EMMETSBURG—Summer commencement ceremony for Iowa Lakes Community College was held on the Emmetsburg campus of ILCC on Friday, July 30. More than 70 students applied for summer graduation to receive the certificate, diploma, and/or degree earned.
Abigail Kintzle, a massage therapy diploma candidate and business owner from Swea City, presented the student address. Elizabeth Larsen, massage therapy instructor from Algona, introduced Kintzle. 
 

The final Party In the Park event for the summer with the theme, “Summer Showcase,” was held on Wednesday, Aug. 11, on the lawn of the future Carnegie Centre for the Arts in Algona. Sponsored by the Algona Area Chamber of Commerce and co-sponsored by Algona Public Library, the August event featured entertainment by Morgan Kahler Kuecker, Emma Elsbecker, Kyle Wehrspan, Brian Kollasch and Noah Wehrspan. 
 
Get more information and photos in the Aug. 19 Advance.

Who won what at the Kossuth County Fair? Check out the special section in this week's Advance.

BURT— The Burt Presbyterian Church kicked off their Vacation Bible School this week with a coin carnival on Tuesday, Aug. 17, at 4:30.  Proceeds will be used for the mission project of VBS week, which is the Jeff and Erin Edlund Family and Rainbow House in Omaha Neb. The Edlunds’ five year old daughter, Lolo, is fighting hard to beat leukemia. 
See this story on the Community Spotlight page featuring northeast Kossuth County communities in the Aug. 19 Advance print edition. 

Check out this week's Farming page in the Advance. Here's some of what's on it:
-The measurements vary by source, but all have one thing in agreement – the value of farm properties in Iowa is on the rise.
-Iowa corn production is forecast at 2.44 billion bushels according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Crop Production report. 

MESA, Ariz.—Diane T. Holmes will be at the Iowa Lakes Community College campus in Algona on Aug. 31 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. for a book signing featuring her novel “Two Sisters’ Secret.” She will have copies of her book available. 
Diane is the daughter of Magnus and Rosalia Rahm. She was  raised near St. Benedict and attended her first eight grades at the school there. She went to high school in Lu Verne where she met her husband, Lyell. 
 

Check out the Aug. 12 Advance for more than two full pages of color photos from the Kossuth County Fair.
Watch for the upcoming edition that will carry all of the fair results and photos of winners of some of the events.
 
 

ALGONA—There are no underground carbon dioxide (CO2) pipelines running under Kossuth County, but that might change in the coming months.
Tiffany Kruizenga, representing the engineering firm ISG, told the Kossuth County Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning, Aug. 10, that two companies are hoping to install pipelines to carry CO2 from Midwest ethanol plants and carry it to sequestration wells in either Illinois or North Dakota, depending upon the line.
 

ALGONA—The free fair barbecue which took place this last Wednesday has been a tradition at the Kossuth County Fair for more than 70 years. Vicky Mallory, director of the Algona Area Chamber of Commerce, was recruited by Howard Omdahl 25 years ago to help coordinate the event but points out that it is not sponsored by the Chamber. The barbecue is sponsored by businesses from every community in Kossuth County. 
 
Read more about this event and its history in the Aug. 12 Advance.

ALGONA—Masks and hand sanitizer will return to the entries of the Kossuth County Courthouse and related facilities, and county employees are starting from zero on leaves related to COVID-19.
The board of supervisors made a decision at its meeting Tuesday morning, Aug. 10, to reinstate the county’s leave policy after a recommendation from a three-member committee.
 

ALGONA—ACSD its first job fair Monday, Aug. 2, in hopes of filling much needed positions before school starts. At Monday's Algona School Board meeting, Superintendent Joe Carter said the job fair was a great success resulting in several staff positions being filled including teacher associates, food service positions and substitute positions. More than 20 people were interviewed by the principals and food service director.

Queen Halo Gronbach is joined by other royalty Tuesday night at the Kossuth County Fair. Get more information on this and see more photos from the opening three days of the fair in the Aug. 5 Advance print edition.
 

ALGONA—All that remains for a new property maintenance code to go into effect in Algona is publishing of the ordinance after the city council approved it at its meeting Monday afternoon.
The code section addresses requirements for property owners to maintain the structures and exteriors of their properties, and also addresses items such as pools. 

ALGONA—After receiving input from its independent FEMA consultant, a state official who makes recommendations on FEMA projects and the county attorney, the Kossuth County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday reversed course on a repair project in Drainage District 4. 
 
Get the story in the Aug. 5 Advance print edition.

ALGONA—COVID-19 cases are climbing again in Kossuth County, and the discussion among the county’s elected officials and department heads in the board room of the courthouse Tuesday morning reflects issues being raised around the country.