DENISON (Aug. 30) -- When Todd Bladt gives his first pre-game speech as a head football coach tonight, there’s a good chance it will incorporate several elements he’s heard many times in his life. “Let’s hope so,” he said with a laugh.

 GLENWOOD (Aug. 31) -- The Harlan Community cross country team will open the season Saturday morning by competing in the Glenwood Ram Invitational. Schools scheduled to compete at Glenwood Lake Park include: Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln, Clarinda Academy, Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson, East Mills, Atlantic, Clarinda, Glenwood, Harlan Community, Lewis Central, Red Oak, Shenandoah, Southwest Valley, St.

 HARLAN (Aug. 31) -- Seven state-ranked teams will be in the field this Saturday when Harlan Community opens the season by hosting the annual Cyclone Volleyball Tournament. The tournament field has increased to 11 teams this year and the format has changed. Pool A will feature six teams playing five best-of-three matches in pool play while Pool B will feature five teams playing four pool matches.

 AVOCA (Aug. 31) -- AHSTW will host seven other teams Saturday for the season-opening Lady Vike Tournament, with pool play starting at 8:30 a.m. AHSTW, the defending tourney champion, will compete in Pool A (high school gym) against Essex, Denison-Schleswig and CAM, playing in the first, third and sixth matches of the day.

 REGIONAL (Aug. 30) -- AHSTW and IKM-Manning will open the 2019 football season with home games while Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton starts on the road Friday night at 7:00 p.m. AHSTW, last year’s Class A state runner-up with a 12-1 record, will host Underwood, which returns a solid nucleus from last year’s 5-4 squad. The Vikings won last year’s meeting 47-14. IKM-Manning (5-4 last year) hosts ACGC (3-6).

 AVOCA (Aug. 30) -- The faces change from year to year, but the winning always seems to continue for the AHSTW football program. Playoff qualifiers in 12 straight seasons under head coaches Cory Faust and Davis Pattee - most recently a Class A state runner-up with a 12-1 record last fall - the Vikings once again find themselves in reload mode going into Friday’s season opener vs.

 SHENANDOAH (Aug. 27) -- In the preseason cross country rankings released last week by the Iowa Association of Track Coaches, the AHSTW girls were listed as a “team to watch” just below Class 1A’s top 15.

 MANNING (Aug.

    HARLAN -- Ruth E. McKinstrey, 85, Harlan, formerly of Sioux Falls, SD, died August 26 at Elm Crest Retirement Community.    Services will be held Saturday, Sept. 7 at 11 a.m. at Pauley Jones Funeral Home in Harlan.  Visitation is Saturday from 10-11 a.m.