Environment

Spencer project included in D.C. delegations (03/18/10)
Fifteen delegates. Eight projects. Four counties. Two days. Those numbers paint the picture of recent delegations between representatives of the Iowa Lakes Corridor Region and their representatives in Washington, D.C., last Thursday and Friday. The delegates representing Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson and Emmet counties advocated for overall support as well as an estimated $10.4 million in assistance for eight projects. ...

Corridor delegates meet with Washington representation (03/13/10)
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) meets with delegates from the Iowa Great Lakes Corridor of Opportunity including Spencer City Manager Bob Fagen (seated to Harkin's left). The senator discussed upgrading Highway 86 during the Corridor's annual visit. The group also met with Sen. ...

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...

Spencer building listed on National Register of Historic Places (03/09/10)
It's official. Spencer's former high school and middle school building at 104 E. Fourth St. is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Administered by the National Park Service, this program is the U.S. government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

UNDER THE BIG TOP: Circus offers 'old-fashioned family fun' (03/04/10)

City council approves refinancing bond (03/02/10)
A high bond rating has allowed the city of Spencer to entertain eight different refinancing bond offers from 15 different underwriters.

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...

Local cartoonist creates a 'New Dawn' (02/20/10)
Carman Brons has a fantasy world of magical characters living inside the spellbinding village of New Dawn filling her head. According to her followers, it's a good thing the comic artist has the talent to share it -- both in cartoons and script -- with them on the Web. ...

Pollution clouded Iowa early this weekend (02/09/10)
What is fine particulate pollution? According to Todd Russell -- an air monitor for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources -- it is made up of tiny particles as a result of combustion from industrial plants, vehicles and even wood-burning stoves. How tiny?...

DNR specialists explain stream assessments (02/04/10)
What is in the water? Iowa Department of Natural Resources environmental specialists Chris Spoelstra and John Warren have personally evaluated many of Iowa's streams and Lee Wagner has written National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits for entities discharging into those streams...

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

Natural resources at risk in State cuts (12/12/09)
Iowa's natural resources have not been spared in the State's 10 percent across-the-board budget clear-cutting, and northwest Iowa environmental leaders wonder how deep the roots of economic damage may run. One of the largest expenditure cuts from the DNR falls in the state parks funding...

With a flick of the switch (12/08/09)
After several weeks of darkness, a couple of blocks of Grand Avenue boulevard between Eighth and 18th streets were illuminated Monday as Mayor Reynold Peterson, proclaimed, "Let there be light," while flipping a ceremonial switch, turning on the new "green" lighting. Not green as in color, but green as in energy efficient...

Deer firearm season opens Saturday (12/04/09)
The first round of shotgun-season deer hunters will be heading into Iowa's wooded areas at sunrise Saturday morning. This year's two seasons -- scheduled Dec. 5-9 and Dec. 12-20 -- are expected to once again attract a large crowd. ...

State promotes awareness as winter creeps in (11/14/09)
Rake while you can, because shovel season is on its way. The National Weather Service is getting ready for the next season, and used Thursday as "Winter Awareness Day" in Iowa. "This time of year we start looking at winter precipitation becoming an issue," said Ben Moyer, senior meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Des Moines. ...

Wet harvest advancing, yields looking good (11/07/09)
With grain dryers running nonstop across the state, harvest proceeded in force this week as several dry days finally appeared. The most recent Iowa Crops and Weather report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service revealed corn harvest for grain had reached an 18 percent completion rating, which was 22 percent behind last year and five days behind the five-year average. ...

Wind farm segment could come to Clay County (10/17/09)
Representatives with renewable energy company NextEra are in discussions with county leaders to bring a major wind farm to northwest Iowa. Spokesman Steve Stengel said the company hopes to locate 167 wind turbines in the region. Under the current proposal, turbine placement would be equally distributed on Clay, Dickinson and Osceola County properties...

Snow surfaces in local forecast (10/09/09)
It's that time of year again. The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, S.D., has put a 70 percent chance of rain or snow in the forecast for Spencer on Friday night. "It's been a little on the cool side, but as far as snow this time of year, that's not unusual," said meteorologist Mike Buss...

Attendees request full REAP funding (10/08/09)
Residents from the nine-county area gathered in Spencer this week to voice their individual thoughts on how Iowa's REAP (Resource Enhancement and Protection) program might be made better. The 49 people who gathered at Tuesday night's assembly in the Clay County Regional Events Center unanimously expressed a desire for the program to receive full funding, allowing it to more fully enhance and protect Iowa's natural and cultural resources...

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

Ribbon cutting Tuesday for newest Clay County green facility (09/26/09)
With the assistance of Iowa Lakes Resource Conservation and Development, J&G Regional Services, Inc. and its owners, Julie and Gary Hoefling, will host a ribbon cutting ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29. The event celebrates J&G Regional Services, Inc., located at 1601 35th Ave. W. in Spencer, the newest green facility in Clay County...

