DES MOINES -- High school champions were crowned in 20 individual events at the 108th annual Drake Relays this past weekend. In nearly every instance, the 2017 flag-winner was already a household name among state track and field followers and ranked at or near the top of the meet’s qualifier list. Except for one. Harlan Community junior Nick Foss pulled off a win that was equal parts unlikely and impressive in the Drake Relays boys long jump

 Harlan Community junior Nick Foss became just the third track athlete in school history to win a Drake Relays’ individual championship Friday morning when he placed first in the boys long jump at Drake Stadium. Sondra Rauterkus won the girls high jump in 1999 and 2000 while Steve Wegner also won back-to-back titles in the boys shot put in 2000 and 2001.

 DES MOINES -- Harlan Community seniors Gillian Streit and Allison Bruck competed with the best of the best at the 2017 Drake Relays this past weekend. And although neither girl worked their way into medalist contention in their feature event, both were happy to be a part of “America’s Athletic Classic” and firmly focused on their goals for the rest of the season. Streit finished 16th out of 24 qualifiers in the discus on Thursday afternoon, t

 DES MOINES -- In a race often dominated by large-school sprinters, AHSTW junior Gage Clay once again held his own in the Drake Relays’ 100-meter dash Friday morning. Running out of lane 8, Clay struggled a bit coming out of the blocks but recovered well to finish third in Heat 2 and place 14th out of 32 qualifiers overall. His time of 11.24 seconds - run on a cold, damp morning - was not far off the cutoff for making the finals (11.12) or his

 HARLAN -- The Harlan Community girls tennis team hosted three dual meets last week, winning 7-2 over Atlantic on Monday and losing to St. Albert (7-2) on Tuesday and Clarinda (6-3) on Thursday. HCHS is now 2-7 on the season, including a 1-7 mark in Hawkeye Ten Conference meets. The Cyclone girls won five out of six singles matches vs. Atlantic, capped by a 9-8 (9-7 tiebreaker) win by Taylor Andersen in a competitive No.

 OAKLAND -- Alex Blum’s penalty kick with 5:51 left in the first half supplied the only goal last Tuesday (April 25) as the Harlan Community boys soccer team improved to 7-1 with a 1-0 win at Riverside (2-5 overall). HCHS controlled the match from a possession standpoint, taking 32 total shots and 16 on goal.

    HARLAN -- Robert “Leroy” Sorensen, 88, a long time resident of Harlan, died April 7.    A memorial service is being planned by his children for later this summer.    Sorensen is survived by children Jan Sorensen (significant other Brenda), Jane (Bill) Penisten, Judy (Robert) Velasquez, Ron (significant other Cheri) Sorensen, Don (Tammy) Sorensen and Jone (Dana) Armentrout; 13 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and one great-great-gra

AVOCA -- Firefighters, law enforcement and emergency services personnel gathered along the bridge at the Avoca exit along Interstate 80 Tuesday, May 2 to pay their respects to a deputy from Pottawattamie County who was killed in the line of duty.  The body of Mark Burbridge was on its way back to Council Bluffs from the state medical examiner’s office in Ankeny Tuesday via a motorcade, and it was a similar scene like the one above along nearly

HARLAN – The Harlan City Council has pushed back action to its Tuesday, May 16 council meeting on a proposed amended ordinance regarding time and age requirements for alcohol establishments, following lengthy discussion at its Tuesday, May 2 meeting this week.    Persons under the age of 21 won’t be allowed in a Harlan business that primarily serves alcohol for consumption on-site after 10 p.m.