Holstein Advance

01/02/2026

County hears wind farm expansion timeline

By: Michael Hohenbrink
Mid-America Publishing

Work should be visible coming up with wind turbines in Ida County, with a bit of work taking place still this winter.

MidAmerican’s Kelsy Ballard briefed the Ida County Board of Supervisors during its Dec. 23 meeting on a planned expansion.

Up to eight new turbines could go in on the northwest side of the existing operation.

Plans to meet with the City of Ida Grove were called off for the board.

“Of those eight turbines, we do intend to construct mud mats on two of them this winter,” said Ballard. “There’s a couple advantages for that timing-wise to that project.”

Chairman Devlun Whiteing asked what this entailed.

“It’s a concrete foundation before the [regular] foundation, said Ballard.

Essentially, it’s a precursor.

“So, kind of like a footer,” said Ballard.

Additionally, the company is looking at repowering its existing turbines with new nacelles, hubs and blades.

With the turbines now around 10 years old, the work is considered as normal maintenance, according to Ballard.

Also during the meeting, the board heard that further discussion between the county and the City of Ida Grove was not going to take place during that meeting.

“I have still not heard back from the DNR,” said Auditor Kristy Gilbert. “And I reached out to the engineer we work with.”

The city and the county are seeking to work together on a burn site, but the lack of new information is a complicating factor.

The board will try to meet with city officials again after the first of the year.

“So, hopefully we can get that tackled in January,” said Gilbert.

Staffing at Veterans Affairs was before the board with Renae Rehse named as director effective Jan. 2, 2026 with retiring director Dale Ullrich named as assistant effective that same day at $500 per month.

Sheriff Wade Harriman was on hand with a proposal for a part-time employee for office work as well as training. The position will run 16 to 20 hours per week. The board gave its approval.

Caption: Ida County Board of Supervisors: From left, Devlun Whiteing, Creston Schubert, and Kyle Rohlk. Photo by Brent Harm

01/02/2026

Deputy Assessor appointed for Ida County

By: Michael Hohenbrink
Mid-America Publishing

The Ida County Assessor’s Office has welcomed someone new.

For the first time in decades, the office has a Deputy Assessor on staff.

Dalton Treiber was appointed recently and was set to go in front of the Conference Board Dec. 30 for approval.

“He had to pass multiple classes and a final exam to receive this appointment,” said Assessor Claudia Comstock. “The last time Ida County had a Deputy Assessor was over 40 years ago.”

Comstock has been excited to bring Treiber up to speed.

“Immediately upon hire, Dalton was offered the opportunity to become the Deputy Assessor,” said Comstock. “Ida County experienced a disruption in its assessment services when the previous Assessor left the position in early 2022. Due to the lack of a designated deputy, the auditor assumed the Assessor’s duties, leaving the office without a dedicated Assessor for nearly a year. This situation highlighted the need for a succession plan and continuity of operations within the office.”

Comstock sees real value in filling the role.

“The biggest value of a Deputy Assessor position is having a trained, knowledgeable individual who is ready to assume leadership during any absence,” said Comstock. “This role ensures that critical functions like property valuation remain uninterrupted, providing stability for the Assessor’s office.”

Caption: Dalton Treiber. Photo submitted

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https://holsteinadvance.com/content/deputy-assessor-appointed-ida-county

01/01/2026

Free movies at Holstein State Theatre resume mid-January

By: Dan Mundt
The Holstein Advance

Free Sunday movies at the Holstein State Theatre will resume on Jan. 18 after a short hiatus for the cold days of early January.

“We have trouble drawing much of a crowd during that time of the year,” said Holstein State Theatre board member Maddy Voss.

The New Year’s first movie will be “Penguins of Madagascar,” starting at 6 p.m. on Jan. 18.

The film showing is sponsored by Voss Sonographic Services.

Owner Joni Voss sponsored a showing of the first film in the series, “Madagascar,” a year ago.

“It went over really well for kids,” Maddy said. “The penguins are the best part of ‘Madagascar,’ so this year she’s sponsoring the sequel.”

“Penguins of Madagascar,” released in 2014, is a DreamWorks Animation production that earned nearly $375 million on a $130 million budget.

The film follows a group of penguins who must battle an angry Octopus named Dave.

