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January 2026

Wed
07
Jan

January 7, 2026

Tue
06
Jan

Wildcat boys run past Mustangs, 70-47

Submitted by admin on Tue, 01/06/2026 - 10:31pm

Humboldt's Cade Birdsell drives inside against Fort Dodge St. Edmond in the Wildcats' 61-55 overtime loss to the Gaels on Jan. 6 in Humboldt. Independent photo.

Humboldt got back into the win column by running past Newell-Fonda, 70-47 in a non-conference game in the Humboldt gym on Jan. 8. Cade Birdsell scored 15 points, Jackson Flaherty had 13 and Valley Davis and Dane Clark each scored 12 for Humboldt, which evened its record at 4-4 overall.

St. Edmond clips Humboldt in OT, 61-55
Humboldt's varsity boys' basketball team played their best game of the season on Tuesday night (Jan. 6) in the Humboldt gym but it wasn't enough as visiting Fort Dodge St. Edmond pulled away late for a 61-55 overtime victory over the Wildcats.

Chase Flaherty scored 17 points, Cade Birdsell had 16 and Jackson Flaherty made 11 to lead Humboldt, which slipped to 3-4 overall, 1-3 in the North Central Conference.

St. Edmond, ranked No. 1 in Class 1A, was led by Hunter's Horn's 25 points. Cory Bargfrede finished with 12 points and Jake Koopman and Galles each had 11 for St. Edmond, which improved to 6-0 overall, 5-0 in the NCC.

Tue
06
Jan

Fast start lifts SE past Wildcat girls, 60-51

Submitted by admin on Tue, 01/06/2026 - 10:24pm

Humboldt High senior Ava Fischer was recognized on Jan. 6 in the Humboldt gym after surpassing 1,000 career points in her team's 60-51 loss to Fort Dodge St. Edmond. Fischer entered the game with 999 points and finished the night with 16. She is just the third player in five-player history to top 1,000 career points. Independent photo.

Fort Dodge St. Edmond raced out to a 17-2 lead to start the game and withstood a Humboldt rally to post a 60-51 victory over the Humboldt girls' basketball team in a North Central Conference game in the Humboldt gym on Tuesday night, Jan. 6.

Jada VanDeWalle scored 17 points and Ava Fischer had 16 to pace the Wildcat scoring. Payton Elman was next with six while Kate Sievers and Kiera Anderson each had four. Kayleigh Vinsand netted three and Brayleigh Angstrom added one. Humboldt slipped to 4-4 overall, 2-3 in the NCC. Fischer, a senior, scored her 1,000th career point on her first basket of the game with 1:05 in the first quarter.

St. Edmond (4-2, 3-1) got 32 points from Chloe Palmer. Eden Horn had 10.

Humboldt returns to action on Friday at Iowa Falls-Alden in NCC action.

See full story in the Humboldt Independent. Subscribe today for print/digital access by selecting the link on this page to get started.

Tue
06
Jan

Council hears update from police chief

Submitted by admin on Tue, 01/06/2026 - 2:55pm

Jacob Miller

By PHIL MONSON

HUMBOLDT - Jacob Miller, who has served as Humboldt Chief of Police for the last 14 months, provided an update and read a statement of support at the regular meeting of the Humboldt City Council on Monday night, Jan. 5.

“It’s the start of a new year and I wanted to give you an update of where the police department is at, where we’ve headed and what we have gone through over the last year,” said Miller, who handed out activity charts to the council.

“Over the last year we have struggled with staffing. Sometimes we’ve been down to four and sometimes three. A lot of on-call. A lot of late nights. It has been challenging, to say the least. However, I want to take this opportunity to commend the officers in what they’ve been doing,” Miller said.

Mon
05
Jan

AVA G. MYERS

Submitted by admin on Mon, 01/05/2026 - 3:21pm

Ava Grace Myers, an angel on Earth to all who knew her, completed her earthly journey and was welcomed into Heaven on Jan. 2, 2026, at just 17 years old. A Celebration of Ava’s life will be 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 10 at LifeGate Fellowship Church in Humboldt. Visitation will be 4-6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9 at the church. Lentz Funeral Home of Humboldt is serving the family.
To know Ava was to know love. She loved deeply and without judgment. She adored her family, friends, nurses, caregivers, teachers, doctors and therapists, each of whom played a cherished role in her life. Despite significant physical and medical challenges, Ava taught everyone around her the true meaning of love, patience, perseverance, determination and the importance of laughter. Her mind soared far beyond the limits of her body, and every day spent caring for her was considered an honor by those blessed to do so.

