News

Thu
14
Mar

Supervisors hear update on Eagle Ridge Nature Trail


This is a drawing of the area above the Eagle Ridge housing development that will be formed into a crushed limestone walking/biking trail. The city is awaiting FEMA approval to get the project out for bid. It is expected that will happen in June. Drawing courtesy of ISG.

BY APRIL KELLEY
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors received an update on the Eagle Ridge Nature Trail project during their regular meeting on Monday, March 10.
Humboldt City Administrator Cole Bockelmann, Humboldt Parks Superintendent Clayton Vorland, ISG Project Manager Nicholas Frederiksen and ISG Civil Engineer, Joey Whitehouse presented the supervisors with plats and an artists rendering of what the new Eagle Ridge Nature Trail will look like.
According to Frederiksen, planning for the trail began in 2017 when the application for the pedestrian bridge was submitted. The soft loop trail was submitted and accepted the next year. The project was approved for just under one million dollars in grants, covering most of the costs.

Thu
14
Mar

Moritorium for commercial wind systems in effect


Windmills like the ones seen in fields in nearby Kossuth and Webster counties will not be part of the Humboldt County landscape for the remainder of 2024, following action by the Humboldt County Supervisors earlier this year. Humboldt Independent file photo.

BY APRIL KELLEY
Many residents in Humboldt County are still reporting they are being contacted by sales representatives for wind energy systems even though the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors put a one-year freeze on any new energy systems as of Jan. 2.
Resolution 2024-01-07 which put in place a moratorium prohibiting Humboldt County Iowa from approving new commercial energy systems states in part:
Humboldt County Iowa is hereby prohibited from receiving, reviewing, considering, or approving any application of any Commercial Wind Energy Conversion Systems, Private Commercial Pipeline Transmission Systems, Commercial Solar Energy Systems and Commercial Electrical Energy Transmission Systems.
Supervisor Chair Dave Lee said, “I know the salespeople are out there beating on the doors and I have heard several people say they have been at their place.”

Thu
07
Mar

Correction to advertisement


Incorrect information was transferred to the Two Rivers Timber Ghosts advertisement on page 3 of this week's Humboldt Reminder. The correct information is printed here. The banquet will be this Saturday, March 9 at the Humboldt County Event Center with doors opening at 5 p.m., followed by a supper and a live auction at 7:30 p.m. Humboldt County Newspapers sincerely apologizes for the error.
Thu
07
Mar

City says no curbside junk pick up


A scene from city junk days collection a few years ago. Monday night, the Humboldt City Council voted to eliminate curbside pickup of junk items this year and ask residents and businesses to deliver items to the city of Humboldt Recycling Center, 1310 Taft Street S., on selected dates and times. Read more about it in this week's Humboldt Independent.

By KENT THOMPSON
There will be changes to this year’s junk days pickup process for city of Humboldt residents.
Rather than a curbside pickup, it will be a residential delivery process to the city’s recycling center and main lift station area.
The central reason for the change is the safety of city staff, but also centers around a more efficient and cost-effective way of collecting the junk that is too large to fit in traditional garbage bags with the required city stickers.
“Other cities that I’ve researched go with a centralized site for drop off, generally,” Humboldt City Administrator Cole Bockelmann said.

Thu
07
Mar

For Brabys it's all about giving back


Rutland Mayor Susan Tille (left) poses with Jean and Larry Braby of Pocahontas. The Brabys were in Humboldt recently to make a generous donation to the Rose Mill Park shelter project in Rutland. Humboldt Independent photo.

Members of the Humboldt Veterans Memorial Association Committee are pictured with Jean and Larry Braby of Pocahontas (center), recipients of the Diamond Donor Award for a contribution of $10,000 to the memorial that will be constructed in Humboldt later this year. Pictured from left to right: Vicki Schwint, Daryle Zwiefel, Jean and Larry Braby, Dean Ewoldt and Ron Rasmussen. Humboldt Independent photo.

By KENT THOMPSON
While Larry and Jean Braby have called Pocahontas home for 60 years, they have never been far from their true home, Humboldt and Rutland.
Jean Schuyler graduated from Humboldt in 1955 and Larry Braby followed her a year later in 1956.
The couple was back in town recently to present checks to a couple of projects near and dear to their hearts, the new shelter house at Rose Mill Park in Rutland and the Veterans Memorial being planned for Worthington Park in Humboldt.
Read about why they think it is important to give back to their hometown in this week's Humboldt Independent, your trusted source for local news and sports.