Benedict Cumberbatch and John Malkovich are two of the more well-known members of the cast.

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https://holsteinadvance.com/content/free-movies-holstein-state-theatre-resume-mid-january

01/01/2026

Market readjustment shows slight increase in statewide farmland values: Ida County farmland sees 2.4 percent increase

By: John Jensen
Mid-America Publishing

Farmland values in Ida County saw a strong value increase in 2025, according to the annual Iowa State University Land Value Survey, which was released by the Iowa State Extension last week.

Farmland value in the county increased from $12.794 per acre to $13,117 per acre.

The trend was similar in surrounding counties, with Monona County and Woodbury County land value increasing 2.7 percent, Crawford and Plymouth County 2.5 percent, Cherokee County 2.4 percent and both Carroll and Sac Counties 1.7 percent. Buena Vista County had even land value from 2024 to 2025.

The moves come as part of a statewide trend that saw values rise 0.7 percent ($83) to $11,549 per acre.

Rabail Chandio, an assistant professor and extension economist at Iowa State University, conducts the annual survey. She said she considers any change of less than 5 percent more of an adjustment than a market change.

“Changes of that size often reflect variation across counties and crop reporting districts rather than a consistent statewide trend,” she said. “It wasn’t a boom or a bust, just a very uneven adjustment, with the story changing as you move across the state. Strong yields, limited land supply, and solid livestock income helped prop up values in some areas, but lower commodity prices, high interest rates, and rising costs pulled them down in others.”

She said the increase, which is a slight decrease when adjusted for inflation, can be helpful to farmers to a point.

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https://holsteinadvance.com/content/free-movies-holstein-state-theatre-resume-mid-january

01/01/2026

New fire truck in Holstein: The Holstein Fire Department recently acquired a new fire truck, with the help of an Ida County Betterment grant. The smaller truck is better-suited for handling grass and field fires.

Photo by Brent Harm / The Holstein Advance

01/01/2026

Shelter house improvements: The Galva City Park shelter house recently had new windows and doors installed, along with new siding, adding to the progress on the building remodel project.

Photo by Brent Harm / The Holstein Advance

01/01/2026

12/31/2025

Pick up this week's copy of the Holstein Advance and find...

•New Holstein Fire Truck
•Galva shelter house improvements
•State Theatre free movies
•Ida County farmland values
•Deputy Assessor appointed

Or subscribe online to access these stories and more right from your device at
https://holsteinadvance.com/

12/31/2025

Ridge View girls fall to state-ranked Newell-Fonda 69-29

By: Brent Harm
Sports Editor

The Newell-Fonda girls basketball team, ranked #3 in Iowa’s Class 1A, looked every bit the part last week as they raced to a 69-29 win over Ridge View.

The Raptors had traveled to Newell last Monday, for one of the tougher games on their schedule. The home team Mustangs jumped out to a 21-4 lead after the first quarter. Newell-Fonda kept the pressure on in the second quarter, building a 48-16 halftime cushion.

Ridge View kept fighting, playing N-F tough in the third quarter. The Mustangs were still able to maintain a 59-26 advantage heading into the final period. Newell-Fonda finished strong to secure the 69-29 win.

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https://holsteinadvance.com/content/ridge-view-girls-fall-state-ranked-newell-fonda-69-29

12/31/2025

Ridge View rolls past Newell-Fonda 77-42

By: Brent Harm
Sports Editor

The Ridge View boys basketball team continued their winning ways last Monday, as they hit the road and brought home a 77-42 victory over Newell-Fonda.

The Raptors got off to a fast start, rolling to a 17-5 lead after the first quarter. Ridge View kept their foot on the gas in the second quarter, extending their advantage to a 23-point halftime lead of 38-15.

The home team Mustangs kept fighting, playing the Raptors even in a 19-19 third quarter, but still trailed 57-34 heading into the final period of play. Ridge View closed out the game strong, scoring 20 points to Newell-Fonda’s eight in the fourth quarter, earning a 77-42 victory.

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https://holsteinadvance.com/content/ridge-view-rolls-past-newell-fonda-77-42

12/30/2025

Paper delivery is delayed. Subscribers will get their paper a day late. Papers will be available at our office Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 9:30 a.m.