Stories from Friday, July 26, 2013

A request for wage increases for three employees from one county department was not approved at Tuesday's meeting of the Cherokee County Board of Supervisors, amid concerns about how county departments go about recommending wage increases that are not standard step increases under union contracts. ...

Ida Louise (Kirchoff) Ohlendorf, 94, of Taylorsville, North Carolina, a former longtime rural Remsen resident, passed away Tuesday, July 23, 2013 in North Carolina. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, July 31, at 1:30 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, rural Marcus, Iowa. ...

Lou Miller of Holstein, age 87, passed away on Friday, July 19, 2013 at the Good Samaritan Society of Holstein. A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 at 10 AM at the United Methodist Church of Holstein with the Rev. Dori K Collogon officiating. ...

Northwest Iowans of German ancestry are invited to attend the next Computer Genies of Nortwest Iowa meeting, which will feature guest speaker Jean Blackstone of Cherokee. Blackstone, a retired German teacher and Bosch Corp. bilingual translator, has taken 10 trips to Germany...

More than half of Iowa farmland is rented. In some Iowa locations, as much as 70 percent of the land is farmed by farmers who don't own the land. Northwest Iowa farmland values increased by close to 37 percent during 2012. And average farmland cash rental rates have increased by nearly 27 percent since 2011 - and over 51 percent during the past five years...

Take a step back into the past at this year's last summer offering for youth. The O'Brien County Conservation Board has offering a multitude of opportunities for youth to get outdoors and EXPLORE this summer. These activities are targeted for young people between the ages of six through 13 years...

Cherokee Washington High School will hold their new student and freshman Orientation on Wednesday, Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. in the WHS Auditorium. New students, freshmen, and their parents are encouraged to attend. Students and their parents will be informed of important policies and procedures regarding the high school, find their lockers, run through their schedule, and meet their teachers...

We concur with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) concerning the proliferation of "greased pig contests" in Iowa and other states. As the state and county fair seasons fire up this summer, the HSUS urges residents to avoid one fixture - the greased pig contest - at many of the state's fairs...

LEMARS - What looked like a holdup was found on Monday night when a man was found lying in the Pecks yard on North Court street, apparently asleep or dead. Occupants of the residence attempted to awaken him and found that his head was severely beaten and bruised, a large lump behind one ear and several cuts on his face presenting a ghastly sight. ...