News

By PHIL MONSON
HUMBOLDT - It’s been literally a rocky path forward for contractors working on the 4th Avenue North water main improvement project in Humboldt this summer.

At the Humboldt City Council’s regular meeting held Monday night, July 7, the council approved payment of $222,378.28 to Wunsch Construction of Greene, to cover 40 percent of the overall costs. Prior to that, the council approved a change order for a net increase of $28,566.40.

Nick Frederiksen of ISG Engineering, was at Monday’s meeting to update the council on the project.

“Other than a few loose ends, the water main is in. They have been working on water service lines for the last two weeks,” Frederiksen said. “It’s been a little bit slow going. The amount of rock we have encountered is more than we had expected.”

HUMBOLDT - Lifelong Humboldt County resident Russ Jensen will serve as marshal of the Humboldt Independence Day parade on Friday evening, July 4. The parade will be one of several events taking place for the annual summer holiday.

The parade, which begins at 7 p.m., will start on Taft Street north of downtown and take its usual route traveling west along 1st Avenue North before turning for one block on 8th Street North and then proceeding east on Sumner Avenue. It will continue north on 4th Street before turning back west on 5th Street.

The parade, which begins at 7 p.m., will start on Taft Street north of downtown and take its usual route traveling west along 1st Avenue North before turning for one block on 8th Street North and then proceeding east on Sumner Avenue. It will continue north on 4th Street before turning back west on 5th Street.

By APRIL KELLEY
DAKOTA CITY - Scott Curran with the Abens-Marty-Curran Agency in Humboldt presented the annual insurance update for the county during the Board of Supervisors’ regular meeting on Monday, June 30.

Curran informed the Supervisors that the total premium had actually gone down this year from $279,521 in 2024-25 to $275,857.00 for 2025-26.

“We are down $3,664 over the expiring premium. Workers' compensation has been our hero over the last couple of years and you will see a reduction of over $15,000 in our workers' compensation premium,” Curran said.

“This is a great testament to all of you. Ever since we put a safety committee in place who have been having regular meetings, it has been driving that premium down,” Curran said.

Over the last five years, the workers' compensation premiums have gone from $96,000 and this year is just over $32,000.

By APRIL KELLEY
The Des Moines River was the main topic of conversation during the Humboldt County Conservation Board meeting on Wednesday, June 18.

Humboldt County Conservation Director Dave Lee told the board that he had been in contact with John Wenck who is the Water Trails Coordinator with the DNR.

Water Trails are recreational corridors and routes on rivers and lakes designed to provide adequate access points and amenities for canoeists and kayakers in the state of Iowa.
Wenck suggested that they map the Des Moines River to continue the water trails.

“At this time it pretty much stops at the border of Humboldt. It would attract people if we were to have a completed map of this stretch of the river,” Lee said.

Lee described the mapping similar to Google Street View for roads. People would be able to input their route and see where access points are, curves or rapids in the river and any other obstacles.

By PHIL MONSON

HUMBOLDT - The emergence of electric scooters in the community has created a new set of issues when it comes to safety, according to Humboldt resident Barry Ellis.

Ellis and his wife, who reside at 301 5th Street North in Humboldt, spoke during open forum at the Humboldt City Council meeting on Monday night, June 16. Ellis lives near the T intersection with 3rd Avenue North, which has a stop sign illuminated by a red flashing light. The intersection is a busy street crossing with a sidewalk entering into Taft Park on the west side of the street.

“Just recently I witnessed a kid on a scooter drive across the street into the park. He didn’t stop. A white car, lucky it wasn’t going too fast, laid at least a seven-foot skid mark to avoid running him over,” Ellis said.

RUTLAND - Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig got more than he bargained for when he visited the West River Meats locker in Rutland on June 11.

Naig got an in-depth tour of the facility, owned and operated by Don Thul. And before departing, he made a purchase of some tasty food items.

Naig, who also farms in Palo Alto County, talked about the “Choose Iowa” initiative his department has been promoting the last two years.

“We’re really excited about Choose Iowa effort and we are over 270 members now. We launched it at the Iowa State Fair in 2023 and we are making great progress and doing exciting things,” Naig said. Read the story in this week's issue of the Humboldt Independent!

By KYLIE PORTZ
During their regular meeting on June 9, the Humboldt Community School District Board of Director’s discussed sharing agreements, handbook changes, and bill payments.

First on the docket for the evening was the superintendent's report from Superintendent Murray, later in the evening the board gave their superintendent evaluations during a closed session.

During his report, Superintendent Murray updated the board on staffing, the summer food program and facilities updates.

According to Superintendent Murray, the resignation of Josh Telschaw as technology assistant created an opening for the role, which will be filled by Britini O’Leary. O’Leary will take on the title as K-12 Technology Integrationist for the upcoming school year.

Regarding the Summer Food Program, Superintendent Mur-ray reported that there was a good turnout for the first week of service.

DES MOINES -- The Iowa DNR has issued a statewide Air Quality Alert through 6 a.m. Thursday, June 5. The Air Quality Index (AQI) may reach the red or unhealthy category in affected areas.

Thick smoke from Canadian wildfires was pulled down to the surface early Tuesday morning and levels in northwestern Iowa have been measured in the unhealthy category for the last several hours. Sensitive groups of people as well as the general public may experience health effects at this level.

Intermittent thick smoke can be expected over Iowa with the heaviest band stretching across the state from the southwest through the northeast. This band will move south across the state today and tonight. Elevated levels of fine particulates may be a concern over the next several days as the smoke continues to move through the state.

By APRIL KELLEY

HUMBOLDT - At a recent meeting, the presenter led off with a quote by Dr. Irving Selikoff which said “Statistics are people with the tears wiped away.”

Humboldt Police Chief Jacob Miller knows that saying all too well as a law enforcement officer and head of the Humboldt Police Department (HPD).

Miller addressed the Humboldt City Council on Monday, June 2 at a work session before the regular meeting and imparted statistics, minus the pain behind the numbers.

“It’s been about six months since I was hired and I want to give you guys an update, and the citizens an update on what we have been doing and how we have been doing it and why we are doing it,” Miller said.

Miller introduced his officers who were able to attend the meeting, Dan Cotterill, Scott Burtch and Steven Hale. Amber Williams and Loney Floen were both on duty.

By APRIL KELLEY
DAKOTA CITY - A mix of drainage issues, road repairs, courthouse upgrades and new programs in Humboldt County dominated the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors meetings over the last two weeks.

Emily Lane and Alyssa Reekers attended the Supervisors meeting to discuss a new program they are creating for children in Humboldt.

The STEM program, which stands for science, technology, engineering and math, will be designed around Legos and using various methods to make machines that work all while teaching children about the various disciplines in STEM.

Lane and Reekers attended the meeting to request assistance with finding a space to hold the meetings in.

“We are coming to all of you to ask for some assistance. We would like to propose some help with some space for our elementary kids,” Reekers said.

“We have a group that we would like to see them explore their engineering and STEM abilities,” Reekers continued.