June 2024

The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the West Fork of the Des Moines River.

The flood warning includes the area from Bradgate south to Fort Dodge and goes into effect immediately and will continue until further notice. The river level is expected to reach 16.8 feet, which is nearly 7 feet above the flood stage of 10 feet at the Sumner Avenue Bridge. This level is predicted to crest on Wednesday, June 26, at 1 p.m. Until then we will see rivers continue to rise rapidly.

This flooding is being caused by rainfall along the west branch of the Des Moines River in northern Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota. Any rainfall that this area sees over the next 24-72 hours could greatly impact these levels.

The Humboldt County Emergency Management Operations Center will open for flood operations effective immediately and will be providing updates every morning at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. through this event.

Cristhian Ramirez, a senior on the Humboldt High boys’ golf team, was recently named Class 2A 1st Team All-State by the Iowa Soccer Coaches’ Association.

Ramirez, a three-year starter, helped the Wildcats compile a 13-2 record and their third straight North Central Conference title. A fleet-footed, slick-handling ball scorer and passer, Ramirez scored 27 goals to lead Humboldt this past season.

Wildcat had coach Joe Hadar announced the squad will hold their season-ending awards banquet on Sunday, June 23, at 6 p.m. at the Taft Park picnic shelter. Hamburgers, brats and hot dogs will be provided. Side dishes and desserts will be potluck. Attendees should bring their own beverage (non-alcoholic).

Hadar encourages the public to come out and help the team celebrate another North Central Conference championship and final fourth-place ranking in the Class 2A power rankings.

By KYLIE PORTZ
Last month the Humboldt County Soil and Water Conservation District visited elementary schools in the area to distribute pollinator shrubs to 167 fourth grade students.
During the presentation students were encouraged to submit photos of their newly planted and named shrubs to the Humboldt SWCD for the chance to win a $25 gift card to Casey’s. Out of the nine students who responded online, the winner was drawn at random during the Humboldt SWCD meeting on June 12.

The winner of the contest was:
Sapphire Aldrich, from Taft Elementary and her shrub who she named “Lexi”.

Selected as runner-up for the contest was:
Mitch Howey, also from Taft Elementary named his shrub “The Pollinator- I’ll Bee Back”.

By Phil Monson
When Kenneth Kuyper began helping in his father’s electrical business as a teen, little did he know it would eventually lead to a long and successful career at Corn Belt Power Cooperative in Humboldt. Recently, Kuyper retired after working nearly 44 years with the company.
“Corn Belt has been a great place to work my entire career. I came here straight out of Iowa State University and I found the right place and the timing was right for me to hit the right spot here as a few people had been retiring when I arrived. I had opportunities to advance,” Kuyper said.
“Corn Belt has given me a lot of opportunities to learn a lot of different things and I have been able to participate in different things outside of Corn Belt,” said Kuyper, who began working as an engineer at Corn Belt in July of 1980.
To read more about Kuyper and his retirement read this weeks issue of the Humboldt Independent, your trusted source for local news!