Government Bodies

Check point stops cars, raises awareness (07/03/09)
Travelers heading north to Spencer or the Iowa Great Lakes may have experienced a moderate delay Thursday night. The Iowa Great Lakes Drug Task Force and Iowa Governor's Traffic Safety Program organized a safety check on U.S. Highway 71 south of Spencer...

More on Don Veitch (07/01/09)
The Greenville native, with expressive eyes and a subtle smile, can paint a rosy picture for even the grimmest of tales. Don Veitch's long-held philosophy is: "There are no bad days. Some days are just better than others." The 86-year-old Spencer resident was handed a "real low number" over six decades ago, which meant he didn't have very long to wait before being drafted...

Sirens 6-25-09 (06/25/09)
Sara Wirkus, 23, Spencer, was charged with theft fifth degree at 4:12 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, at Wal-Mart. She was released on a police citation. Shayne Pomeroy, 23, Ruthven, was charged on a Clay County warrant for failure to serve sentence at 8:57 p.m. Saturday, June 13, in the 300 block of Grand Avenue. He was transported to the Spencer Police Department...

Plan to address school leadership structure change (06/12/09)
Classes may have dismissed for the summer, but some Iowa school officials still find themselves working to develop and approve new leadership structures for their districts. As requested by the Department of Education, the move marks one of the first requirements for the eventual statewide implementation of the Iowa Core Curriculum. ...

Spencer grad touts skills learned in debate (06/09/09)
Mark Woolsey credits a Spencer High School teacher and his 1976 start in debate with opening several of the most important doors in his life. Several of those doors have extended onto the international level. The 49-year-old son of Joanne Woolsey, who formerly served as the director of nursing at Longhouse Nursing Home, and the late James Woolsey, who served as a podiatrist in Spencer, has worked the past seven years as a speech and debate instructor at Yavapai College in Prescott, Ariz. The 1979 SHS graduate also debated in college on scholarship. Woolsey met his wife, Denise, while both were members of the collegiate debate team. On his way to rebuild flood-damaged homes in Cedar Rapids this past weekend with Sara Krogshede, the foreign exchange student from Denmark the Woolseys have hosted this past school year, the two stopped at Mel and Jan Myers' place in Spencer. There, he fondly recalled the interaction he'd had with other high school students as a debater, deeming it a "great cultural learning experience" for him. ...

Public forum on busing set for Saturday (06/05/09)
The Spencer Community School District will conduct a public hearing at 9 a.m. Saturday to seek input from patrons about changes to discretionary busing policies. The proposed new policy calls for a daily, $1 user fee to bus students who are picked up less than two miles from their school building. The cost is $175 for the entire school year. Families with more than two students would be capped at $350 per year...

Gender balance sought on city boards (06/04/09)
City leaders see challenges and opportunities in efforts to obtain a gender balance currently lacking on Spencer's non-elected boards and commissions. Spencer Mayor Reynold Peterson was mindful of the city's imbalance Monday night, when he urged women to apply for a current vacancy on the Spencer Airport Board of Trustees. The board is comprised of four men and the application deadline, to fill the fifth seat, is Friday, June 26...

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. ...

Sirens 5-30-09 (05/30/09)
--- Manuel Martinez, 27, Spencer, was arrested on a Clay County warrant on a charge of violation of probation at 2:26 p.m. Tuesday, May 26, in the 20 block of West First Street. He was transported to the Spencer Police Department and turned over to the Clay County Jail...

Spencer breaks top 100 in KISS tour bid (05/29/09)
It's still not clear how many local votes it will take to bring arena rock band KISS to Spencer. But it is clear residents are making progress in the Internet bid to "demand" a band visit to the northwest Iowa city of 11,000. Spencer has a chance to "book" a major concert tour stop because the legendary band has put fans in charge of selecting the tour stops through Internet voting at www.Eventful.com. A link to the Eventful voting process is prominent on the www.kissonline.com Web site, too...

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...

City moves ahead with new industrial park (05/21/09)
The proposed industrial park in east Spencer took another step forward Monday with action from the Spencer City Council. The city has made its way through the the bidding process for a water and sewer extension, when council members approved the contract and bond...

WEB EXTRA: Text of Stephen Rank's resignation letter (05/19/09)
The following is the text from Everly City Council member Stephen Rank's letter of resignation, which was submitted to the city Monday night. Additional coverage of the Everly City Council meeting can be found in the Tuesday edition of The Daily Reporter...

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...

UPDATED: Everly council member faces drug charges (05/12/09)

Rinehart: No need for new Fostoria four-way-stop (05/08/09)
Clay County Supervisors appeared to be in agreement with a request from the city of Fostoria representatives for placement of downtown stop signs, which would regulate traffic on the county road which serves as the main street in Fostoria. Scott Rinehart, the Clay County Engineer, however convinced that placement of the signs would not be a good idea during Tuesday morning's meeting...

Arson cases: One delayed, one resolved (05/07/09)
A Pocahontas man who started a fire in the mental heath wing of Spencer Hospital avoided prison time as part of a plea agreement finalized Tuesday at the Clay County Courthouse in Spencer. Jared Lee Reinholdt entered a plea of guilty to third-degree arson and Judge Nancy Whittenburg suspended a two-year sentence as part of an agreement reached with prosecutors...

