ALGONA—Kossuth County supervisors Tuesday morning said they are willing to increase their contribution to the county emergency medical services budget by $30,000, but only if the city of Algona agrees to contribute at least $75,000 in property tax revenue from its next budget.
 
Get the full story in the Feb. 4 print edition.

ALGONA—Algona Municipal Utilities (AMU) trustees got a briefing about a potential wind farm energy power purchase agreement during their monthly meeting Jan. 27.
According to John Bilsten, AMU’s general manager, a preliminary review is starting on a proposed 10-year agreement to buy wind energy from an established wind farm at a set price.

ALGONA – Local public health officials have announced an additional COVID-19 vaccine clinic on February 10, with Call Center hours of Thursday, February 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to register for an appointment.

Eric Wieland, a 1994 graduate from Algona High School, closed out 2020 as a Colonel in the Iowa National Guard.
Wieland received word in March of 2020 that he was up for the promotion to Colonel in the National Guard, which is commissioned by Congress. 
 
Learn more about this in a full feature in the Jan. 28 Kossuth County Advance.

ALGONA—The city of Algona Monday night asked Kossuth County to help fund the city’s ambulance budget, but city council members walked away from the meeting with more questions than answers from the county board of supervisors.

ALGONA—City council members gave the unofficial go-ahead to selling bonds for a three-year series of street and sewer projects and other capital purchases with an estimated price tag of more than $9 million.

ALGONA—The Kossuth and Palo Alto County Economic Development Corporations have engaged Golden Shovel Agency, an economic development communications firm, to develop a marketing blueprint for promoting the region. 
The organizations are looking for ways to better position the two-county region in order to attract new investment and job creation, according to a press release. 
 
See the full story in the Jan. 28 Advance.

ALGONA—It was a soft opening last Friday morning, but customers were on hand immediately at the new Hometown Furniture store here.
It’s a second store in the current portfolio of Kerry and Angie Walters, who have a Hometown Furniture location in Viroqua, Wis. They live about two hours north of there in Hayward, Wis.

Hormel Foods presented its 2019 Spirit of Excellence Award to the PFI plant in Algona.
In a letter, Hames P. Snee, president, CEO and chairman of the board of Austin, Minn.,-based Hormel Foods, informed Gary Schiltz, general manager in Algona, that PFI “has earned this prestigious award by demonstrating the highest levels of quality, delivery, service and customer support throughout the year.”
 
Get the full story in the Jan. 28 Advance.

ALGONA—There will be much to do at the 2021 Frostbite Olympics on Saturday Feb. 6.
The Ice Fishing Derby will take place from 8 to 10:30 a.m. at Smith Lake. There is no charge. Everyone is invited to participate. Ages 15 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Prizes will be awarded in adult and youth categories. 

AMES-—Climate change is impacting Iowa agriculture and negative impacts are expected to increasingly threaten agricultural productivity in the state. There are many ways, however, that farmers and landowners can increase the resiliency of production systems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and even capture carbon. That's according to the latest Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll by Iowa State University Extension.
 
For more about this, see the Jan. 28 Kossuth County Advance.

Registration opened for 1B COVID-19 vaccine clinics on Thursday, resulting in nearly 600 vaccine appointments for the Feb. 3 and Feb. 6 clinics. Individuals who were unable to break through the busy phone lines will have the opportunity to sign up for future clinics as soon as additional doses are available.

First responders, school and childcare staff and people 65 and older
In the photo: The call center was activated Thursday morning. This is what it looked like.  (Amy Frankl-Brandt photo)
 
Registration for 1B COVID-19 vaccine clinics opens on Thursday, January 28, with the first clinic scheduled for February 3. Although vaccine supply remains low, clinics will continue as long as doses are available.

ALGONA—Plans for COVID-19 vaccine clinics are forming for Phase 1B, which now includes people aged 65 and older and a tiered approach for others within the group. Registration opens next week for the first clinic, scheduled for Feb. 3.

In late November and early December, the positivity rate of those tested for COVID-19 in Kossuth County was the highest in the state, topping out at more than 30 percent over a two-week period, meaning during that time, 3 in 10 people who were tested were discovered to be positive for the virus. The positivity rate declined to less than 12 percent in early January, but it has now bounced back to 25.4 percent, and that rate is the highest among all counties in Iowa.