COUNTY -- Dave Tyrrel will take over the reigns of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce and Industry following elections at their annual meeting July 19.    Moving up from vice-president, Tyrrel takes over for Brent Scheve who remains on the board as immediate past president.

    STATE -- People across Iowa will have the opportunity to purchase select items at a lower price during the tax free days.    “If people didn’t [know about tax free weekend] it’s really a savings of seven percent,” said Sandy Ronfeldt, owner of Rubi J clothing.    From August 5-7, the seven percent tax will be removed for items considered everyday clothing and footwear.

 DES MOINES -- It should be an interesting two days that determine the Class 3-A champion of the 2016 State Baseball Tournament at Principal Park. Friday’s 3-A semifinals will feature the top pitching team in the field (Pella) vs. the top hitting team (Carlisle), followed by the team with the best record (Harlan Community) against the Cinderella qualifier with the most losses (Solon).

 DES MOINES -- There’s no such thing as an ugly ‘W’ at the state tournament. Harlan Community head baseball coach Steve Daeges probably had to tell himself that a few times on Tuesday afternoon, but left Principal Park in a good mood nonetheless after the Cyclones held off Sioux City Bishop Heelan 8-6 in a Class 3-A quarterfinal. HCHS, which scored five unanswered runs to take a seemingly-comfortable 8-2 lead into the seventh, sweated a couple

 CEDAR FALLS -- Ethan Knudson and Max Langenfeld of Harlan Community and Martin Olson of Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton each participated in the 44th annual Iowa Shrine Bowl All-Star Football Classic, held Saturday, July 23, at the UNI-Dome. The three area players - all 2016 graduates - played for the South Squad, which was defeated by the North, 49-35, in the highest-scoring Shrine Bowl to date.

 WARRENSBURG, MO. -- Andrea Greve, a 2015 graduate of Harlan Community High School, was one of 86 student-athletes from the University of Central Missouri named to the Academic Honor Roll of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) for the first time. Andrea is the daughter of Dave and Diana Greve, Harlan, and a member of UCM’s NCAA Division II bowling team.

 WESTPHALIA - The Harvest Baseball Tournament returns after a five-year hiatus in 2016, according to event organizer Tom Wageman, and will be held on two weekends, August 27-28 and September 3-4, in Westphalia. Begun in 1964 under the leadership of Wageman’s late father, John, the annual tournament featured teams from across the state. Playing in the tourney were many professional, semi-pro and college ball players.

 DES MOINES -- It’s been nearly two months to the day since Harlan Community beat Sioux City Bishop Heelan 12-0 to cap the first week of the high school baseball season. When the Cyclones and Crusaders meet again Tuesday morning (11 a.m.) in the first round of the Class 3-A state tournament, a much more competitive contest is expected at Principal Park. HCHS certainly has the edge when it comes to big-game experience, boasting three seniors an

 DES MOINES -- Tri-Center was defeated by Don Bosco of Gilbertville 11-1 in six innings in a Class 1-A quarterfinal at the State Baseball Tournament Saturday night. The sixth-seeded Trojans, who finished 19-9 overall, were making their first trip to Principal Park and their first state tournament appearance since winning the Class 2-A state title in 1987.