With less than three minutes to go in the fourth quarter of Friday’s Class 2A - Region 7 Second Round Game against the MVAOCOU Rams, Exira-EHK Sophomore Taryn Petersen stepped up to the free line with her team trailing by one, making both free throws to give the Spartans their first lead of the game, en route to a 49-48 victory.

The HCHS Cyclones rolled into Carroll Thursday night closing out their regular season with a 62-56 win for their ninth win of the season.
“We have a little bit of momentum going right now,” said Cyclone Head Coach Mitch Osborn. “We’re peaking at the right time. Obviously we would’ve loved to start that a few weeks earlier. We’re playing good basketball right now.”

Des Moines - Former Shelby County Extension council member Gwen Hansen met with Iowa legislators at the Iowa Extension Council Association legislative breakfast held at Capitol Building in Des Moines February 11.Hansen is currently serving as a representative for Audubon, Crawford, Harrison and Shelby Counties on the Iowa Extension Council Association Board of Directors.

 SHELBY COUNTY ­ ­— The Shelby County Board of Supervisors voted to increase the salaries of some elected officials by 3.5% in fiscal year 2026. The increase was based on the recommendation of the compensation board, represented by Ruthanne Grimsley, at the board meeting Tuesday, February 18. Grimsley said the recommended increase was based on current salaries for those same positions in similar sized counties.

 AREA — Schroer & Associates, P.C. recently released an audit report on the Harlan Community School District. The report showed the District’s revenues totaled $26,132,616 for the year ended June 30, 2024, a 13.62% increase from the prior year.

HCHS Senior Addison Obrecht has signed a Letter of Intent to wrestle at Morningside University.
“I’ve had a lot of emotions over these last few months, but it all is kind of coming to a head right now,” Obrecht said. “It’s kind of cool to see my progress throughout this year and for me only wrestling under a year, this is a big moment and it means more to me than anyone will ever know.”

 SHELBY COUNTY — An estimated 21,000 Iowans were diagnosed with cancer in 2024, according to an annual report that tracks yearly cancer trends. The annual Cancer in Iowa report by the Iowa Cancer Registry found the state has the fastest-growing rate of new cancers and the second-highest rate of new cancers in the country.

Harlan Newspapers won several awards at the 2025 Iowa Newspapers Association’s (INA) Iowa Better Newspaper Contest, chief among them First Place in Community Service for the team’s work following the 2024 tornado disaster that devastated rural Shelby County.

 AREA — For 25 years, a dedicated group of volunteers have dedicated their time and talents to perform for residents of area nursing homes. This year marks the silver anniversary of the Goldenaires.“We love to volunteer and see the enjoyment in the residents’ eyes,” said member Kathleen Eckerman. Eckerman said the majority of the songs they sing are standards from the residents’ early years.