LEDYARD—Over a 10-year period, every street in Ledyard receives attention. The town continues to make that work with the lowest property taxes in Kossuth County.
“Doing your homework and planning ahead is the biggest thing when it comes to street work,” said Brad Engelby, Ledyard city council member. “We put away as much as we can every year. We don’t just put a band aid on a street. We fix it right so that it will last a long time.”
 

TITONKA—Many little boys want to grow up to be just like their dad, and if your dad is a firefighter, it’s kind of a no-brainer. That’s how it was for Jonathan Trunkhill, Lee Carlton, Billy Boyken and Donny Watkins. 
All of their dads are firemen on the Titonka Fire Department. 
 
Read the full story in the Oct. 22 Kossuth County Advance.

ALGONA—A women’s gathering, sponsored by Algona Branch-AAUW, was held Saturday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. on the Kossuth County Courthouse lawn. Both women and men were in attendance. 
The purpose of the Algona gathering was to commemorate 100 years of women’s suffrage in the United States and to stand in unity for women’s equality now.
Speakers for the gathering were Karen Dannewitz, Janie Montang and Jane Nettleton.  
 
 

ALGONA—An amended EMS staff scheduling and timecard policy has been approved for the city of Algona. The action was at Monday's city council meeting, which also included a reading of a planned change to the tree board ordinance.

KOSSUTH COUNTY-—A public hearing has been set for 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 17 at the Bancroft Summit Center for the Ledyard Windpower LLC wind energy conversion system.
The permit allows up to 57 potential pad sites to be equipped with Vesta V150, Nordex N149 or the Siemens Gamesa (SG) 5.0-145 wind turbine generations. Each turbine can produce 4.2 to 5 megawatts of power depending on the model. The project would be constructed in Hebron, Ledyard and Springfield townships.
 

ALGONA — Certified enrollment numbers were down 17 students in the Algona Community School District. However, the number of students ACSD serves is up slightly from last year.
The reason for this, Joe Carter, superintendent for ACSD said, is “Certified is resident students, this does not account for open enrolled and whole grade share and so on.” 

ALGONA—There have been reports of political signs being stolen around Algona and Kossuth County, according to local and county law enforcement officials.

SWEA CITY – A stint in the U.S. Army has helped Wes Gibbs relate to the students he teaches in the North Kossuth School District.

ALGONA— Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig visited Bode Moonlight Gardens on Thursday, Oct. 15.
Bode Moonlight Gardens is owned and operated by Beanie and Joanne Roepke Bode. They grow a variety of vegetables as well as a 14-acre pumpkin patch.

On Sept. 15, Mr. Young’s advanced biology class helped the Iowa DNR by testing the water quality of the East Fork of the Des Moines River.  
The students tested the biological, chemical, and physical properties of the river water. Following the testing, the class will write reports of their findings to send to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
 

Press release from Kossuth County Sheriff's Office regarding death at the jail. Issued 3:24 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17.

On Oct. 17, 2020, at 7:12 a.m., Kossuth County jailers discovered an unresponsive male inmate in his private cell. Jail staff attempted to provide life-saving measures. Algona EMS responded and the man was pronounced dead.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation was contacted and will be assisting in the investigation.

Todd Wilson had no plans to work with hogs after graduation from Iowa State University. Now, 33 years later, Wilson continues to work with the hog industry – first with Murphy Farms and then when it became Smithfield.
“It has been exciting, always a challenge, a lot of change and fun,” Wilson said. “It may seem like a cliché but the people I’ve worked with through those years have been great.”

High school students at least 15 years of age and interested in becoming a nurse have the opportunity through Iowa Lakes Community College (ILCC) to get a head start on a career.
High school students can enroll in the C.N.A program and earn college credits as well as high school credits without any extra cost. 

S&B Farms Distillery has started a major expansion that is expected to be finished by November.
“We have been in a rapid growth. This allows us to keep up with our demand,” said Sara Winkleman, owner of S&B Farms Distillery. “We’ll be able to triple the volume of what we’re currently producing.”
 
See the Oct. 15 Kossuth County Advance for more information.

The 100th birthday celebration of the Lakota Public Library is taking a different twist in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Letters are being sent to patrons and friends of the library asking for donations to make sure the library continues operations.
“We had big plans before the pandemic,” said Gwen Good, vice president of the library Board of Trustees. “Since 2000 we’ve had a salad luncheon each year to help benefit the library because we were short of funds.”