July 4

Supervisors correct funding error during special meeting

The Kossuth County Board of Supervisors corrected a funding error during a recent special meeting, saying the issue stemmed from a decision made during a budget workshop.

The June 29 meeting was called to resolve an issue with the amount of tax money sent to the Secondary Roads Department during the 2023-24 fiscal year, which ended on June 30.

Kossuth Regional Health Center welcomed its first baby of the New Year on January 1, 2025. Vienna Arianeth Chanelo was born weighing 7 lbs and measured 20 inches long.

Proud parents are Jasmine Flores and Nick Chanelo of Algona. The New Year Baby was delivered by Dr. Brent Owen.

By Molly Montag, News Correspondent

The Kossuth County Board of Supervisors recommended increases for the salaries for the sheriff and elected officials.

By Molly Montag, News Correspondent

Some say absence makes the heart grow fonder. Local officials hope a little time makes bids for the next round of Algona Public Library renovations smaller.

A lot smaller.

About six months after rejecting bids for the second and final phase of exterior improvements to the library building at 210 N. Phillips St., that came in 2-3 times higher than the architect’s estimate, officials are ready to try again.

Gold-Eagle Cooperative has committed to a $100,000 donation to the Kossuth County Fair’s grandstand project. Gold-Eagle is excited to support this project as the grandstand is not only a central hub for the Kossuth County Fair, but for numerous other community events throughout the year. This investment reflects Gold-Eagle Cooperative’s dedication to supporting the communities in which they have locations, specifically those projects that enhance community vitality.

By Molly Montag, News Correspondent

Officials are considering implementing animal ordinances in Kossuth County.

At its Jan. 14 meeting, the Kossuth County Board of Supervisors is expected to discuss and possibly make a decision on a new animal ordinance regarding dogs and livestock in rural, unincorporated areas of Kossuth County. Currently, there are no county-level regulations on dogs or other animals.

The Algona City Council received an update in December about construction progress at the wastewater treatment facility. This historic and complex project is aimed at meeting the new standards of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), replacing aging equipment and increasing the flow and loading capacity of the plant.

Trayton Cink has been nominated and selected to represent Bishop Garrigan in the July 2025 Iowa Shrine Bowl.

The Iowa Shrine Bowl All-Star Classic game is an annual football game played each July featuring 92 of the best football players in the State of Iowa. To date, the Iowa Shrine Bowl has raised nearly $3.8M for Shriners' Children.

Attorney Jennifer Harrington is excited to announce her return to Buchanan, Bibler, Gabor, & Meis after working the past three years at Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation (CALT). During this time, she wrote and created Estate and Succession Planning for the Farm, a workbook aimed at helping farmers, landowners, small business owners, and Iowa families with succession and estate planning.

By Nina B. Elkadi, Investigative Reporter, Sentient Media

Dancers from across the state took the floor at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Dec. 4-6  for the country’s largest high school dance team competition.

Pete Waltz was the final winner of the Holiday prize drawings sponsored by the Algona Area Chamber of Commerce. He entered his name at Forge & Build in Algona and chose the Bomgaars $400 gift card for his prize.

Pictured with him representing Bomgaars is Liz Adcock. Avery Pedersen photo.

The Algona Area Chamber of Commerce held a coffee hour at Little Wonders indoor playscape to celebarte their ribbon cutting on Friday, Jan. 3. The uniquely designed play space inspires creativity and play while promoting connectedness for parents and children. Perfect for children up to seven years, Little Wonders is inspired by Montessori principles and allows children to learn, create, imagine and explore.

Almost every town in Kossuth County had their own city band and Wesley was no exception. All photos were taken from the History of Wesley Centennial book, 1972.

Photos below:

Wesley Band, 1911.

Wesley’s first band, 1885.

Thanks to a grant from Early Childhood North Central Iowa (ECNCI), the Wesley Public Library was able to put together Literacy Bags  for children ages 0-6 with Wesley addresses. Each bag contained two  books, an interactive puzzle, a screen-free activity book to help parents with ideas, alphabet cookies, a farm book to keep kids engaged in the story and a flash card reader to help teach children phonics through play.