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. ...

City pauses to remember Schmidt (05/06/09)
Spencer City Hall will be closed from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday as staff members remember a longtime Spencer Airport Board member and public servant. Warner Funeral Home in Spencer is in charge of the arrangements for 84-year-old Al Schmidt, who passed away Sunday, May 3, at St. Luke Lutheran Home in Spencer. Visitation will begin at 11:30 a.m. today, with the family present from 6-8 p.m...

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...

Hundreds pay tribute to fallen soldier (05/05/09)
American flags surrounded Army Staff Sgt. LeRoy Webster's old high school, and the graying soldiers of wars past arrived by the busload Saturday to honor the Hartley man who lost his life while serving his country. In all, about 700 people attended Webster's memorial service at the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School gym. ...

U.S. passport rules changing (05/05/09)
By Kris Todd Daily Reporter Staff Planning to cross a U.S. border this summer? As of June 1, 2009, anyone traveling out of the country will need to have a valid passport or passport card to re-enter the United States. This requirement marks the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative's second phase. ...

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...

City salaries on council agenda (05/02/09)
Members of the Spencer City Council will consider a 3 percent pay increase for some city employees as part of Monday night's regular meeting. A finance and personnel committee meeting begins at 5:30 p.m., with the council meeting to follow an hour later at Spencer City Hall...

Bond package concludes 2009 session (05/02/09)
The best thing about the 2009 Legislative session? The adjournment, according to the state senator and state representative serving Spencer and the Iowa Great Lakes. "The winners are the Iowa taxpayers because we're now out of session," said Assistant Republican Leader David Johnson. "We can't do any more damage than we already did."...

Wings & Wetlands activities slated for May 9-10 (04/22/09)
The annual Trumpeter Swan release at Lost Island Marsh will kick off the Wings & Wetlands festivities at Lost Island Huston Park scheduled for May 9-10. The swan release is scheduled to take place at 11 a.m., and will be followed by a full day of actvities hosted by the Palo Alto County Conservation Board, Conservatiton Foundation and Soil & Water Conservation District...

Officers lobby for sex offender law reforms (04/22/09)
Clay County Sheriff Randy Krukow was among the group of officers and prosecutors Monday night who called on the Legislature overhaul Iowa's sex abuse laws. Krukow supports a proposed bill, which divides persons convicted of a sexual offense into three tiers. ...

Spencer Main Street earns two awards (04/22/09)
The Spencer Main Street program secured awards for "Best Education/Preservation Design Committee Project" and for "Outstanding Volunteer" during the 22nd Annual Main Street Awards Ceremony, held April 17 in Des Moines. The education/preservation award recognized Spencer Main Street's efforts to catalog 39 historic buildings in its downtown historic commercial district. A plaque explaining the historic significance of each building is displayed at of the properties...

Council sets bid date for Green Center (04/21/09)
Work to establish an environmentally-friendly industrial park moved another step forward at Monday night's Spencer City Council meeting. Spencer City Manager Bob Fagen has been encouraged by interest in the project so far. Council members approved a 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 29, bid-letting date for sewer and water extensions to farmland owned by the city and Spencer Municipal Utilities...

Board supports dog, bike park concepts (04/16/09)

Hundreds join tax protest at Clay County Courthouse (04/16/09)
Wednesday's national tax day, tea party government spending protests weren't limited to state capitols and major metropolitan areas. About 275 people filled in around a makeshift podium on the courthouse square in Spencer for a local version of the Taxed Enough Already (TEA) Party. The event was organized by Kris Thiessen of Everly, who co-owns White Glove, a janitorial business in Spencer...

CCE board approves 2009-10 budget, computers purchase (04/15/09)
With no public input offered, Clay Central-Everly school board members adopted the $4.99 million certified 2009-10 budget presented to them Monday night. It retained the 4 percent allowable growth rate approved by state legislators for fiscal year 2010. Next year's budget also sports a $12.52 per $1,000 valuation rate to be levied and an income surtax increase for district residents...

Same-sex couple looking forward to marriage in northwest Iowa (04/14/09)
Lee and Tony are eager to celebrate their 15th anniversary together. Ecstatic about an April 3 Iowa Supreme Court ruling unanimously rejecting a state law restricting marriage to a union between a man and woman, the same-sex couple hope to formally mark April 18, 2010, with their wedding...

The Representative's representative (04/11/09)
State Rep. Royd Chambers has answered the call of duty this winter. Nancy McDowell answered a lot of calls. And a lot of letters. And a lot of e-mails. Less than a month after he was elected to his fourth term, Chambers learned he would be unable to serve House District 5 in the first session of the 83rd General Assembly. The Iowa Air National Guard member was deployed to Manas Air Base, which is located in the central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan...

