City officials in Harlan have discussed the possibility of conducting housing survey study in the city limits. In a city council meeting Tuesday, City Administrator Terry Cox reported he has been in contact with Foutch Brothers about the need for additional rental property in the city of Harlan. The study would be conducted by the Southwest Iowa Planning Council or SWIPCO.

Cox says the council has options the length and depth of the study. “If we did what the Foutch Brothers request, that would be a shorter one. If you want to take a whole city and more intensive that could take a few months. A SWIPCO representative needs to prepare it and will be hear on December 3rd or at an earlier meeting to explain it. We will have an option voting on one and doing the other.”

The cost of the study was not discussed. The item was tabled during the Harlan City Council Tuesday and will be brought back at the next meeting in December. In other business, the council approved to sell a portion of city owned property at 1901 Hawkeye Avenue to Iowa Western Community College. The segment of area is close to 2,200 square feet and was sold to the college for $238,260. The property will allow for additional expansion to the Harlan campus.

And, the Harlan City Council approved a couple of resolutions during their meeting. The first was to order bids for the 2014 Sewer Rehab project. The council will hold a public hearing and open bids at their second council meeting in December. The second resolution was to approve a temporary transfer of funds from the Harlan Municipal Electric Utility to the Harlan Communications Utility. Councilmember Kate Kohorst explained the transfer is a loan and electric utility rate payers will be receiving interest on the money. The transfer is not to exceed $422,548.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

A K-9 team from the Cass County Sheriff’s Department has won an award from a regional K-9 group. The Sheriff’s Office says the K9 team of Kyle Quist and his partner “Vader,” was voted top patrol case of 2013. In the case presented for a vote, Vader located a weapon which had been used in an attempted murder incident, making prosecution of a defendant possible. The award honoring the duo was presented in October, 2013, at the “Heart of America Police K9 Association” certification and competition in Des Moines. Deputy Corey Larsen and his partner Mufasa also attended the event.

The Heart of America Police K9 Association is an accredited organization comprised of K9 teams from Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. Teams are certified yearly in patrol work, narcotics detection, and/or search and rescue. K9 handlers may submit their top patrol and narcotics cases for the year, and all handlers vote for the winners, which are announced at the organization banquet.

Cass County Sheriff’s Office says it’s proud of their K9 teams and the hard work they do.

Authorities in Iowa have positively identify the body that was discovered Saturday evening, November 16th, approximately 4 miles southwest of Mondamin in Harrison County, as that of a Nebraska man. The Iowa Department of Public Safety says fingerprints submitted to a FBI database were able to confirm that the body is that of 52 year-old Michael E. Gnirk of Hoskins, NE.

Michael Gnirk

 
Investigators are still seeking the public’s help in retracing that last few days and weeks of Mr. Gnirk’s life.  If anyone has any information, or had contact with Mr. Gnirk over the last 3 to 6 months, they are urged to contact the Iowa DCI at (712)322-1585.