ALGONA—The Kossuth County Vaccine Call Center will open on Thursday, March 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., scheduling appointments for a vaccine clinic on Wednesday, March 24. The Call Center phone number is 515-395-9111.

ALGONA—The Algona Public library is not letting relocation due to reconstruction slow its service to the public. Several projects are in the works to keep the library staff and patrons busy.

ALGONA—John Emswiler, director for Moving Veteran’s forward was the recipient of a $13,000 grant from the 100+ Women Who Care of Kossuth County.

ALGONA—After 30 minutes of discussion, the Algona City Council Monday night voted to alter course in a staffing plan for the parks and recreation department. The council changed its mind on a decision it made the previous week after receiving a different idea from the city staff.
The council decided to reach out to the Algona Family YMCA to see about sharing programs in some manner, if possible.  
 
For the full story, see the March 11 Advance.

ALGONA—Kossuth County supervisors Tuesday morning approved a maximum increase of 1.99 percent for the total amount of general and rural property taxes collected in the next fiscal year.
The supervisors extended the current moratorium on the construction or operation of commercial wind energy conversion systems under the county ordinance number 310A to June 1, and they plan to do a further review that will include addressing the potential for solar farms in the county.
 

ALGONA—Janie Eischen has been hired as the director of teaching and learning, a new position in the Algona Community School District. 
She was introduced during the board of education’s regular meeting Monday evening, March 8. Eischen will be on a 210 day contract, the same as all of the building principals. 
“A district of this size needs a position like this,” Eischen said.

WEST BEND—The boards of directors of MaxYield Cooperative, based in West Bend, and NEW Cooperative, headquartered in Fort Dodge, recently announced that they have entered into a unification study between the two cooperatives. 
Keith Heim, MaxYield CEO, explained how the decision to study the unification of the two cooperatives took shape. 
 
See the story in the March 11 Advance.

LU VERNE—Fourth graders at the Lu Verne school worked on an interesting project recently that will enable them to make sound career decisions in their future.

  ALGONA   – COVID-19 vaccine providers in Iowa, including Kossuth County Public Health, may distribute the vaccine to additional priority groups. This includes individuals 18 to 64 years of age with medical conditions that may increase the risk of severe illness from the virus. The COVID-19 vaccine is still available for people age 65 and older and others who meet the criteria in priority groups 1B and 1A.

WHITTEMORE—The Whittemore firefighters served a hearty soup and sandwich supper on Sunday, Feb. 28. The supper was part of a fundraising effort to purchase air packs for the firefighters. The essential equipment firefighters need to do their job properly and safely can be expensive. The firefighters are working with a grant writer to help offset the cost and also hoping for donations from the community and townships.
 
Get the full story in the March 4 Advance.
 

BODE—The week of frigid, below 0 degree temperatures, a young dark gray cat showed up by the garage at the home of Lark Ricklefs. “It sat and looked up at me. It killed me to see it out in the frigid days and nights,” Ricklefs said. Since then Ricklefs has learned that the cat’s name is Gracie.
 
Find out how Gracie made it back home in the March 4 Advance.

March is Ag Month and inside the March 4 edition check out the feature and news stories and the advertisements in our special Salute to Agriculture. It is in Section B.

ALGONA—Following a discussion with department heads who expressed a range of opinions, the Kossuth County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday morning, March 2, to ease the restrictions on wearing masks within county-operated facilities.
Masks have been required for several months, but the board decided to “strongly suggest” masks rather than require them. 
 
Get the full story in the March 4 Advance.

Listen to the audio of the meeting by clicking on the player.
 
ALGONA—Proposed education savings accounts (ESAs) and the subsequent shift of property tax dollars potentially to private education outlets drew passionate comments during a legislative forum Saturday morning, Feb. 27, at Algona City Hall.

ALGONA—Algona Municipal Utilities’ reaction during the electric generation and distribution crisis that struck a wide swath of the nation’s midsection was outlined during the monthly meeting of the utility’s board of trustees last week.
While some parts of the region experienced short-term blackouts, and other areas of the country experienced a total loss of power for days and even weeks, Algona Municipal Utilities (AMU) customers did not go without power.