IRWIN -- With preseason softball practices limited to two weeks this year due to COVID-19 and the season starting three weeks later than scheduled, some have speculated that the players will be less prepared than normal for the first game. IKM-Manning head coach Joy Gross disagrees. Since spring sports were cancelled - along with many other May activities that accompany the end of a school year - softball practice has become a major item on m

 MANILLA -- It won’t be easy in a rugged Western Iowa Conference, but the IKM-Manning baseball team is hoping to sneak up on some teams this summer and improve on last year’s 7-17 overall record. Despite graduating seven senior contributors from last season’s eighth-place WIC squad, the Wolves still bring back eight letter winners as they prep for a June 16 season opener vs.

    PANAMA -- George Schwery of Panama will celebrate his 90th birthday on June 25. His family is planning a card shower in his honor.

    HARLAN -- Ron and Pat (Sunderland) Mosher of Harlan will each celebrate their 80th birthday today, June 12. Ron and Pat were both born in the Harlan Hospital on June 12, 1940. They were married 19 years later on August 16, 1959.    Their family includes Shelli Mosher and Todd Carlson, Sioux Falls, SD; Scott and Mary Mosher, Omaha; Amy and Joe Rueschenberg, Harlan; and eight grandchildren.  
 

    HARLAN -- Crews finished installing fitness equipment in Pioneer Park this week.  The project is a partnership between the City of Harlan and the Shelby County Wellness Alliance, and includes four pads and seven pieces of Norwell Outdoor Fitness Equipment.    Pictured above is the Air Walker and Stretch Station and the station also includes descriptive signage showing how to use the equipment and local benefactors involved in purchasing th

    HARLAN -- Utility Services Group (USG), utility maintenance company serving water providers across the United States, is performing work this month on the 12th Street water tower as part of an all-inclusive service agreement with Harlan Municipal Utilities. The tank is being power washed, primed and painted.    According to USG, “The exterior finish color is called Tank White. A color that has a very high gloss with a hint of blue.

    COUNTY -- The Shelby County Community Foundation has announced that grants totaling $60,575 have been awarded to Shelby County nonprofit organizations and community projects as part of its spring grant cycle.    The following organizations were awarded grants by the Shelby County Community Foundation Advisory Board:    •  Concerned, Inc., $1,000, Hoyer Lift    •  Defiance Fire and Rescue Department, $5,000, kitchen and meeting room heating

 HARLAN (June 4) -- Toshia Kasperbauer last coached the Harlan Community High School softball team in 2012, but she’s no stranger to the personnel of the 2020 Cyclones. The five juniors and three sophomores on this year’s HCHS roster, including her daugher Tianna, all played travel ball for Kasperbauer during their youth.

 HARLAN (June 4) -- The goal for the Harlan Community baseball team - finish the season in Des Moines - is a constant from year to year. And for eight consecutive seasons prior to last July, it was a reality. Longtime Cyclone head coach Steve Daeges and his staff have a proven system in place of evaluation, trial and error, fine-tuning and ultimately putting the best team on the field for a four-to-six game postseason run. Thanks to COVID-19 a