SHELBY -- The Shelby Sesquicentennial Committee met April 27 and decided to postpone the celebration of 150 years, because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of celebrating the end of June, 2020, they are in the process of rescheduling everything to Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, June 25, 26, and 27, in 2021.

    HARLAN -- The superintendent, administrators, teachers and other school staff have been awarded varying salary and/or benefits increases for the 2020-21 school year, as approved by the HCS Board of Education.    HCS Superintendent of Schools Lynn Johnson will receive an overall salary and benefits increase amounting to $3,774 -- to $186,334 in 2020-21 from the current year’s $182,560.

    EARLING – Two individuals were injured in an explosion at the Earling Standard Gas Station Monday morning, April 27.    Dan Grote and Don Bruck were transported to Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan, and Bruck was then taken by LifeNet medical helicopter to Omaha for further treatment of injuries.      Grote was released from the hospital later that day, and Bruck was expected to be released this week.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office will be hosting a celebration of life parade on behalf of Sergeant Donavon Dontje, 83-3, on Saturday, May 2.  Staging will be at the Harlan Community High School for all law enforcement, fire/EMS and the public who would like to participate.  Parking begins at 8 a.m., with the parade beginning at 10 a.m.  The route is as follows:  From the High School  •  Durant St.

    STATE -- Ombudsman Kristie Hirschman is calling upon the public to stay on guard against child abuse, citing numbers from the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) that abuse allegations have fallen sharply since the COVID-19 pandemic prompted leaders to close schools.    Child-abuse reports to DHS fell from 5,033 in February to 4,209 in March, a drop of more than 16 percent.  Most schools in Iowa closed in mid-March.  This March’s numbe

    HARLAN - The Harlan Newspapers has announced the launch of an advertising grant program aimed at helping local businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic this spring and possibly into the summer.    The advertising grant fund will be dedicated to relief, recovery, and keeping Shelby County businesses front and center in the eyes and ears of the community.    Alan Mores, co-publisher, said “This is a very difficult time for Shelby County smal

    HARLAN -- Myrtue Medical Center CEO Barry Jacobsen knows there will be many decisions to be made in the next 30 days on how to resume normal operations at MMC as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a fluid situation.    Jacobsen is hopeful operations will be back to normal in the near future which includes bringing back furloughed employees starting as early as May 4 with the intention to have all employees back by the middle of May.    

    STATE -- On Monday, April 27, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a new proclamation continuing the State Public Health Emergency Declaration until May 27, 2020.    The proclamation loosens social distancing measures in 77 Iowa counties effective today, Friday, May 1 and continues other restrictions until 11:50 p.m.

    REGIONAL -- Myrtue Medical Center announced Wednesday it is ready to meet post COVID-19 challenges, and is making patient safety a top priority.

    HARLAN -- Curbside service will open at the Harlan Community Library on Tuesday, May 5.  It will operate Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. until further notice.    Items can be reserved online at the library website www.harlanlibrary.org or use the app Librista. After reserving online, patrons will also need to call the library to schedule a time to pick items up.

    COUNTY -- From the Shelby County Treasurer’s Office:   •  Property tax payments paid on/before May 27 will not incur any penalty/interest.   • Delinquent notices, normally scheduled to be mailed out May 1, are indefinitely postponed.   • The annual tax sale, schedule for June 15th this year, has been indefinitely postponed.   • Please refer to the Iowa Department of Transportation website for updates on available online services.

HARLAN – Keith Bauer has seen this before, and remembers it well.    It wasn’t a pandemic, but the current effect of a major world and United States economic disruption due to COVID-19 gives him pause and a sense of Déjà vu.    “During World War II, shoes were rationed,” Bauer remembers.  He was a youngster at the time and his parents ran the Harlan shoe store.  His father, Albert Bauer, purchased Walter’s Shoe Store in August of 1926.  “Every

    HARLAN – A group of 69, most of them 9-10 month hourly employees and teachers, crowded in to last week’s Harlan Community Schools Board of Education electronic Zoom meeting to express discouragement with proposed compensation changes beginning next year.    Mindy Shaffer, a 6th grade classroom paraeducator, high school student council advisor and co-middle school show choir director, was the spokesperson for the group, and took the time to

    COUNTY -- Shelby Countians are among the most diligent in responding to the 2020 Census, with 60.5 percent of local residents already submitting the census as of early this week.    The response rate from Shelby County is higher than both state and national averages, but there’s still a ways to go to beat Shelby County’s 76.1 percent response rate from 10 years ago in 2010.    The Census is extremely important, officials say, as the number

    COUNTY – Four Shelby County businesses have been awarded grants from the Iowa Economic Development Authority as part of the state’s Iowa Small Business Relief Fund, as announced by Iowa Gov.