Mon
05
Jan

LAVONNE E. RIGGERT

Submitted by admin on Mon, 01/05/2026 - 3:20pm

Lavonne “Bonnie” Riggert, age 91, of Algona, passed away on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at the Emmetsburg Care Center in Emmetsburg. Funeral services were held on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Algona. Burial was at RiverView Cemetery in Algona.
Lavonne Eloise Miller Riggert was born on June 13, 1934, in Rodman, to Earnest Dale Miller and Helen Eloise (Farmer) Miller. She was baptized and confirmed on March 30, 1947, at Rodman Presbyterian Church. Bonnie graduated from Rodman High School in May of 1951. She enjoyed staying connected with her classmates and took great pleasure in helping plan class reunions, often held at Rodman Park.

Mon
05
Jan

SUZANNE L. VOUGHT

Submitted by admin on Mon, 01/05/2026 - 3:18pm

Suzanne L. (Heim) Vought, 69, of Humboldt, passed away in Willcox, AZ on Dec. 24, 2025. Suzie was born on Jan. 1, 1956 in Fort Dodge, to Floyd and Bertha Heim. She graduated from Humboldt High School in 1975. She had worked as a CNA, a variety of manager positions and as a homemaker. She loved riding horses, country music, being barefoot in the garden, re-purposing old furniture, cooking, reading, summertime and having family BBQ’s and holiday gatherings. She also loved joking around with others and laughing. She met Robert just out of high school. She was joined in marriage to Robert E. Vought of Humboldt on Aug. 25, 1978. They have been together a total of 49 years, making Aug. 25, 2026 their 50th year. Suzie was known for her cooking, independence, being a mom and her resilience.
Sue and Bob’s wishes were for her to be cremated. There will be no service.
Cards, letters of memories, jokes, stories and any pictures can be sent to:
Attn: Jannelle Burgmeier

Mon
05
Jan

TIFFANY M. BRABY

Submitted by admin on Mon, 01/05/2026 - 3:17pm

Tiffany M. Braby, 53, of New York City, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.
Tiffany Braby was the daughter of late Michael Braby and Juliana Criss (Rolfe). She was born on June 5, 1972, in Humboldt. She lived her first several years in the Humboldt area, then Des Moines. Her family then relocated back to Humboldt for some time and finally Bradgate. She graduated from Gilmore City-Bradgate in 1990. After graduating, Tiffany moved to New Jersey to follow her dream of being a nanny, which she then fell in love with the big city lights and moved across the George Washington Bridge to New York City where she had lived the past 30 years.

Mon
05
Jan

ROGER JOHNSON

Submitted by admin on Mon, 01/05/2026 - 3:16pm

Roger Johnson, 87 of Humboldt, passed away at his home on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. Funeral services were held on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, at Zion Lutheran Church in Humboldt. Burial took place at Zion Lutheran Cemetery in Humboldt with Military Honors conducted by Sathers Odgaard VFW Post #5240. Services have been entrusted to Lentz Funeral Home of Humboldt. Online condolences may be left at www.lentzfuneralhome.com.

Sat
03
Jan

Wildcats top Lions, fall to Cowboys

Submitted by admin on Sat, 01/03/2026 - 8:40pm

Humboldt's Carson Chambers controls his opponent for position in a recent wrestling bout. Independent photo.

The Humboldt boys wrestling team split two conference matches at Clarion on Jan8. Humboldt beat Clear Lake 48-31 and lost 64-11 to No. 2 ranked Clarion-Goldfield-Dows. Humboldt is 8-2 overall and 3-2 in conference action.

Hendricks 1st, HHS boys 11th in Osage tournament
Broedy Hendricks was the individual champion at 190 pounds to lead the Humboldt boys' wrestling team at the Osage tournament on Saturday, Jan. 3.

The top-ranked Hendricks improved to 19-0 on the season as he went 3-0 on the day to win his weight class. Tate Halverson placed fifth at 175 pounds. Henry Kramer was sixth at 126, as was Karson Reinhardt at 132. Jaxson Kirchhoff was seven at 165. Caleb Vinsand was eighth at 150.

Osage was the team champion with 162.5 points. Woodbury Central was second, Algona third and Denver fourth in the 18-school field of teams.

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