The vote for the District 1 seat on the Kossuth County Board of Supervisors was much closer than winner Galen Casey had anticipated. It took a recount for Casey to be declared the winner.
Read the whole story in the Dec. 13 Kossuth County Advance.

If Christmas decorating ever began to feel like work, Jan and Henry Ricke knew they would have to call it quits. The Rickes, who live on the corner of Finn Drive and McGregor Street, are known for their annusl open house.
Read the full story and see more photos in the Dec. 13 Kossuth County Advance.

The first wind energy conversion system (WECS) permit under the new Kossuth County ordinance has been approved.
The Kossuth County Board of Supervisors made the decision after reviewing the final development plan for the Golden Plains Wind Farm project at its Dec. 11 board meeting.
Read the full story in the Dec. 13 Kossuth County Advance.

Limiting services buinesses, improve parking lots, better signage, workforce development and changing State Street to two-way traffic are important to the future of downtown Algona, stakeholders told officials at a meeting last week.
Read the full story in the Dec. 6 Advance.

Adults and children spent Sunday, Dec. 2 eating pancakes with Santa Claus and participating in various activities at the Wesley Community Center.
See more in the Dec. 6 Kossuth County Advance.

Lu Verne third and fourth graders wrote letters to Santa Claus recently. Find out what the students are looking for from Santa in the Dec. 6 Kossuth County Advance Community Spotlight.

Rarely do pastors get to say goodbye to the entire community in which they live. This article gives me the chance. As you may have heard, Becky and I have been called to a new position. We'll be moving to Dubuque in early January, and I will serve at Westminster Presbyterian Church there.
Read Pastor Shellabarger's entire farewell column in the Dec. 6 Advance.

The Algona Public Library is selling 2019 photo-filled keepsake calendars to support the library's renovation project. The calendars are $15.
Get all the details in the Dec. 6 Kossuth County Advance.

The city of Algona offers a revolving loan fund to its retail sector in order to incentivize a remodel, spruce up or expand a business, improve the look and feel of Algona and encourage the development of business.... In order for the city to attact business and property owners, the city offers a loan with a zero percent interest rate.
Get all the details in the Dec. 6 Kossuth County Advance.

A state professional organization honored local entrepreneur Don Tietz as one of its 13 original members during a ceremony Sunday, Dec. 1 in Des Moines.
"It was nice," Tietz said. "It is a good feeling to be recognized to do something that is noteworthy."
Read the full story in the Dec. 6 Advance.

The 2018 budget for Algona Municipal Utilities (AMU) was amended because of possible total expenditures exceeding the budget's expenditures by $450,000. AMU's board of directors also approved the 2019 budget at the Nov. 28 meeting after a public hearing.
Read the full story in the Dec. 6 Advance.

The Swea City Improvement League established a new fund with the Kossuth County Community Foundation. The Swea City Community Endowment Fund will support the activities of the organization, according to a press realease.
Read the full story in the Dec. 6 Kossuth County Advance.

When Donnie Loss takes his Kossuth County Board of Supervisors seat in January, he brings to the board a variety of experiences that he feels will help him make the correct decisions for the residents of Kossuth County.
See the full story in the Dec. 6 Kossuth County Advance.

When snow falls in Algona, a shift in job descriptions takes place.
"Anybody and everybody that works for the city that has a CDL are now snow operators," Algona Street Superintendent Kurt Nielsen said.
See the full story in the Dec. 6 Kossuth County Advance.

After less that two hours of deliberations, a Kossuth County jury found Alonso Adrian Campuzano of Algona, not guilty of the charge of sexual abuse in the third degree. Campuzano was accused of allegedly performing a sexual act against the will of another person on July 25, 2016.

See the Dec. 6 issue of the Kossuth County Advance for more on this story.