effort and Kelli Grimm’s five aces (14-for-15). Muhlbauer also led the way with nine digs and Grimm posted a team-high two blocks. 

    HARLAN -- Alex Assmann and Jessica Klein were crowned Harlan Community High School Homecoming 2016 king and queen during coronation ceremonies at HCHS Friday afternoon, Oct. 2.  The two then presided over homecoming activities including the parade and pep rally downtown and the HCHS football game vs. Winterset Friday night.  See more photos in Friday’s NA.

    REGIONAL -- After being one of Iowa’s first community newspaper websites in 1999 and offering the first Shelby County app in 2012 (our e-edition) the Harlan Newspapers is going through its third modification of its Harlanonline.com website this month.    Harlan Newspapers Co-publisher Alan Mores said the new site will offer a variety of new and free services such as a free archive search of online articles going back to 1999; easier naviga

    HARLAN -- Harlan street lights are slowing being replaced by energy efficient LED bulbs with nearly three-fourths of the community completed.    Harlan Municipal Utilities set aside $90,000 each year for the replacement effort and have at least another year of work to do.    HMU hopes to present their board with the 2014-15 audit at their next board meeting, scheduled for Thursday, Oct.