News

By Kent Thompson
The Humboldt-Dakota City Chamber of Commerce wants people to know that it is on the move, in every sense of the word.
Beginning next Friday, June 30, the Chamber will be in its new offices at 627 Sumner Ave. The former location of The Bootery will not only be the Chamber’s new headquarters, it will also be the location of the new Welcome Center for Humboldt County.
“In discussions with the Board of Directors it was agreed that the Chamber needed a bigger presence in the community. By having our own office space and opening a Welcome Center for Humboldt County, we hope to expand our ability to promote the community of Humboldt and the county as a whole,” Chamber Director Jenna Mulford said.
To read more about the new center and Chamber plans, see the full article by subscribing. Click on the link at the top of the page to find out how. See additional content and information on the Humboldt Newspapers Facebook page.

By Phil Monson
The Gilmore City-Bradgate School District continues to buck the trend and remain a strong and viable school in rural, north central Iowa.
One of the reasons for its rebirth has been its growing daycare center, now 13 years old.
“During the day we average about 75 to 80 children. We have 115 children on our roster,” Daycare director Wendy Herzberg said. “We are open all year long. We close for four or five major holidays a year, otherwise we are open.”
The daycare started in a portable building on SE E Avenue. It has been located in the lower floor of the GC-B Elementary School for the past three years. Having access to all of the amenities the elementary school students have has been a huge plus in terms of convenience and keeping costs down.
To read more about the operation see this week's Humboldt Independent. Subscribe to online or print editions by clicking on the link at the top of the page.

By Kent Thompson
Nine months after ground breaking comes the arrival of a new Fareway grocery store in Humboldt.
The new Fareway location at 1700 10th Ave. N. will open for business next Wednesday, June 28.
There will be a ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration at 9:30 a.m.
Guest speakers will be Frederick R. Greiner, Fareway president and chief operating officer, Reynolds W. Cramer, Fareway chief executive officer, Humboldt County Development Association Director Alissa O’Connor and Humboldt-Dakota City Chamber of Commerce Director Jenna Mulford.
Perhaps no one in the community is more excited about the new store opening than Humboldt Fareway Store Manager Jeremy Riesselman. The new store will coincide with his one-year anniversary in Humboldt.
“It’s something we’ve been looking forward to for a long time,” Riesselman told The Independent.

By Kent Thompson
The 12th annual Humboldt Arts Festival promises something for everyone, and it’s a promise that is sure to be delivered upon.
The annual event is the effort of the Humboldt Area Arts Community, a non-profit group that works to promote and foster the arts in Humboldt County.
The many corporate and individual sponsors and supporters of the group help ensure the funds to be able to provide a festival with free of charge events and activities for people of all ages.
The festival itself will take place Saturday, June 17, at the Humboldt County Historical Museum, 905 1st Ave. N., Dakota City. The hours will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“We are excited this year with something new, an added bonus to the Arts Festival itself,” said festival chairperson Jodi Giddings.

By Kent Thompson
Beginning its fifth week of temporary shutdown, Born Free Motorcoach and its employees are in a state of limbo, one they wish they had answers for, according to product manager Brandon Dodgen.
“We are treating it as a temporary layoff, as ownership says it wants to reopen,” Dodgen stated.
There is also the possibility that the longtime Humboldt manufacturing business could close its doors for good, he reported.
Once a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dodgen Industries, Born Free Motorcoach was sold 2-1/2 years ago to HBF Investment, an Iowa limited liability corporation.
“I wish I knew what the future holds. I would love to see the plant continue to operate in Humboldt.
“I’m like the rest of our employees and customers. I’m playing a waiting game,” Brandon Dodgen said.
To read more about this story, see this week's Humboldt Independent. Subscribe by clicking on the link at the top of the page.

The Humboldt Board of Education met on Wednesday, May 31 for a short meeting. Personnel moves included the hiring of Brad Nelson to serve as middle school dean of students and activities director for the 2017-18 school year. The board also approved the hiring of Emily Lane as summer academy teacher. Lane teaches science at the high school during the academic year.
Cadie Schmadake was hired as main cook at Taft Elementary School for 2017-18. She will also handle the summer food program.
Carol Quint was hired as high school special education teacher while Roseanne Gammello was approved to teach science at the high school level.
The board also approved extended year contracts for elementary school teachers Jenny Boswell and Bree McDaniel for working with a second grade student with special needs. The board also hired Tyler Benschoter as high school Spanish teacher for 2017-18.

By Kent Thompson
“Anytime you do underground work you find treasures,” Humboldt City Administrator Travis Goedken told the Humboldt City Council on Monday.
In the case of the Lewis Street storm sewer project, which included extensive excavation of Sumner Avenue SW, the treasures were more in the wood nickel variety than pieces of eight or gold doubloons.
“The first part was there was a pavement depth of 16-18 inches, which differed from what was expected. Workers also found a box culvert running where the new storm sewer had to be installed, so that had to be removed. Also, there was additional subdrains that had to be tied into the new storm sewer. Those were also unknown,” Goedken told the Council.
To read about this and other action at the meeting, subscribe to The Humboldt Independent by clicking on the link at the top of this page.

By Phil Monson
To say that the month of May was hectic would be an understatement for the Tim and Jennifer Vought family in Dakota City.
The Vought's had three graduations to deal with.
Yes, we're talking three.
Not only did their youngest child, Tyler, graduate from Humboldt High School on May 21, their oldest, Kaitlynn, graduated from college on May 13, one week after Jennifer graduated from Allen College in Waterloo.
Read about their educational experiences in this week's Humboldt Independent. Subscribe online by clicking on the link at the top of the page.

By Kent Thompson
Ordinary people thrust in extraordinary circumstances.
That was the summation of what transpired during World War II, our nation’s largest global conflict, which lasted from the beginning of September 1939 to the beginning of September in 1945.
Few remain of what broadcaster and author Tom Brokaw termed “The Greatest Generation,” the title of his 1998 book describing some of the exploits of the group of citizens who grew up during the Great Depression and came to adulthood fighting in battles throughout six continents and the world’s oceans.
Of the 16,112,566 members of the U.S. Armed Forces involved during World War II, only around 620,000 were estimated to still be alive in 2016, according to Department of Veterans Affairs, and the ranks are shrinking quickly. As many as 400 U.S. World War II veterans die each day.

Work continued on Sumner Avenue SW Wednesday morning as workers from Denver Underground of Denver and subcontractor Iowa Wall Sawing of Independence saw cut the pavement on the street. According to Humboldt City Administrator Travis Goedken, as with any underground construction project, there are some "hidden treasures. This one just happened to be a rather large abandoned concrete box culvert that was running right where we were going to install the new storm sewer. There has been some significant time added to the project because of its removal." Goedken said the street may have be closed through this weekend (June 4). "There was also more pavement to be removed than we thought, as the street was 18 inches thick," the city administrator said.
See more information on city government and local construction projects in The Humboldt Independent.