News

Tue
11
Feb

Humboldt County Fair set for July 22-28

By PHIL MONSON
HUMBOLDT - The Humboldt County Fair will take place July 22-28 at the fairgrounds in Humboldt.

Jeff Haselhuhn, fair board president, and Kevin Cordray, board secretary, made the announcement last week.

One of the changes that will take place this year will be the crowning of the queen along with the Little Miss and Mister Contest, which have been moved from Wednesday evening to Tuesday evening.

“This will allow for our queen to be able to be there for the whole fair,” Haselhuhn said. “We are trying to get people into the grandstand that night and so we came up with a unique thing. We are going to give away free carnival wristbands for kids, age 16 and under, that come to the queen contest.”

“When they leave, they will get a wristband for two hours of free rides that night,” Haselhuhn said. “We are going to move up the time so the queen contest will begin at 6 p.m.”

Tue
11
Feb

Humboldt Rotary celebrating 100 years


The 2024-2025 Humboldt Rotary Club. (Front Row, L-R) Amber Allen, Bruce Watnem, Cheryl Rhead, Sierra Vorland, Secretary Amy Nostrom. (Top Row, L-R) Treasurer Kevin Marso, Bret Davis, Jeff Gargano, Jim Murray, President Elect Travis Sprague, Brittani Sohn and President Austin Vrzak. Submittd photo.

By KYLIE PORTZ
HUMBOLDT - It began in 1905 with a Chicago attorney named Paul Harris, who gathered a group of business acquaintances, all from different backgrounds, to share ideas and create connections amongst each other.

While the group met for the first time at one of Harris’s friends' offices, the group would rotate between each other’s offices for weekly meetings. Hence, this is where they got their name “The Rotary Club”. However, within a year the club had grown so substantially that it became necessary to find a more permanent meeting place. But the name stuck.

Word spread quickly, and soon there were Rotary Clubs established in San Francisco, Oakland, Seattle, and Los Angeles. By 1910, the National Association of Rotary Clubs in America was formed. And in November of that same year, the first international Rotary Club was founded in Canada.

Tue
04
Feb

City Council hears update on Eagle Ridge Trail Project


The Pedestrian Bridge Project on Cotton Wood Trail is well underway. The single-span pedestrian bridge connects the northern, central, and eastern portions of Humboldt and Dakota City to the city’s southwest side without having to walk along or cross Highway 169. Independent photo. Image taken in Dec. of last year. Independent photo.

By KYLIE PORZ
HUMBOLDT - The Humboldt City Council gathered for their regular meeting on Monday, Feb. 3 to hear updates on various projects.

During his report, City Administrator Cole Bockelmann updated the council on the Eagle Ridge Nature Trail project. According to Bockelmann, the project is progressing nicely with plans to pour concrete on Tuesday. The city will also be requesting bids for bank stabilization along the trail project for banks that were washed out during the flooding in June.

Later in the meeting, the board passed Resolution No. 2025-18 which reads, “A resolution approving pay estimate No. 2 with Dixon construction of Correctionville, Iowa for the Eagle Ridge Pedestrian Bridge and Trail Project in the amount of $94,830.11.”

Civil Engineer Joey Whitehouse was present at the meeting to answer any questions regarding the various projects being discussed.

Tue
04
Feb

Hog Slat donates $50,000 to auditorium project


Hog Slat, Inc., last week donated $50,000 to the R. Wesley Carlson Auditori-um improvement project. Kerry Burmeister (center), Controller at the company location in Humboldt, pre-sented the donation to pro-ject fundraising committee members Tiffany Nelson (right) and Father Tom Hart. Independent photo.

HUMBOLDT - Humboldt Community School District officials are making a big push in the month of February toward meeting their goal to raise $1 million to make improvements and up-grades to R. Wesley Carlson Auditorium at the high school.

Last week Hog Slat, Inc., of Humboldt donated $50,000 toward the project, which is halfway toward its goal. Community members can purchase a seat for $600, or donate any other amount to provide improvements to the facility, which opened in 1981 and is named after the late R. Wesley Carlson, long-time and respected school superintendent. The auditorium, which opened in 1981, is in need of improvements and upgrades.

Kerry Burmeister, Controller at Hog Slat, Inc., presented the donation to auditorium committee fundraising committee members Tiffany Nelson and Father Tom Hart. Burmeister, a member of Humboldt Community Chorus, which performed last weekend in the auditorium, says the facility hosts many community events 12 months a year.

Tue
21
Jan

Walker retires, Foth assumes new role


Judd Foth (right) is the new general manager of Farmers Cooperative Elevator – Ottosen. Foth takes over the role vacated by the retiring Kevin Walker. In-dependent photo.

By PHIL MONSON
OTTOSEN - There’s a changing of the guard at Farmers Cooperative Elevator – Ottosen.

