LU VERNE—Lany Mitchell, Charles Legler, Lara Kleier and Kira Carroll have been named to a committee that will consider factors in a potential reorganization of the Algona and Lu Verne school districts. They were selected in a unanimous vote of the Lu Verne School Board Oct. 21.
The two districts have been whole grade sharing and part of the required process is to discuss potential reorganization. 
 
For the full story, see the Nov. 4 Advance. 

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Grote Company, an industrial food slicing and assembly equipment manufacturer, has formally announced its acquisition of Precision Food Innovations (PFI), a manufacturer of sanitary conveying equipment, from Precision, Inc. 

ALGONA—Suicide is among the top five leading causes of death for Iowans between the ages of 10 and 54 years old. Additionally, over five times as many people died by suicide in 2019 than in alcohol related motor vehicle accidents – the most recent data suggests little to no improvement in suicide trends as Iowans continue to recover from the lasting effects of the pandemic. 

ALGONA—The Algona Public Library staff and volunteers will begin the process of moving into the newly renovated facility on Tuesday, Nov. 9. 
The library will temporarily close during the transition. Library patrons may visit and check out materials through regular hours on Monday, Nov. 8.

ALGONA—The Algona Police Department voted to not recertify its union affiliation in voting that ended early last week.
The department had been represented by AFSCME 61.
 
Get more on this in the Nov. 4 Advance. 

ALGONA—City council members began picking which streets to resurface and reconstruct in 2022 during their meeting Monday at City Hall.
 
Get this information, and more from the Nov. 1 city council meeting in the Nov. 4 Kossuth County Advance.
 

ALGONA—After several months of receiving input, the board of supervisors approved an ordinance that changes the rules for operating all-terrain and utility vehicles (ATVs and UTVs) in Kossuth County.
The changes now allow the operation of the vehicles on county pavements at speeds up to 35 mph. It also expands the hours they can be operated on county roads to 5 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. There are other regulations in the ordinance with regard to safety, marking, lights and more.

KOSSUTH COUNTY—Grant applications can now be submitted to the Kossuth County Community Foundation’s 2022 grant cycle with a deadline to submit applications by 5 p.m. on Jan. 15. 
The online grant application can be found on the Community Foundation’s website at www.kossuthccf.org. 

KOSSUTH COUNTY—Last Thursday, the Iowa Legislature overwhelmingly approved a second set of maps that determine congressional and legislative districts for Jan. 1, 2023, through Dec. 31, 2032. Now that the state has done the job of figuring out the larger districts, counties and cities can begin the process of drawing district lines. A committee is in place at the county level, and Algona can begin its process soon as well.
 
For a full story, see the Nov. 4 Advance. 
 

ALGONA—How to deal with county employees and COVID-19 continues to generate discussion during the county board meetings. The board has been regularly reviewing its policy regarding paid leave for those who contract COVID-19.

KOSSUTH COUNTY—One more death due to COVID-19 was reported in Kossuth County in the past week. 
That’s according to the statistics posted to the Iowa coronavirus website as of noon Monday, Nov. 1.
The site reported there were 29 more cases diagnosed among Kossuth County residents last week, raising the total to 2,750 cases diagnosed since the start of the pandemic. 
The rate of positives in the tests conducted last week was 6 percent. 

DES MOINES—In a special session sprint, Iowa lawmakers passed a bill to create exceptions to employer vaccine mandates and to provide unemployment benefits for people fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.

WEST BEND—West Bend-Mallard Elementary School, a public school located in the small rural town of West Bend, was recently notified that they earned the prestigious distinction of being the #1 elementary school in Iowa by U.S. News. They placed statewide out of 614 schools ranked in Iowa.
 
Read the full story in the Nov. 4 Advance.

ALGONA—The Scarlet Regiment Marching Band put an exclamation point on its marching band season through Band Day and the state marching band contest. 
The band performed its show at Algona Band Day on Saturday, Oct. 2. Although the band doesn’t compete, the members acted as if they did and tried their hardest. 

ALGONA—Students at Algona High School get great opportunities to try cooking a variety of items in the different classes offered in the Family and Consumer Science department, all taught by Shelly Louwagie.