Eco-friendly Practices

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. ...