News

The new 70,000 square foot Humboldt Recreation Center opened on Monday, Dec. 3.
Located on Wildcat Road across from Humboldt High School, the beautiful facility was built by the Ken and Marilyn Nielsen family and donated to the city of Humboldt. Sande Construction of Humboldt was the general contractor on the project.
Hours are Monday through Thursday from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Memberships are $50 per month for a family, $40 per month for a single, $25 per month for senior couple and $15 per month for a senior single. For $35 per month, members can access any and all classes offered.

By KENT THOMPSON
It looks like there will be some minor changes to the bump out configuration at Sumner Avenue and Taft Street, and the pilot stop sign program will continue for another two weeks.
That was the word at Monday’s Humboldt City Council meeting.
ISG project manager Nick Frederiksen was at the meeting and offered two possible options to cut back the bump outs at the Sumner/Taft intersection.
“These would be slight changes, cutting back on the slopes and curves, making a smoother turning radius for snow removal and leaving as many parking spots as possible,” Frederiksen said.
Mayor Dan Scholl and other Council members mentioned that the stop signs are back too far. Scholl asked about more uniform signage and asked if stop signs could included lighted red LED dots.
“The stop signs are hard to see. They are a long ways back,” Council member John Sleiter said.

The Humboldt Police Department and the city of Humboldt remind city residents and visitors that it is illegal to park on city streets between the hours of 3-7 a.m. during the months of December, January, February and March.
City ordinance 69.13 applies regardless of weather conditions, and is enforced seven days a week.
Violators are subject to a scheduled fine and possible impoundment of their vehicle.
“We appreciate the public’s cooperation in following this ordinance during the winter months, as following it greatly reduces time, expense and safety consequences during city snow removal operations,” Humboldt Police Administrator Dean Kruger reported.
Questions about the parking ordinance may be address to Humboldt City Hall at (515) 332-3435.

By KENT THOMPSON
The phrase “Show me the Money,” has become part of the pop culture lexicon since being said in the movie “Jerry Maguire” more than 20 years ago.
It is hoped that CMS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services does just that for Humboldt County Memorial Hospital (HCMH) in the coming months.
HCMH and UnityPoint Health have been in a battle with the government agency on the definition of related party status and how much the local critical access hospital should receive in Medicare reimbursement.
Ralph Heasley, UnityPoint Health director of reimbursement for rural hospitals, was at Monday’s (HCMH) meeting and explained that HCMH is one of 16 of rural affiliate hospitals of the Trinity Health System out of Fort Dodge, as well as UnityPoint Health out of Des Moines, who have struggled with reimbursement issues from CMS during the past several years.

By KENT THOMPSON
The phrase “Show me the Money,” has become part of the pop culture lexicon since being said in the movie “Jerry Maguire” more than 20 years ago.
It is hoped that CMS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services does just that for Humboldt County Memorial Hospital (HCMH) in the coming months.
HCMH and UnityPoint Health have been in a battle with the government agency on the definition of related party status and how much the local critical access hospital should receive in Medicare reimbursement.
Ralph Heasley, UnityPoint Health director of reimbursement for rural hospitals, was at Monday’s (HCMH) meeting and explained that HCMH is one of 16 of rural affiliate hospitals of the Trinity Health System out of Fort Dodge, as well as UnityPoint Health out of Des Moines, who have struggled with reimbursement issues from CMS during the past several years.

By CAROLYN SAUL LOGAN
Springvale Living was the scene for a day of quilts honoring veterans. One quilt was created by resident Donna Waechter for the Ottosen American Legion Auxiliary. During the last year the group decided to raffle a quilt to fund their services for veterans. The quilt was won by Dorothea Watnem, who has been a member of the Ottosen American Legion Auxiliary for 23 years. The other quilt was a Quilt of Valor created by the Gilmore City American Legion Auxiliary for Denzil Wiemers, also a resident at Springvale. His quilt displays stars and on the reverse side is embroidered his service information and also the makers of the quilt. Other quilts were created for Gilmore City area veterans Marlyn Ahlrich and Maynard Wiemers. Read more about this effort and see more photos in this week's Humboldt Independent. Subscribe and read all the news by clicking on the link at the top of this page.

Christmasland in Humboldt will open for the holiday season Friday, Nov. 23. This marks the 37th year of this popular holiday attraction sponsored by the Humboldt/Dakota City Noon Kiwanis Club. It has been visited by more than 140,000 people since its opening in 1982. Visitors from most of the 50 U.S. states and some foreign countries have seen the displays. Last year there were more than 4,000 visitors to Kiwanis Christmasland. The goal of the exhibit is to provide an attraction that people of all ages can enjoy.
For 2018, there will be new scenes and other changes at Christmasland, in addition to several of the familiar favorites people have come to know and love over the years.
Christmasland is located directly south of Humboldt City Hall at 407 1st Avenue South. It is one block south of the Humboldt Law Enforcement Center then one-half block east.
Christmasland will be open and closed as listed below for the 2018 holiday season.

A recently completed addition to River Valley Orchards and Winery has a definite Tuscan feel.
An arched bar and doorways help create the Tuscan look to what has been dubbed “The West Wing” by owners Brian and Nicole Gibson.
Construction on the 50’ by 60’ addition started in late May and was recently completed.
“We’re looking forward to offering more fun things for the community to do out here,” Brian Gibson said.
The West Wing will seat 80 to 100 people. It’s a smaller venue to Orchard Hall on the east end of the growing complex, which seats 300 comfortably.
Read the full story and see photos of the new addition in this week's Humboldt Independent. Don't miss out, subscribe by clicking on the link at the top of this page.

By KENT THOMPSON
The Highway 3 Bridge over the East Fork of the Des Moines River, east of Humboldt, is scheduled to open Wednesday, Dec. 5, according to Pete Hjelmstad, field services coordinator for the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) District 2 office in Mason City.
“That date is tentative, but that is what we are shooting for,” Hjelmstad stated on Monday.
Work still needing to be done is the concrete pouring for the bridge rail and the barrier rail, as well as placement of the guard rails after that.
Work began on replacement of the old bridge and new construction of a 364-foot by 44-foot pretensioned, prestressed concrete beam bridge eight months ago.
Despite challenging weather conditions during the spring, summer and fall, the project is only two to three weeks behind schedule. Look for an official announcement as the date nears.

By KENT THOMPSON
Say goodbye to stoplights in downtown Humboldt, temporarily.
Beginning next Monday, Nov. 19, the lights will be switched off and bagged. They will be replaced by stop signs, including four-way stops at the intersections of both 5th Street and Sumner Avenue and Taft Street and Sumner Avenue.
The Taft Street interchange will also have new lines of demarcation (surface mounted flexible lane delineators.) They will mark bump outs from the present curb stops, providing a narrower crosswalk and hopefully a better and safer traffic flow in the downtown business district.
The temporary changes will include northbound and southbound stop signs on both 6th Street and 8th Streets.
Traffic on Sumner Avenue going east or westbound through town will only have to stop twice, once at 5th Street and again at Taft Street.