HARLAN – The City of Harlan is taking a second look at the location for a proposed dog park after members of the public suggested possible alternative sites.    The Harlan City Council had signed off on the plans and specifications for a 1.3-acre dog park on the east edge of town, with hopes of having the park available to pet lovers by late fall or early spring.

    SHELBY -- Rose and Dave Sternberg are familiar names to the Shelby area. Rose was a teacher and Dave worked for Shelby County for more than 30 years.    “I worked as  a teacher with the Shelby-Tennant school district in 1983 and then the AHST School District until I retired a few years ago,” Rose said. “Dave worked for Shelby County - he was a maintainer operator.”    Both Rose and Dave were born into farming communities in Shelby County.

    AVOCA -- AHSTW junior Sophia Platt performs with the flag corps during halftime of the Viking football game vs. Underwood Friday evening, Aug. 30.  The Vikings suffered a tough home loss to the Eagles, 55-6, but hope to bounce back at Shenandoah this week.  See all the football highlights from area contests inside today on the sports pages.

    HARLAN – Harlan has been ranked as being one of the best social cities in Iowa for retirees, as compared by SmartAsset, a financial technology company aiming to provide personal finance advice on the web, offering free and personalized tools to empower retirees to make smart personal finance decisions around homebuying, retirement, taxes and more.    Harlan came in eighth in Iowa as a best social city for retirees.  Charles City ranked at

    HARLAN – Harlan’s housing stock is aging, rehabilitation efforts will be needed in the future, and additional housing is needed, according to a recently-completed housing survey conducted as part of Community Development Block Grant application that was submitted to the state this year.    The City of Harlan has been awarded $249,000 from the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) to support rehab projects in the community.   

    SHELBY - Iowa farm history will come to life September 7-8 at Carstens Farm during the 37th Annual Carstens Farm Days.  Threshing, sawmill operations, crafters and vendors, a quilt show and of course, tractors will be on display.  The Farm Days show has something for everyone throughout the weekend. 

    HARLAN -- Judy Paulsen never grew up playing with or creating doll houses. It wasn’t until her mother brought home a big box from the grocery store and decided to make a doll house for Judy’s youngest children and her grandchildren that the fascination took hold.

    HARLAN -- The Harlan Fire Department conducted a training burn on this residence at 501 7th St., allowing firefighters to work on their skills knocking down a fire from the inside and outside.  See more photos inside today’s Harlan News-Advertiser.

    REGIONAL – Four members of the Harlan Community Schools Board of Education will be up for election this fall as voters head to the polls for the first time in a school election that will be held in November with the annual general election, as opposed to a September school election.    Board members Joni Larsen, Monte Schechinger, Tara Devlin-Lawler and Seth Piro have board seats for the districts they represent up for election in November

    COUNTY – A Persia man is accused of hiding a camera in a room at a Harlan workplace for the purpose of recording a female who may have been breastfeeding or pumping breast milk.    Complaints allege Richard Lewis Marshall, 32, 3948 288th St., Persia,  admitted to law enforcement that he had recorded the female victim on 5-10 occasions and then deleted the video on several other occasions due to a problem with the micro camera.  Marshall is

    HARLAN -- The Shelby County Wellness Alliance announced this week that it has been successful in receiving a $25,000 MATCH Grant from The Wellmark Foundation for a community project, Free Fitness 4 All.

    PANAMA -- Religion is an important part of many people’s lives across the world. It is a cornerstone for many and can bring people together regardless of any physical boundaries. For Sister Joyce Blum, religion led her to become a nun.    Blum was born in 1936 just outside of Panama. The middle child of her family, Blum would spend most of her days doing chores around the farm, playing with her siblings and going to school.

    HARLAN -- Students in the Harlan Community Schools and Shelby County Catholic Schools headed back to classes last week as the 2019-20 school year officially gets under way.    Back to school night events were held at both SCCS and HCS last week, and the first official day of school was Friday, August 23.  Students and staff will have a full week of school this week in both schools. 

    HARLAN -- Harlan Community Schools patrons will get another chance to show their support for the school this fall by voting on proposals to renew the district’s instructional support levy (ISL) and physical plant and equipment levy (PPEL).    The HCS Board of Education Monday, Aug.

    REGIONAL -- School districts in the greater Shelby County area have begun classes for the year, and local officials are urging motorists to be on the lookout for children as they make their way to and from school.    The Harlan Police Department and Shelby County Sheriff’s Office are informing motorists to take safety precautions, as the motoring public has not encountered large numbers of students in the traffic mix during the summer mont