The Clay County Courthouse will be closed and all court staff will be on unpaid leave Friday (04/10/09)
The closure comes from a Feb. 27 order by the Iowa Supreme Court. The Judicial Branch anticipates $3.8 million reduction in the 2008-09 operating budget. With the order, all court staff also will take unpaid leave April 24, May 8, May 22, June 5 and June 19, 2009. One day of unpaid leave for about 1,600 judicial employees except judges and magistrates reduces expenditures by $335,009...

Zellaha preparing for Afghanistan deployment (04/09/09)

County to move on well head protection (04/09/09)
A meeting with Spencer Municipal Utilities reps, Leon Rodas, Steve Pick and Don Baxter during Monday's Clay County Board of Supervisors meeting prompted the county's governing officials to address well head protection for common water sources currently outside the city's protection guidelines...

Council signs off on projects, resource officer (04/08/09)
The effort to re-establish a school resource officer in the Spencer School District took another step forward Monday night. The Spencer City Council authorized police chief Mark Lawson to apply for a grant to fund the position of a school resource officer in Spencer for three years. ...

Board commits $1.5 million for capital projects (04/07/09)
Spencer school board members committed $1.5 million in physical plant and equipment levy (PPEL), city and state sales tax revenues for 31 capital projects over fiscal year 2009, which ends June 30, and fiscal year 2010 Monday night. As Superintendent Greg Ebeling noted Spencer is one of a few districts in the state to have city sales tax revenues to draw funding from, he also indicated the district took out an approximately $2.4 million loan against this specific source of funding to pay for the Energy Service Group facility improvements it has undertaken districtwide over the last few years. ...

Spencer graduate receives high military honors (04/07/09)
A Boone County native has earned the prestigious 2009 Russell Award, awarded to a Military Intelligence Noncommissioned Officer who has shown leadership and meritorious service to the Military Intelligence Corps. United States Army Sgt. Julian M. Jones, a 2003 graduate of Spencer High School, was presented the award March 3, in Fort Huachuca, Ariz., by retired Command Sgt. ...

School resource officer on council agenda (04/04/09)
Spencer City Council members will consider a plan to sustain the local school resource officer program as part of its meeting Monday night. The request, from Spencer Police Chief Mark Lawson, is on the agenda for the council's regular meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. at Spencer City Hall. A finance and personnel meeting begins at 5:30 p.m...

Spencer board alerted to district's 3.9 percent solvency ratio (03/26/09)
Spencer school board members received a stern warning from a certified public accountant Tuesday regarding the district's current financial situation. After Bruce Frink of Clarion complimented Superintendent Greg Ebeling on his 2009-10 certified budget presentation, he questioned board members about the district's 3.9 percent solvency ratio as of June 30, 2008...

Spencer students participate in 'Kick Butts Day' activity (03/26/09)
Students across Iowa rallied against tobacco Wednesday as they joined thousands of young people nationwide for the 14th annual Kick Butts Day, sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. The specially designated day raised awareness about continued tobacco marketing to kids and the need for Congress to crack down on such practices. ...

Off to Washington, D.C.: Economic development effort takes flight (03/26/09)
The quest for better roads and sewer systems begins with support from members of Congress. A delegation led by the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation is in Washington, D.C. to get that support this week. Twelve community leaders have set up a series of meetings with Iowa's representatives in the nation's capital. ...

Wheelchairs donated to Events Center (03/26/09)
Scott Hallgren, Clay County Regional Events Center general manager (left) accepts a gift of two wheelchairs from Leon Rodas, president of the Spencer Regional Healthcare Foundation. The Foundation donated two wheelchairs to be used by guests attending community events. Spencer Hospital has loaned wheelchairs when events, such as the primary and general elections, were held at the Events Center. Now the two wheelchairs will be permanently available at the events center for guests' use...

Iowa Court Of Appeals to hear arguments in Spirit Lake (03/25/09)
On Wednesday, April 1 and Thursday, April 2, the Iowa Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the Dickinson County Courthouse located at the junction of Highways 71 and 9 and Hill Avenue in Spirit Lake. In addition to the Dickinson County case of Lair v. ...

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...

Briefs 3-14-09 (03/14/09)
A bird house workshop will be held at 1 p.m. today at Lost Island Nature Center, north of Ruthven. To build a wren house, just bring a hammer. Call (712) 837-4866 for more information. --- A bake sale will be held today at the Southpark Mall. The groups will be: "People to People Ambassador Program" for Devan McCord Fund Raiser and DreamTeam...

City to consider West 18th storm shelter (03/14/09)
Fairgoers could have additional shelter and a safer route to the Clay County Fairgrounds under a proposal that will be considered by Spencer City Council members at their 6:30 p.m. meeting Monday night. Spencer City Manager Bob Fagen is requesting authorization to send a Notice of Intent (NOI) to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a proposed storm shelter on West 18th Street...

Eggs & Issues set for final installment (03/13/09)
Area residents have one more chance to tell local lawmakers what they want -- or want stopped -- in the 2009 session. The last of four 90-minute "Eggs and Issues" town hall sessions begins at 9 a.m. Saturday morning in Spencer City Council Chambers, 420 Second Avenue West...

Related subjects

Mailing list

Enter your email address to join our daily headline mailing list: