Eco-friendly Practices

Tree-trimming revisions to be reviewed by council (03/13/10)
Community feedback caused the Spencer City Council to rethink a tree-trimming ordinance last fall. On Monday, the council will meet during a 5:45 p.m. Committee of the Whole meeting to receive updates on the situation. When the council began enforcing the ordinance, many residents disagreed with the process...

Appliance rebate program starts Monday (02/26/10)
Is the fridge on the fritz? Is the water heater going cold? Is the washer wearing down? Iowans dealing with any of those problems are in luck. Thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Iowa Appliance Rebate Program will be launched at 8 a.m. Monday morning...

Gude: The recycling educator (01/16/10)
Chris Gude knows he's the exception to recycling. ...

J&G shows green not just for John Deere (10/01/09)

As Senate debates, local dealers wait for 'clunkers' payments (08/06/09)
Local car dealership managers acknowledge a bit of confusion and a lot of red tape through the "cash-for-clunkers" stimulus program. They also see a little more traffic on their lots, suggesting at least some aspects of the federal incentive program are gaining traction...

Urban renewal approved for old school, Green Center (06/02/09)
The city of Spencer has two new urban renewal areas as a result of council action Monday night. City Council members voted to establish urban renewal areas for the Green Industrial Center and for the former Spencer Middle School building on East Fourth Street. ...

Spencer's industrial development breaks ground (05/28/09)
"Welcome to the celebration," said Kathy Evert, president of the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation, greeting those gathered for Wednesday's ground breaking at the site of Spencer's new industrial park. The project marks the city's first green development...

Spec building purchase on council agenda (05/16/09)
Calling it "a testament to the willingness of the community working together," Spencer City Manager Bob Fagen is going to recommend a financing plan for a $1.05 million, 40,000-square-foot spec building in the Green Industrial Center. The recommendation will be considered by Spencer City Council members at their 6:30 p.m. meeting Monday at Spencer City Hall...

City may end recycling contract (05/05/09)
Spencer City Council members voted to end a recycling contract and moved forward with a 3 percent pay raise for some city staff as part of its meeting Monday night. Last July, Complete Recovery, the city's recycling partner, agreed to take recycling materials at no charge and agreed to pay the city 40 percent of the cardboard revenues...

County approves Royal Beef expansion request (03/25/09)
A construction application hearing went smoothly for Royal Beef LLC. Jim Christensen, doing business as Royal Beef, submitted an application for an 11,200 animal finishing building -- which would involve modification of an existing animal feeding operation by adding four manure compost buildings to his operation n Royal. Tuesday morning, the Clay County Board of Supervisors approved the resolution after the plan was found compliant with regulations...

Cattle expansion to be considered Tuesday (03/24/09)
Residents will have a chance to comment about a beef producer's construction plans Tuesday morning at the Clay County Board of Supervisors meeting. The application, from Jim Christensen and Royal Beef, is part of the state's "master matrix" process. He is approved to for 11,200 head of cattle at his operation, about three miles south of Royal...

County trust offering funds for energy efficiency projects (02/28/09)
Is your home in need of some energy efficiency upgrades? Then the Clay County Housing Trust Fund could be an option. Formed locally nearly two years ago, the Clay County Housing Trust is part of a larger statewide effort targeting low- to middle-income home owners who are seeking funding options to improve energy efficiency in their homes. Beginning Monday, Clay County homeowners can complete applications to receive funding from the inaugural local dollar pool...

Comin' at ya (02/27/09)
When Spencer's Southpark 7 Theatre General Manager Jarrad Black said the new Jonas Brothers concert event is going to be a real "in your face" experience, he wasn't kidding. The local theatre location is one of 10 in the Fridley Theatre chain to install the new Barco Digital Projection system featuring Real D technology. Friday's release of The Jonas Brothers Concert movie will be the first in a series of 3D films to hit the market this year using Real D...

One good turn deserves another: Polson recycling wood, making works of art (11/15/08)
Perry Polson has made an art of making "something out of nothing." The Spencer-based wood turner is also becoming known for his unique style of recycling wood. Polson, a native of Hartley, recalls woodworking's appeal for him in high school shop class...

Green Plains announces grand opening ceremony (09/19/08)
Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. will host a grand opening celebration at its ethanol plant in Superior on Saturday, Sept. 20. The festivities will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and include food and refreshments, courtesy of local livestock producers...

VeraSun to fire up Hartley plant (08/16/08)
VeraSun Energy Corp. on Thursday announced the startup of its 110 million gallon per year ethanol biorefinery near Hartley. The Hartley plant is the 13th VeraSun biorefinery in operation. The opening pushed the company's annual production capacity to more than 1.3 billion gallons. "We are pleased to bring our Hartley ethanol biorefinery into production," said VeraSun CEO Don Endres, in a statement. "It is one of the largest and most efficient facilities in the nation...

Milford woman wins Iowa Lottery promotion (08/13/08)
DES MOINES -- A northwest Iowa woman drove away from the Iowa State Fair in a new, 2008 four-wheel drive Chevy Tahoe Hybrid®, the grand-prize in the Iowa Lottery's "Set of Wheels" promotion. Nancy Fear of Milford was selected as the grand-prize winner in the promotion drawing Thursday on the Susan Knapp Amphitheater stage at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Fear said she was excited to share the news with her adult children...

Corridor presents 'Priority Road Projects' to IDOT Commission (08/13/08)
A delegation of 18 people from the Iowa Lakes Corridor region traveled to Sioux City today to present priority projects and updates to the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) commissioners during their public input meeting. The delegation consisted of representatives of each of the four counties -- Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson and Emmet -- as well as Sen. David Johnson and Rep. Mike May...

Monsanto Mobile Technology Unit stops in Spencer (08/13/08)
Monsanto's unique Mobile Technology Unit made a stop in Spencer and will remain in town through today as part of its tour through the United States, showcasing innovations in plant breeding and biotechnology to support farmer success. The new 53-foot-long traveling unit, (top right) with 1,000 square feet of exhibit space, will remain in place just west of the Clay County Regional Events Center in the parking lot through today, extending tour offers to groups throughout Clay County. ...

King touts domestic energy solutions (07/22/08)
On a Friday afternoon when travelers were planning their weekend getaways, U.S. Rep. Steve King also was on the road. The congressman included Spencer in a series of stops around the region. "I need to put my ear to the ground constantly to pick up the voice of the people," he said...

DNR officials pleased with Milford turnout (07/18/08)
About 60 area residents attended a wide-ranging public forum hosted by the state's top conservation official Wednesday night. Richard Leopold, director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, held the forum at the Gull Point State Park lodge. "I think the tone was pretty positive for the most part," said Tammie Krausman, the public affairs coordinator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. "Sometimes those public meetings can be quite contentious."...

2007 Citizen of the Year Nomination Letters (04/03/08)
NOMINATION: TOM & WENDY VAN TASSEL This may be somewhat overdue, and I know it will not come close to including all they are involved in and what they have done for Spencer, but I will give it a try anyway. This nomination is actually for two of Spencer's finest and most deserving couple. ...

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