News

One person was killed and multiple others were injured when an Iowa Lakes Community College baseball charter bus rolled in Calhoun County. The following is a statement released by the Calhoun County Emergency Management Department.

CALHOUN COUNTY — On February 11th, 2026, at approximately 11:06 a.m., the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office received multiple 911 calls reporting a rollover crash involving an Iowa Lakes Community College bus on State

Highway 4 near 220th Street in Calhoun County. An Iowa State Patrol Trooper arrived on scene at approximately 11:09 a.m. Due to the number of individuals involved and the extent of reported injuries, a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) was declared.
Local fire departments, emergency medical services, law enforcement agencies and mutual aid partners responded to the scene.

The Boards of Education of the Humboldt and Twin Rivers Community School Districts announced today the three finalists for the position of Superintendent of Schools.

The three finalists will interview on Wednesday, Feb. 11. The formal interview schedule includes multiple sessions with stakeholder groups and a community tour. Feedback from the interview teams will be shared with the school board later the same evening to assist them in selecting the new superintendent. The successful candidate will begin their duties on July 1, 2026.

Ken Hayes
Ken brings more than 30 years of experience in public education, having served as a teacher, High School Principal and university professor. He holds a Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Northern Iowa and a Specialist Degree with PK–12 Superintendent/AEA Administrator and Director of Special Education endorsements from Drake University.

By APRIL KELLEY

Seiler Appliance has been a staple in the business community in Humboldt County for more than 60 years and will remain in place following the recent sale of the business.

Seiler Appliance was established when John Seiler and his wife, Laura, bought the appliance store from Jerry Vandenberg in 1963.

In January of 1996, John sold the business to his son Russ and Russ’s wife, Mary. Now, 30 years later, Russ and Mary followed in John’s footsteps and sold the business to their son, David Seiler and his wife, Emma.

“I thought it was time to step back a little bit. I am still coming in most every day and working so I can help them to get started,” Russ said.

David who has worked in the business since the age of 14, took a few years after school to attend Iowa Central Community College, majoring in HVAC systems.

By APRIL KELLEY
Bitterly cold weather and snow squalls delayed the regularly scheduled Humboldt County Conservation meeting from Wednesday, Jan. 21 to Thursday, Jan. 22 at noon.

Following the yearly election of officers, the positions remained unchanged. Bob Rasmussen serves as Chairman and Will Spellmeyer is co-chair.

The projected budget remains unchanged as well. Three major expenditures over the next year are expected to be the remodeling of the Gotch Park Shelter, a new mower and wayfinding signage for the Three Rivers Trail.

“This is the same stuff we have talked about the last few months. Not any surprises in there,” Conservation Director Todd Lee said.

He also spoke to the Supervisors regarding 50/50 revenue sharing.

“They had quite a few questions but I think there was pretty good dialogue back and forth. I think they grasped what we are trying to do,” Lee said.

(Updated: 7:30 a.m.)

Area Closings and Delays
Humboldt County
Humboldt Community School District & St. Mary's: 2-hour delay, no am preschool or activities
Twin Rivers: 2 hour delay, no am preschool or activities
Gilmore City-Bradgate: 2 hour delay
King's Kids Preschool: closed

Kossuth County
Algona Public Schools: 2 hour delay, no am preschool or activities
North Union Schools: 2 hour dleay
West Bend Mallard Schools: 2 hour delay

Wright County
Belmond-Klemme Schools:2 hour delay, no am preschool or activities
Clarion-Goldfield Dows: 2 hour delay
Eagle Grove Schools: Closing 2 hours delay

Pocahontas County
Pocahontas Area Community School District: 2 hour delay
Laurens-Marathon Schools: 2 hour delay

By APRIL KELLEY
On Wednesday, Jan. 7, area firefighters and ambulance personnel spent the evening training on the best practices for handling passengers on a school bus following an accident.

Riding the school bus is one of the safest ways for school children to travel to school. According to research done at MIT, students are 70 times more likely to get to school safely by bus than car. Recent laws and innovations are improving those numbers every year.

Starting in Oct. of 2019, all new buses purchased by schools in Iowa are required to have lap and shoulder belts, although older buses were not required to be retrofitted.

In Humboldt, five buses are outfitted with seatbelts and three buses for Twin Rivers have them.

Another safety feature on those eight buses is a fire suppression system. The systems, which cost approximately $3,500 per bus put out a fire in less than a minute, saving lives.

By APRIL KELLEY
Humboldt County Engineer Ben Loots requested permission from the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors to reapply for the BUILD grant for the third year during the Supervisors' regular weekly meeting on Monday, Dec. 29.

Humboldt County has applied for the grant along with six other counties for the past two years. Butler County is taking the lead on the grant, applying for all seven counties.

The grant funding would be used to replace the Murray Bridge located between Rutland and Bradgate. At present, the bridge is only load rated up to a pickup, not ideal on Iowa’s agricultural roadways. The specifications for the new bridge also require the direction of the bridge to be adjusted to create a straighter travel trajectory.

The group’s application was rejected the first year due to several areas that needed to be revised.

By KYLIE PORTZ
Humboldt Newspapers has a longstanding history, with its earliest publication dating back to 1860, making it likely the oldest business in Humboldt still in operation today. It remains the only newspaper serving Humboldt County. As such, Humboldt Newspapers has been dedicated to preserving and documenting Humboldt's history over the years, maintaining archives of its publications since 1904.

In the spirit of Christmas, this humble reporter decided to take a look into Christmas Past - breaking out the archival pages of the Humboldt Republican from 1925. Here is what I found.

A.B White Company, a department store, published a full-page ad in the paper on Dec. 18 inviting the community to its store to meet Santa Claus. The ad reads, "Bring the children and let them tell him their stories." The advertisement also provided some gift ideas, including hosiery, footwear, handkerchiefs and "Snappy Dresses."

By APRIL KELLEY
HUMBOLDT - The Humboldt County Conservation Board and The City of Humboldt agreed to an updated 28E agreement during the Conservation Board’s regular meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 17.

City Administrator Cole Bockelmann attended the meeting to discuss the new terms of the agreement concerning Eagle Ridge.

When the development of Eagle Ridge began, a 28E agreement was signed on April 15, 2013, between the Conservation Department, the City of Humboldt and the Humboldt County Housing Development Corporation (HCHDC).

Now that the land has been developed, the HCHDC no longer has an interest in maintaining the remaining ground which is held by the City of Humboldt and Humboldt County Conservation. This meant that a new 28E agreement needs to be reached between the City of Humboldt and Humboldt County Conservation.

Elementary Students donate 2,748 non-perishable food items to Humboldt Food Pantry

By KYLIE PORTZ
This holiday season, students at Taft and Mease Elementary are giving back to the community, donating nearly 3,000 non-perishable food items to the local food pantry through a schoolwide “Pounce on Hunger” food drive.

Taft Elementary Principal Ryan Fedders said, “We knew going into the holiday season that there would be many families in need.”

Each year, students at Taft Elementary collect donations for the Humboldt Food Pantry and place them under the “Giving Tree” an initiative that began with third-grade teacher Becky Allen.

This year, staff at Taft Elementary recognized a need in the community for food donations and decided to step up. School secretary Cassie Hartmann penned the catchphrase “Pounce on Hunger.”