COUNTY -- Shelby County Emergency Management announced this week that it will again be issuing local fire danger assessments for the spring season.    Bob Seivert, Shelby County Emergency Management Director, said despite the recent snow and rain, there have been several grass and brush fires, especially when the weather was warmer in February.    “With the record breaking and unseasonably high heat, dead vegetation is extremely flammable,

    COUNTY – County officials have pushed back a review of budget options until today with hopes of finalizing a 2017-18 budget plan and holding a public hearing on the budget proposal March 14.    Shelby County Auditor Mark Maxwell, who also serves as budget director, said he’s been working diligently to develop budget proposal options for the county’s board of supervisors to review, but hadn’t yet finalized those options as of last week when

DES MOINES -- For the second time in three years, Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton has reached the semifinals of the Girls State Basketball Tournament.

 MAPLETON -- To say that the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton girls basketball team regrouped at halftime Monday night would be an understatement. The third-rated Spartans trailed Akron-Westfield 33-20 during the intermission of their Class 1-A, Region 1 final in Mapleton, bearing little resemblance to the team that won its first two postseason games by an average of 45.5 points. Exira-EHK turned the ball over 11 times in the first half, struggled to

 Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton is making its third straight trip to Des Moines after reaching the 1-A state semifinals in 2015 and bowing out to Newell-Fonda in last year’s first round. The school’s communities have a strong history at the Girls State Tournament as EH-K qualified eight times (its final appearance in 1997) and Exira qualified six times, capped by a state title in 2010.

    HARLAN -- It’s tough to beat any good team three times in one season.

 CARROLL -- Kuemper Catholic hit five 3-pointers during a pivotal 19-4 second-quarter run and got 22 points from senior standout Matt Dentlinger in beating IKM-Manning 76-53 in Tuesday night’s Class 2-A, District 15 final at Carroll High. The 2nd-ranked Knights (21-2) advanced to Saturday night’s Substate 8 final vs. Alta/Aurelia (21-1) at Denison. IKM-Manning finished the season at 16-7.

ELK HORN -- Finishing the first half on a mini-run, Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton picked up right where it left off in the third quarter Tuesday night and beat Coon Rapids-Bayard, 58-51, in a Class 1-A boys district semifinal. The game was a rubber match between the Rolling Valley Conference rivals, who both won on the opponent’s home floor by seven points during the regular season. Tuesday’s seven-point win improved the Spartans to 18-5 overall a

    ATLANTIC -- A season of ups and downs ended abruptly for the Harlan Community boys basketball team Monday night as the Cyclones were bounced from tournament play by Adel-De Soto-Minburn.    The Tigers went on a 12-2 run in the second quarter and pulled away with a 16-3 second-half spurt to beat the Cyclones 65-51 in a Class 3-A, District 15 semifinal game at Atlantic. ADM (12-10) advanced to Thursday’s district final round against Atlantic