On September 15, the Mabel-Canton School Board held a regular meeting. One of the main topics was how to handle the potential need to make changes to the learning model, if/when COVID-19 cases increase in the area, especially in the school population. Superintendent Gary Kuphal said he’d like to add a school board member onto Mabel-Canton’s Incident Command Team. He … [Read more...]
Rich Wicks
Reporter
rich@fillmorecountyjournal.com
What's an Iowegian doing writing for the Journal? That's a mystery. All
we really know is that Rich lives in Cresco (Iowa), and when he's not
working, he can often be spotted chasing his wife and kids around the
neighborhood, hollering, "Uff da, slow down!"
Kingsland opens with COVID steps in place
The Kingsland School Board held a “work session” meeting on September 9, with some members participating via remote technology means, due to current social distancing guidelines. All board members were in attendance (Jackie Horsman, Tiffany Mundfrom, Noella Lund, Natasha Howard, Maranda Emig, and Kyle Rader), as well as Superintendent Jim Hecimovich, Principal Scott Klavetter, … [Read more...]
Ostrander skid loader options mulled
The Ostrander City Council held a brief special meeting on September 8, with all members present (Stephanie Start, Dan Hellerud, DJ Start, Vernon Thompson, Mayor Pam Kunert, and City Clerk Wendy Brincks). The first portion of the meeting was a “work session” during which the council discussed uses for some of the city’s CARES Act funding. Public Works Director Jeremy Runkle … [Read more...]
Ostrander considers social media presence
The Ostrander City Council met on September 1, with all members present (Stephanie Start, Dan Hellerud, DJ Start, Vernon Thompson, Mayor Pam Kunert, and City Clerk Wendy Brincks). There was discussion that some citizens have suggested the city have a presence on social media, such as Facebook, as a way for citizens to stay informed of city news and events. Stephanie Start … [Read more...]
Pay increase and hirings for Spring Valley Fire Department
At their August 24 meeting, the Spring Valley City Council approved a pay increase for members of the fire department, beginning September 1, and effective when they are paged out for calls. Council member Mike Hadland made the motion, stating that after the city’s recent increase in EMT pay, “I would like to see the hourly wage raised for the fire department.” He suggested … [Read more...]
A fitting memorial to Brett
Teri and Brett Jarland shared a love of golf, and of spending time with friends and family. In fact, when they were married in 2003, their wedding reception was held at Harmony Golf Course, and they included a golf outing in their festivities. Brett was diagnosed with cancer, and eventually received services from Mayo Hospice, which Teri said was “wonderful.” When Brett … [Read more...]
Convoy 2020 version
It was August 15, just after noon, and the weather could not have been finer, And the trucks were thicker than bugs on a bumper, lined up around Sarah’s Diner. With no bears in sight, they started to roll, half a mile outta Canty-town, With plenty of time, they were doing fine, no need to put the hammer down! By the time they rolled into Harmony, there were … [Read more...]
Mabel-Canton opts to fully open school
On August 13, the Mabel-Canton School Board held a special meeting, with only one agenda item: planning for the upcoming school year. Athletic Director Lonnie Morken gave the board an update on sports, saying that the plan is for football and volleyball to have their seasons in the spring, roughly March 15-May 15. Other fall sports (cross country, soccer, tennis, and … [Read more...]
Spring Valley ups EMT call pay
The Spring Valley City Council held a regular council meeting on August 10, with all members attending (Luan Ruesink, Chris Danielson, Mike Hadland, John Dols, and Mayor Tony Archer). Also attending was City Administrator Deb Zimmer. One of the main topics discussed was the suggestion to increase the EMT call rate. Deb Zimmer explained that two of the ambulance crew … [Read more...]
Wykoff looks to fill zoning and firefighter vacancies
On August 10, the Wykoff City Council met in regular session. All council members were in attendance (Lyle Morey, Richard Gleason, Mayor Al Williams, Mary Tjepkes and Mary Sackett) as well as City Clerk Becky Schmidt and Deputy Clerk Luann Hare. No visitors had signed up to address the council on non-agenda issues. Wade Baker gave a report on the fire department. He … [Read more...]