Pheasants Forever banquet announced (09/26/09)
Plans are now under way for the annual Clay County Pheasants Forever Banquet, according to Jim Kitterman, chapter president. The fundraising event will take place at the Clay County Events Center in Spencer on Saturday, Oct. 3. Pheasants Forever is a tax-exempt, nonprofit conservation organization whose goal is to improve upland wildlife habitat and populations...

Corn crop looks robust as harvest nears (09/22/09)
Delayed planting in some areas of the Midwest caused some early season concern, but Chad Hart, Iowa State University grain marketing economist said a long growing season may allow crops in many areas to catch up. Paul Kassel, a field agronomist for ISU Extension noted progress in northwest Iowa and said an unusually cool summer should lead to a good corn crop locally...

Spencer voters elect three new board members (09/10/09)
With 996 ballots cast, just over 11 percent of Spencer's total registered voters elected three new school board members Tuesday night. The men elected to serve four-year terms around the Spencer board table include: Bob Whittenburg, Bill Zinn and Dean Mechler. While Whittenburg earned 746 votes, Zinn garnered 698 and Mechler amassed 600 votes. The three men are expected to be officially seated during a Tuesday, Sept. 22, board meeting...

Egg industry responds to 'Hatchery Horrors' video (09/03/09)
"The footage you are about to see was recorded with a hidden camera at Hy-Line hatchery in Iowa, the world's largest hatchery for egg-laying breed chicks," the narrator begins. Footage follows of chicks being "roughly" sorted by sexers who separate the male chicks from the females. The females have their heads clamped and a portion of their beaks removed by a laser...

South Clay residents invited to attend public hearings (08/07/09)
Three public hearings are scheduled next week to address the South Clay school district's dissolution following the 2009-10 school year. The gatherings will serve as an opportunity for area residents to have their questions answered, as well as a chance to receive additional information about the six contiguous school districts their children and property are expected to fold into in 2010-11. ...

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...

Area school board candidates file papers (07/31/09)
The nomination papers have been filed, creating a four-person race for three seats around the Spencer school board table this fall. While Ruthven-Ayrshire currently has three people vying for three school board seats, the neighboring districts of Clay Central-Everly and South Clay will undergo a search for write-in candidates to fill positions around their board tables.

Less E. coli in Little Sioux: Grant, loan to help treat Sioux Rapids wastewater (07/24/09)
Sioux Rapids is among 15 Iowa communities to receive more than $24 million in federal recovery funds under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The city received a $225,000 Community Development Block Grant and a $227,422 low-interest loan to improve the quality of treated wastewater going from Sioux Rapids into the Little Sioux River...

South Clay dissolution process outlined for Spencer board (07/23/09)
As they look to dissolve their school district following the upcoming year, South Clay Community School District patrons have two primary factors to weigh. Those questions currently being placed before them include: Which of six contiguous districts would they most prefer their children to attend classes, and which district would they want their property and assets to transfer to...

Storm cited as factor in fatal crash (07/11/09)
The Clay County Sheriff's Department said Thursday's stormy weather may have contributed to a fatal, head-on collision one mile west of Ruthven near the Palo Alto County line. The crash claimed 77-year-old Opal Lucille Frerichs of Spencer. Deputies think she was traveling east in a 1991 Corsica. She drifted into the westbound lane and into the path of oncoming traffic along U.S. Highway 18 at 4:20 p.m. Frerichs was pronounced dead at the Palo Alto County Hospital in Emmetsburg...

South Clay committee sets dissolution timeline (07/02/09)
A tentative timeline for bringing patrons and neighboring districts into the South Clay dissolution process has been established. The Clay County school district's dissolution is scheduled to take effect following the 2009-10 school year. As an organizational meeting of the Dissolution Commission Committee for South Clay School District was held Tuesday in the Gillett Grove school building's board room, Barry Anderson was appointed to serve as the committee's chairperson. ...

Lightning science charged with danger, a few myths (06/27/09)
It's ringing phones, not thunder that John Jensenius hears this time of year. He's the lighting expert at the National Weather Service and helped launch Lightning Safety Awareness Week nine years ago. The 2009 campaign comes to a conclusion Saturday...

Apple Tree licensing under review (06/12/09)
Inspectors have responded to three complaints at Apple Tree Preschool and Daycare in the past 15 months, including concerns over caregiver-to-child ratios. The complaints, filed in Des Moines, do not yet include a May 26 incident, when a 4-year-old boy wandered from Apple Tree and into traffic on U.S. ...

