HARLAN --  Summer is finally here and with it comes rising temperatures, longer days, fireworks and many more summer activities.

There was a good turnout of family, friends, townspeople and firefighters at the Harlan Fire Department-sponsored water fights.

    HARLAN – The Harlan Community Schools Board of Education was expected to approve an interim superintendent contract at its regular meeting last night, Monday, June 24.    Four finalist candidates were interviewed Friday, June 21 by the board as well as administrators and teams of staff.    School board interviews were conducted in closed session.  In total, the board met from 3 p.m. until 10:05 p.m.

    SHELBY – The 2019 WHO Great Iowa Tractor Ride will make a stop at Carstens 1880 Farmstead south of Shelby Tuesday, June 25 as part of its tour of western Iowa next week.    More than 500 tractor enthusiasts from all over Iowa and the United States gathered at Westfair Fairgrounds and Amphitheatre on Sunday, June 23 with the first days’ ride on Monday, June 24

    COUNTY -- For another year the Shelby County Farmer’s Market will be open for business in the Shopko parking lot beginning this month.    Every Saturday the farmer’s market will be open at 8:30 a.m. until noon. The market will also be open on Wednesdays starting July 3 from 3:30-6 p.m. with a $10 entrance fee for vendors as well as $5 for non-profit vendors. 

    HARLAN -- The American Library Association (ALA) announced this week that the Harlan Community Library is selected to participate in Libraries Lead with Digital Skills, an initiative of ALA and the Public Library Association (PLA), sponsored by Grow With Google, the tech company’s economic opportunity initiative.     Harlan will use the $1,000 in funding to create a four-part series on Digital Skills Learning in the Library and expand digi

    HARLAN -- The Harlan T-Ball League concluded its season on Wednesday, June 12 with the kids having a blast learning the basics of baseball/softball.  Although many summer ball teams have had to dodge raindrops in May and June, the t-ballers were able to get in many games throughout the season.

    HARLAN -- Four top candidates have emerged from among 13 total interested individuals to serve Harlan Community Schools as interim superintendent during the upcoming school year.    All candidates were presented by Dr. Trent Grundmeyer and Dr. Kevin Fiene, Grundmeyer Leader Search Consultants, during a closed session meeting Tuesday, June 18.

    HARLAN – The Harlan City Council has signed off on its street work patch, mill and overlay projects this summer, approving a low bid of $293,042.60 from Western Engineering to complete the work.    Street work could begin within the next few weeks.  Following are the locations in Harlan expected to see improvements:    -  Dye Street from 6th to 7th Sts.    -  Cyclone Ave. from 5th to 6th Sts.    -  Durant St.

    HARLAN – A 7th St. bridge in north Harlan will be replaced as part of a project that received final approval by the Harlan City Council on Tuesday, June 18.    The City has very few actual bridges to care for, but this one over a small stream on north 7th St.

    HARLAN - For many years, the Shelby County Health Foundation has been dedicated to helping support healthcare resources that benefit patients and their families, employees, volunteers, and the communities they serve in Shelby County.

    COUNTY -- In the lower level of the Shelby County Courthouse is the Veteran Affairs office. It is just one of numerous offices across Iowa, with one in each county.    The director of the Shelby County’s Veteran’s Affairs office is Gene Cavenaugh, who helps veterans with receiving benefits and financial support for their service in the military. 

    HARLAN – The Shelby County Board of Supervisors have signed off on agreements with the three unions representing some county employees – the secondary road department, sheriff’s office employees and emergency management commission.    The three-year agreements take effect July 1, 2019.

    HARLAN -- For many years Red’s Cafe was the gathering place of numerous Harlanities for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Despite closing in 1988, fond memories of the cafe still loom today.    Those memories were revealed when the old sign of Red’s Cafe saw the light of day as the Harlan Nail and Spa building began performing renovations on the front of the structure in downtown Harlan. 

    HARLAN – The Harlan City Council has approved a budget amendment for the 2018-19 fiscal year totaling $1,676,405, of which $549,405 is attributed to decreased revenues and $1,127,000 are increased expenditures anticipated this year.    The council voted 5-0 approving the amendment (Greg Bladt, Troy Schaben, Jeanna Rudolph, Jay Christensen and Dave Miller aye; Sharon Kroger absent) at its May 21 regular council meeting.    Harlan City Clerk