HARLAN -- On Thursday, May 9, officials from the Iowa Board of Regents, the Western Iowa Regents Resource Center (WIRRC) and Iowa Western Community College (IWCC) announced an expanded partnership to help students in western Iowa pursue a degree at one of Iowa’s public universities.    The partnership reflects the Board of Regents commitment to assisting area students by having a transfer specialist on site at IWCC’s campus in Harlan.

    COUNTY -- The Iowa Attorney General’s Office, possibly in conjunction with the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation, has been provided information for review regarding a recent special investigation of the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency.    Shelby County Attorney Marcus Gross, Jr.

    HARLAN -- Harlan Community High School’s Lucy Borkowski attended the World Food Prize Iowa Youth Institute on April 29.

    HARLAN - Midstates Bank, NA and Farmers & Merchants State Bank, Neola, announced the merger of Farmers & Merchants State Bank into Midstates Bank, NA, pending regulatory approval. The transaction is expected to close on August 30, 2019.    Bank president Mike Kenealy said, “Farmers & Merchants State Bank was selected for merger due to close proximity to our other banks in Southwest Iowa.

    COUNTY – A local business has stepped forward to claim responsibility for tearing up a recently-rocked road in Shelby County, and has offered to make restitution by paying for rock and required maintenance of the road. 

    HARLAN – Long-time Harlan Community Schools Board of Education member Lonnie Muxfeldt has resigned from the board.    Muxfeldt submitted a resignation letter dated Monday, May 6 to Kelli Klaassen secretary of the school board, which read, “Effective upon receipt of this letter, I hereby resign my position of representing District 3 of the Harlan Community School District.” 

    HARLAN -- The Harlan Community School District will begin the process of obtaining an interim superintendent for the 2019-20 school year.  School board members Monday gave consensus that an interim superintendent versus a shared superintendent would be better for the district for the next school year. 

    HARLAN – The Harlan Community Schools Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools Justin Wagner have signed off on a resignation agreement that will effectively bring to a close Wagner’s nine-year role as the district’s lead administrator.    The board voted 6-0 Monday, May 6 approving the resignation agreement that had been signed by Wagner two days prior on May 4.    The agreement brings to an end a lengthy process whereby the board

COUNCIL BLUFFS – Harlan Community High School students swept the top honors at Google’s 7th-annual Anti-Gravity Games held at Iowa Western Community College April 27.    The HCHS Sabotaje team took first place while the Cyclones team took second place.  St.

    HARLAN – 4PAWS, a volunteer organization that helps care for and find rescues or homes for Harlan pound pets, is looking for new volunteers to take over leadership of their group.    After six years in that leadership role and several years as volunteers before, George and Sue Petsche said they feel the time has come for them to “retire” from the pound.    4PAWS was started by a group of individuals about 17 years ago.  In the early 1980s

    HARLAN -- Harlan Community High School is hosting the Hawkeye 10 Art Show on Wednesday, May 8. The schools in the Hawkeye 10 take turns hosting the event, and this year is Harlan Community’s turn.    Each school in the conference will bring approximately 20 students and between 50-100 works of art to be displayed in the high school gym.

    HARLAN -- Badding Construction based in Carroll was awarded the low bid of $547,500 for the pharmacy remodel project at Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan. The bid was approved by the MMC Board of Trustees at an April 23 meeting. MMC CEO Barry Jacobsen said there were four bidders for the project.    The total pharmacy project cost of $709,505 is under the original estimate cost of up to $720,000.

COUNTY – There’s no question the winter and early spring has been hard on Shelby County’s gravel roads.  With an abundance of snow, then rain, and a deep frost that started to come out of the ground, albeit slowly, during the past month, it made for difficult travel conditions on the county’s roadways.    Shelby County Secondary Road crews have been working diligently to repair and maintain the granular surfaces, hauling rock in from as far aw

    HARLAN – The Harlan Community Schools Board of Education held two special closed session meetings with its legal counsel present Monday, April 29  -- one  to evaluate an individual, and the other to discuss strategy regarding employment conditions.    After approximately 2 1/2 hours of behind doors discussions, no action was taken.    It’s the fifth closed session meeting the board has held in recent months, under Iowa Code Section 21.5(1)

    COUNTY -- The recent measles cases in Iowa serve to remind us that immunizations are important for all age groups.    Adults have a few options to consider, in consultation with your health care provider, to determine evidence of immunity for measles.    Find your immunization record and have it reviewed by a health care professional.