Judd Foth is the new general manager as he replaces Kevin Walker, who is retiring after 15 years in the leadership role.

Foth began his new position back on Nov. 18. He previously spent four years leading the Livermore branch of Gold-Eagle Cooperative. Before that he spent 16 years working at the company’s ethanol plant in Goldfield.

“I’m excited about this opportunity. It is a very well-run coop. It has a strong customer base. They are one of the last stand-alone coops that are thriving. I’m excited to be taking over and I see a lot of opportunity going forward with this position,” Foth said.

Agriculture is constantly changing and Foth notes Farmers Cooperative Elevator – Ottosen, has adjusted to the changing times.

Tue
21
Jan

Council hires part-time police officer

By PHIL MONSON
Humboldt - The City of Humboldt added another officer to its police force after approval at the city council meeting Monday night, Jan. 20.

The council approved hiring Lonny Floen, effective Jan. 7, 2025. Floen lives in southern Iowa and has 20 years of experience and has known Humboldt’s new police chief, Jacob Miller, in recent years.

“Lonny works part-time for us. And now with four people working the normal shift, he’s trained up and doing a great job helping fill in for us,” Humboldt City Administrator Cole Bockelmann said.

The council approved a master service agreement with Lexipol for providing annual law enforcement policy manual services.

“Back in 2022, we approved an agreement with Daigle Law Group to draft a policy manual for the police department. This project has not been completed and DLG has not provided an updated quote to finish the policy manual,” Bockelmann said.

Tue
14
Jan

Being prepared for winter weather


Image taken after a snowfall at Taft Elementary in Jan. of 2023. Independent photo.

By KYLIE PORTZ
On March 4, 1909, a snow-storm in Washington D.C. prevented incumbent President Willian Howard Taft from taking the oath of office outside. Instead, the 27th president of the United States would take the oath indoors, becoming the first American President to do so since An-drew Jackson.

A few days later, further west, one of the heaviest snowfalls in Iowa history would be recorded in Humboldt County.

According to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information database, on March 7, 1909, a whopping 20 inches of snow was record-ed in Humboldt County.

The Humboldt Republican Newspaper reported on this event in the March 12, 1909 issue.

The headline read, “Gigantic Snow Fall Covers Old Iowa” accompanied by the subheads “Great fall of the ‘Beautiful’ in good old Iowa Monday and Tuesday” and “Prospects for the highest floods in years – Greatest snow fall in North-western Iowa in Twenty Years.”

Tue
14
Jan

Humboldt will not purchase Reasoner Dam

City offers support for development group

By PHIL MONSON

After deliberating in a 40-minute special meeting on Monday afternoon, Jan. 13, the Humboldt City Council unanimously voted no on purchasing the Reasoner Dam.

The city was forced to consider taking ownership of the dam after the Humboldt County Conservation Board declined earlier this winter to allow the River Development Group to take ownership, instead asking the city to assume ownership and allow the development group to raise its own funds to make necessary improvements to the dam and the wide body of water north of it, known for over a half century as Lake Nokomis.

“Our goal has always been to make Lake Nokomis a recreational attraction that it once was. The potential for boating, jet skiing, kayaking and of course, fishing,” said River Development Group member Susan Tille, who is also mayor of Rutland.

Tue
07
Jan

Council will hold special meeting Jan. 13 on Reasoner Dam with area officials

By PHIL MONSON
The Humboldt City Council has scheduled a special meeting for Monday, Jan. 13, 2 p.m., to discuss the possibility of taking ownership of the Reasoner Dam.

The council approved holding a special meeting at their regular monthly meeting on Monday night, Jan. 6.

The Humboldt County Conservation Board has given the city until March 19 to determine if it is feasible for the city to assume ownership of the over 100-year-old dam, to allow a local group to develop the dam and the area north of the dam, known as Lake Nokomis.

Gary Jensen of the River Development Group was at the meeting and stated the Monday’s date and time was suitable for his group. Councilman John Sleiter asked about the actual discussion to take place.

“What kind of discussion are we actually going to have?” Sleiter asked.

Tue
31
Dec

Council approves payment for airport project

By PHIL MONSON

At the last Humboldt City Council meeting, the council approved another payment for the runway rehabilitation pro-ject at the Humboldt Municipal Airport.

The council approved a payment of $212,684.53 to Godbersen-Smith Construction of Ida Grove. Work at the airport began in early August and was completed in four months.

Eric Johnson, engineer with Kirkham Michael Company, and Jeff Sogge, of Clapsaddle-Garber Associates, Inc., construction observer, gave their reports to the council. Humboldt resident Dave Dodgen, who also serves on the airport commission, provided input as well.

“We were very pleased with how everything went on the project,” Johnson said. “All the test results have come back and have exceeded all of the FAA specifications. We are very pleased overall with the project.”

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