Thu
07
Mar

Humboldt assistant police chief has varied background


Humboldt’s new Assistant Police Chief John Rodriguez stands in front of the colorful flag outlining services and missions supported at the Humboldt County Law Enforcement Center. Humboldt Independent photo by Kent Thompson.

By KENT THOMPSON
He’s traveled the world. Made California his home for more than 20 years. He’s had experience in the miliary, law enforcement and academic circles and most recently was a consultant in helping a Native American tribal community establish its own police department.
So what is John Rodriguez doing in Humboldt, Iowa?
“Personally, my wife and family had been looking to get out of California the last 10-15 years. We like being outdoors and I love the open spaces here.
“I grew up in a pretty conservative area and I wanted to find a community that shares some of our same values and ethics," he said.
Read more about the assistant police chief in this week's Humboldt Independent. Subscribe by clicking on the link at the top of the page.

Thu
29
Feb

City instituting plan to thin dying ash tree population


Ash trees infected with Emerald Ash Borer are identified by having a thinning canopy on top and the bottom of the trunk will be punctuated with little water sprouts. Ash trees that are not too far diseased can be saved with an injection. It costs about $200 per application and is required every other year for the life of the tree, an arborist who is an expert in urban forestry told the Humboldt City Council last week. ISU Extension file photo.

By KENT THOMPSON
It appears that the city of Humboldt will have to be equally industrious in its aggressiveness in thinning out diseased ash trees and repopulating city spaces with more desirable species.
That was the word from an urban forestry consultant commissioned by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to do an inventory and assessment of trees in the city of Humboldt on public lands. He spoke via Zoom at the Humboldt City Council’s meeting on Feb. 20.
Dana Genereux was the arborist hired to do the study.
He reported that 74 percent of the city-owned trees need management, be that crown cleaning, crown reduction, crown raising, removal or tree staking. He cited 227 trees on public property for removal, or about 8 percent. Of that number, 15 were determined “critical” or in a standing dead condition. He recommended 53 trees to be removed in the next three years with the city planting two trees for every one removed.

Thu
29
Feb

Conservation Board asked to help with river development plans


Rutland Mayor Susan Tille updated the Humboldt County Conservation Board on efforts she has undertake to improve the Des Moines River between Rutland and Humboldt.

BY APRIL KELLEY
Rutland Mayor Susan Tille spoke e at the Humboldt County Conservation Board's monthly meeting on Feb. 21, requesting that the Conservation Board reverse its decision to pursue option two and to work with the RIVER development group in restoring Lake Nokomis by repairing the dam.
“We are not asking for the money, we are asking you to come to the table to have conversations and share ideas. We would like to work with the county, the conservation [board] and the City of Humboldt with the common goal to restore the waterway and the lake that we have here in Humboldt County,” Tille said.
“I feel we need to be transparent as possible and keep the information flowing. I have reached out to IOWATER through the DNR, IDALS and Farm Bureau about dam to dam otherwise known as a two-tier water shed treatment program or water quality and I am also looking at the Iowa Confluence Water Trails,” Tille continued.

Thu
29
Feb

Legal battle over Rutland Quarry operation


Cole Anderson who runs a local construction business, is interested in reopening the Rutland Quarry for mining operations. Humboldt County has filed a restraining order to prevent any such activity unless Anderson receives a special exception use permit from the Humboldt County Zoning Board of Adjustment.

BY APRIL KELLEY
A legal battle has begun in Humboldt County. It concerns the Rutland Quarry south of town. On Wednesday, Feb. 14, Humboldt County through an attorney hired by the county, Nicholas K. Cochrane of Fort Dodge, filed a petition for a restraining order against Cole Anderson of Rutland from continuing to conduct quarrying operations on the property, involution of the county's zoning ordinance. The filing says a special use exception permit would be needed.

Mon
26
Feb

Former teacher charged


Samantha A. Meyer-Davis, 31, of Rutland, is facing sexual abuse and exploitation charges following a five-month investigation by the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. Meyer-Davis, a former Humboldt Middle School teacher, is accused of having relations with a middle school/high school student.

A former Humboldt Middle School teacher has been charged with two felony counts after an investigation into an alleged sexual relationship between the former teacher and a Humboldt High School student.
According to a press release, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) was made aware of a possible sexual relationship between former middle school teacher, Samantha Ann Meyer-Davis, 31, of Rutland, and a high school student, in September of 2023. In October of last year, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) became involved in the investigation at the request of the sheriff’s office.
According to the release, throughout the investigation, many interviews were conducted and multiple search warrants were granted for electronic devices, social media platforms and physical addresses.
Meyer-Davis was charged with sexual abuse in the third degree, a class C felony, and sexual exploitation by a school employee, a class D felony.

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