HARLAN (June 15) -- As Iowa high school baseball and softball teams begin playing games this week, so too are the youth squads of the Harlan Little League program at JJ Jensen Park. Although boys and girls T-Ball has been cancelled for 2020, the remaining four divisions of Harlan Little League will hold an abbreviated season. For baseball, that includes Minors, 10U, 12U and 13U.

 HARLAN -- Several members of the Harlan Community High School softball team volunteered their time to help coach a group of little league softball girls on Friday night (June 12) at JJ Jensen Park. Following their own practice, the Cyclone varsity players instructed the Harlan C team (grades 3-4) on the fundamentals of throwing and pitching.

    MANNING -- David and Kim Burmeister of Harlan announce the engagement of their son, Marcus to Emilee Cichacki both of Harlan. Emilee is the daughter of Loriann Cichacki and Mark Cichacki both of Franklin, WI.    The couple will marry on July 11 at the Hausbarn Heritage Park in Manning.
 

    REGIONAL -- Eighteen area music students, including six from Harlan Community High School, have been selected to participate in the Southwest Iowa Honor Marching Band, and will perform in the Holiday Bowl Parade in San Diego later this year.    Jack Klitgaard, Mitchell Rueschenberg, Ian Kearney, Emma Herzberg, Angie Ordonez and Ian Shelton from HCHS were selected following successful auditions in the spring.  Rueschenberg, Klitgaard and Ke

    COUNTY -- Shelby County saw a 26.67 percent voter turnout for the June 2 primary election, a high number according to county auditor and election commissioner Mark Maxwell.    The county saw a total of 2,397 ballots cast, which includes in-person voting and absentee ballots.  The total number of registered voters is 8,969.
 

 KIMBALLTON -- Andrea Nulle begins her first year as a head softball coach with plenty of familiar faces at Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton. The Spartans did not have a single senior on last year’s 13-15 squad, which tied for second place (9-5) in the Rolling Valley Conference and advanced to the Class 1A regional semifinals. All but two players have returned from the 2019 varsity roster as Nulle takes over the head coaching duties following one sea

 ELK HORN -- The Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton baseball team will feature some new faces in 2020 as just four full-time starters return from last year’s 10-12 campaign. The Spartans, who placed sixth in the Rolling Valley Conference at 4-9, graduated five seniors off the 2019 squad, including a trio of all-conference selections in first-teamers Cole Burmeister (.420, 43 stolen bases) and Trey Nelson (.377, 16 RBI) and second-teamer Josh Pettepier

    STATE -- Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an executive order last week establishing the Governor’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

    HARLAN – Disappointing is an understatement for students in the Harlan Community Schools music program when describing the end of this past year.    The COVID-19 pandemic and closing of the school buildings with cancellation of school-sponsored events was a bummer.  The students missed out on so many opportunities to perform, including the Iowa Jazz Championships, small and large group contests and graduation, to name a few.    “School was