CARROLL -- Harlan Community senior Brett Sears capped his prep baseball career by playing in four games as part of the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association’s All-Star Series, held August 8-11 at Merchants Park. Sears played for the Small Schools West squad, which went 1-3 and placed fourth.

 HARLAN -- The Harlan Community football team will hold its annual preseason “soap” scrimmage, hosted by the Harlan Lions Club, on Thursday (Aug. 22) at Merrill Field. The freshmen team will scrimmage at 6:00 p.m., followed by the varsity scrimmage at approximately 7:30. The area’s other three prep football teams will hold public scrimmages on Friday (Aug. 23).

    MANILLA -- Larry Axland, 81, Manilla, died August 21 at Hansen House.    Services will be held Saturday, Aug. 24 at 11 a.m. at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Irwin with burial in the Oak Hill Cemetery at Irwin.  Visitation is Saturday from 9-11 a.m.

    AVOCA -- Wilbert Robert Piittmann, 93, Avoca, died August 20 at Avoca Specialty Care.    Services will be held Saturday, Aug. 24 at 10 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Avoca with burial in the Graceland Cemetery at Avoca. Visitation is Saturday from 9-10 a.m.

    MANILLA -- Alan L. Jensen, 83, Manilla, died August 19 at the Manilla Manor.      Services will be held Monday, Aug. 26 at 11 a.m. at Pauley Jones Funeral Home in Harlan with burial in the Harlan Cemetery.  A masonic service will be held Sunday, Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. at the funeral home.  Visitation is Sunday from 2-8 p.m. with family greeting friends from 5-7 p.m.

    REGIONAL -- James Sheehan is the proud owner of Patriot’s Choice, a veteran owned business that remodels houses, businesses and also specializes in foundation work.    Sheehan is a Harlan native who joined the Marines in 2007.  He left the Marines in 2011 after he was injured, moving to Oklahoma  where he began working on carpentry and started his work with construction.    “I got out of the military after I was injured,” Sheehan said.

    COUNTY -- Beginning in 2020, U.S. Highway 59 from Harlan to Avoca will undergo construction for needed repairs.    The project is part of the Iowa Department of Transportation’s five-year Iowa Transportation Improvement Program, which was released this summer.

    REGIONAL -- After a late planting season, crops in Iowa have started to sprout up and bloom across the vast number of fields in Iowa. However, the month of August will prove to be the deciding factor for many farmers across the state. According to Iowa State Field Agronomist Michael Witt, Iowa has received cooler than average normal temperatures during the month of August.

    IRWIN -- 4-H has been a staple for many families in the Shelby County area. The organization has provided many families with the opportunity to work on projects, present livestock and learn many social skills which will help later in life.    No one knows this more than Larry Knudson, whose family has had four generations worth of 4-Hers dating back to his mother. “My whole family was involved in 4-H,” Knudson said.