Contests

'Nashville Star' finalist plans fair stop (09/04/08)
"Nashville Star" finalist Shawn Mayer is getting a chance to come home -- with the help of the Clay County Fair and local radio stations KICD, CD107.7 and Lite 104.9. Mayer is from May City in rural Osceola County and finished third in NBC's country music competition series this summer. Barring any travel snafus, Mayer will sign autographs from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the KICD Courtyard stage on the fairgrounds...

National Anthem tryouts for Corbin Bleu concert (08/27/08)
Friday, Sept. 12, National Anthem tryouts for area high school students will be held in the 4-H Auditorium during the Clay County Fair. The winner of the competition will perform the National Anthem before the Corbin Bleu and Drew Seeley concert on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m...

Calhoun County's Quade crowned state fair queen (08/12/08)
Ashley Quade, 17, of Calhoun County was crowned the 2008 Iowa State Fair Queen on Saturday, August 9, by Gary VanAernam, president of the Fair Board. The ceremony took place on the Anne and Bill Riley Stage, sponsored by Pepsi. The daughter of Kim and Paul Quade, Ashley was chosen out of the 102 contestants who participated in this year's competition. All had been crowned queen of their respective county fairs prior to the State Fair...

The exit interviews: 'Star' finalists talk reality after the reality show (08/07/08)
By Russ Mitchell Daily Reporter Staff The course of their careers will go in different directions, but "Nashville Star" finalists Melissa Lawson, Gabe Garcia and Shawn Mayer faced the same question after confetti was swept from the floor of the Acuff Theater on Monday night:...

Mayer falls short of 'Nashville Star' crown (08/05/08)
Melissa Lawson, a big-voiced, 31-year-old mother of five boys from Arlington, Texas, was named the season six winner of "Nashville Star," an NBC country music competition series. The hour-long season finale included Shawn Mayer, a 21-year-old from May City in rural Osceola County, Iowa, and Gabe Garcia, a show-described 28-year-old Tex-Mex cowboy from Lytle, Texas...

NORTHWEST IOWA STAR (07/28/08)
Mayer celebrates spot in 'Nashville Star's' final four with a few friends For May City native, Shawn Mayer, making the final four of NBC's "Nashville Star" guaranteed her the opportunity to perform an original song on national television and a chance to celebrate with over 3,000 of her closest friends with a concert on the streets of her hometown. ...

'Nashville Star' finalist finds fans waiting at home (07/24/08)
"I wanted to go to my house and sleep in my bed," Shawn Mayer admits. But the 21-year-old "Nashville Star" finalist also knows her return to northwest Iowa isn't about that. It isn't about the house she grew up in or catching up on old times with her sister. The schedule doesn't allow her to indulge such nostalgia...

SPACE announces Mainstreet Market dates (07/09/08)
The Spencer Alliance for a Creative Economy (SPACE) is pleased to announce the location and dates of the 2008 Mainstreet Market. As the Courthouse Square has proved to be a popular location, that will continue to be the area for all the Thursday night activities that one would expect to find at an artist's and farmers market with live music. Five consecutive Thursday nights have been scheduled for the event, beginning with July 24 and proceeding to the final event, on August 21...

Spencer Honors English: National Writing Contest Winners (05/16/08)
Spencer High School's Honors English students have been named "Best Class" in the national writing contest sponsored by Penguin Books. The contest "Confessions of a Word Nerd" required students to submit personal essays of 1,500 to 3,000 words and correctly utilize 60 SAT vocabulary words. ...

Briefs 4-23 (04/23/08)
Photographers exhibit at Lakes Art Center Members of the Northwest Iowa Professional Photographers Association will have an exhibit in the Pearson Lakes Art Center Secondary Space thru May 22. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, April 24, from 6-7 p.m...