Westview Memorial Park master plan approved (06/11/09)
A master plan was approved for Spencer's only arboretum-style park by Spencer Park Board members this week. The plan for Westview Memorial Park, which was presented by local landscape architect Matt Matthiesen and Karl Van Cura of Midwest Design Group in Sioux City, carried a detailed phasing of the enhancements it proposes, as well as a rough $899,046 cost estimate tied to their realization...

Scharnberg Park hosts conservation board's 50th summer (06/05/09)
When the sun is out Saturday, Dan Heissel expects a large crowd at Scharnberg Park for the conservation board's 50th summer in Clay County. If the sun isn't out, well, there will be plenty of tent space and beach umbrellas on hand for the large crowd, too...

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. ...

Cleaning the Little Sioux: Wal-Mart employees, volunteers sweep river for junk (05/30/09)
If you're going to plan a cleanup project, why not plan it on a beautiful day and include canoes and a river as two of your key tools. Starting from two different points, Wal-Mart employees from the Spencer and Storm Lake stores worked together to help cleanup one of northwest Iowa's main waterways. ...

South Clay district planning to dissolve following 2009-10 (05/28/09)
A longtime area school district will see its last students next fall. A group of area residents finds itself preparing to advance through a dissolution process for South Clay School District. The district's dissolution is scheduled to take effect following the 2009-10 school year...

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...

Briefs 5-23-09 (05/23/09)
Farmers Market is returning with an opening date of May 23. Early season vegetables available. Located in the parking lot of the Southpark Mall. --- Come learn about Global Positioning System (GPS) and the sport of geocaching. GPS units will be used to find hidden treasure at Huston Park. Located at the nature center at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 23. The event is sponsored by the Palo Alto Soil & Water Conservation District and the Palo Alto County Conservation Board...

Graduation weekend arrives for area schools (05/16/09)
It's a weekend for punch bowls, sheet cakes and maybe a few tissues as diplomas are handed out to the Class of 2009. The Spencer School District is one of four area schools set to hold commencement Sunday. The 155 seniors in Spencer's 122nd graduating class will be recognized at the Spencer High School Fieldhouse. Doors will open one hour before the 2:30 p.m. event...

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...

Six pair of trumpeter swans released in northwest Iowa (05/12/09)
Six pair of trumpeter swans were released Saturday in the heart of Iowa's "prairie pothole" region. The hope of the release is that the swans will imprint on the six sites in northwest Iowa and continue to nest at them in future years. The weekend releases, which were part of a swan restoration project by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' Clear Lake wildlife unit, occurred in Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, O'Brien, Palo Alto and Kossuth counties...

'Dewey' movie on fast track (05/08/09)
The woman who's agreed to write the script for the upcoming movie based on Dewey Readmore Books' life is a natural for the job at hand. Pamela Gray has a cat paraphernalia collecting fever. She's been visiting people and places in Spencer this week, and she's jotting her important notes worth remembering in a notebook covered with cartoon cats. She currently has 10 cats of her own. The woman even has a tiger stripe tattoo -- based on the stripes of tigers she fell in love with while serving as a volunteer zookeeper -- inked on her right shoulder. --- It's safe to say that Vicki Myron, Spencer's former librarian-turned-author, feels a bit overwhelmed at times. She's busy. Even before her and Bret Witter's "Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World" book became a No. 1 bestseller, Myron had been working the media channels to promote it...

DNR Issues first annual Environmental Report Card (05/08/09)
DES MOINES -- Iowans are making great strides to improve their state's natural resources, but they still have some homework to do, according to the state's first Environmental Report Card, released recently by the Department of Natural Resources. The DNR graded the health of the state's natural resources in eight subject areas. ...

Agenda set for Clay County Wings and Wetlands (05/07/09)
The 15th Annual Wings and Wetlands weekend is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday May 9-10, 2009. Explore our unique "Prairie Pothole" region of Northwest Iowa and celebrate National Wetlands Month. Six counties in Northwest Iowa will be offering a great selection of programs and activities for people of all ages and interests. ...

Tornado warning issued for Clay County (05/06/09)
Areas west and south of Spencer had a brief, but rocky, patch of severe weather Wednesday night. The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, S.D. issued a severe thunderstorm warning for northwestern Clay County, southern Dickinson County and eastern Osceola County at 5:15 p.m. Meteorologists were concerned about quarter-size hail with the system. The cell was located near Ocheyedan when the warning was issued...

Ruling closes 2008 murder case (05/06/09)
A Dickinson County judge has dismissed charges against the third defendant in the April 2008 murder case which resulted in the death of Matthew Begtrup. John Allen Swan, 31, of Crossett, Ark., Scott Thomas Adair, 30, of Crossett, Ark. and Michael James Friedrichs, 30, of Forest City were accused of first-degree murder in a Milford incident in April 2008...

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...

Related subjects