Land Subdivision And Development

Spencer denied REAP grant for Deerfield Park (10/15/09)
The fourth time wasn't a charm for Spencer Park Board members, who were notified this week that Spencer was not awarded a $125,000 Resource Enhancement And Protection (REAP) grant for proposed developments in Deerfield Park. The information stung a bit because the town's grant application placed just below the Iowa projects which were approved...

Fourth time a charm? (07/16/09)
Spencer Park Board members are hoping the fourth time's the charm. This week they approved submitting a fourth $125,000 Resource Enhancement And Protection (REAP) grant application for the potential development of a shelter house, trails and "green" elements -- such as a rain garden, upland and hydric prairie areas -- in Deerfield Park.

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. ...

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...

Scharnberg beach to be refurbished (03/13/09)
The little, plastic shovels and pails probably aren't going to do the trick for this beach sculpting project. Clay County Conservation Director Dan Heissel told members of the Clay County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that the county park has received a $7,000 Community Foundation Grant to refurbish the beach at Scharnberg Pond...

Over $100,000 to be distributed by Foundation (02/27/09)
Over $100,000 in grants to be presented to area organizations by the Clay Community Foundation. At 8 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Spencer City Council Chambers the Clay Community Foundation will be presenting 19 Clay County organizations with over $100,000 in grants to support special projects, activities, and program expansion...

City budget on council's agenda (02/13/09)
The Spencer City Council will address the 2009/10 city budget at Monday's 6:30 p.m. session, with the intention of setting a public hearing for March 2. "You have to balance the need for basic core services with quality of life issues that set Spencer apart from other communities...There are several challenges facing the city. ...

Spencer Storefront Initiative enters final year for applications (01/16/09)
Two years after its launch, dozens of Spencer businesses have benefited from a program designed to spruce up the appearance of the community's commercial properties. The Spencer Storefront Initiative was created in 2007 as a joint project of Spencer Municipal Utilities, the Spencer Chamber of Commerce, the City of Spencer, and area financial institutions. ...

Expect changes at Spencer Family Aquatic Center in 2009 (12/11/08)
In the Spencer Park Board members' review of two Spencer Park and Recreation Department proposed budgets -- the 2009-10 operation budget and the 2010-14 capital improvement plan (CIP) -- Spencer Park and Recreation Director Delray Bredehoeft outlined two very different plans this week. While the operation budget's 3 percent growth model is what other city departments have been assigned, the CIP has been deemed "a pretty aggressive" five-year plan...

Growth projects highlight city council action (12/02/08)
A Sunshine Center expansion and the potential addition of an industrial park highlighted Monday night's Spencer City Council meeting. The council is working with the Northwest Iowa Planning and Development Commission and approved a resolution to apply for a $350,000 Community Block and Development Grant on behalf of Sunshine Services...

City of Spirit Lake announces new development (11/28/08)
The Spirit Lake City Council will consider rezoning an area in the southwest corner of the city to allow a significant new development to occur. Developers Marty and Alex Benskin, Benskin Developers Inc, based in Des Moines, and its Iowa Great Lakes Development Division CEO, Glen N. Maddox Jr., will coordinate the development team for the creation of the Iowa Great Lakes Lifestyle Center...

Deerfield Park grant application not funded for third time (09/17/08)
"We came close, but we didn't hit the money," Spencer Park and Recreation Director Delray Bredehoeft told Spencer Park Board members Tuesday night as he informed them a Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) grant application for the development of Deerfield Park was not funded for a third time...

Council to consider "Historic Restoration" classification tonight (09/02/08)
A 5:30 p.m. Personnel and Finance Committee meeting, followed by a Committee of the Whole session at 6:15 p.m., and regular council meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m. will make for a long evening for Spencer's governing body. The council will review the final filing of a proposed ordinance that will provide for a new section to the city code pertaining to substandard buildings; providing for an "Historic Restoration" classification...

Living History Farms sells plot to developer (08/14/08)
DES MOINES (AP) -- Living History Farms has sold 40 acres of its land to create an endowment that would help finance the museum's operations. Polk County Recorder records show the sale was finalized at the end of July to S&S Heritage Park LLC, which paid nearly $7.2 million for the property...

Anglers Bay dedication celebrates conservation success (07/31/08)
The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources invite the public to join in the dedication of the state's new Anglers Bay Wildlife Management Area on Saturday morning, Aug. 2. The dedication will be held at the project site on the northeast side of Big Spirit Lake, nestled between Hales Slough to the south and Sandbar Slough to the north...

Public land grazing could be allowed (07/25/08)
Gov. Chet Culver on Thursday announced steps that the Iowa Departments of Natural Resources and Transportation are taking to assist farmers affected by this year's flooding and severe weather. The governor said he will encourage the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to consider the value of haying and grazing as an alternative to burning and for control of brush invasion into grassland areas...

Briefs 7-10-08 (07/10/08)
Arts on Grand will present Music in the Gallery at 7 p.m. tonight. This week's featured musicians will be Tim and Amanda, and possibly a few special guests. They will perform music for guitar and voice with a country flavor, including covers of songs made famous by such groups as Creedence Clearwater Revival. A $5 donation is requested, with proceeds going to the artists...

Briefs 7-09-08 (07/09/08)
The Spencer Area Farmer's Market will be held every Wednesday and Saturday, from 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., in the Southpark Mall parking lot. Come see the homegrown, fresh produce for sale. --- Weekend Program at Lost Island Prairie Wetland Nature Center will feature "Terrific Trees" at 10 a.m. on July 12...

Lawmakers look to free up grazing land (07/09/08)
Policy-makers in Des Moines and Washington, D.C., are looking for some alternatives to flooded pastureland throughout the state. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released Conservation Reserve Program acres for grazing in Iowa's Presidential Declared Disaster counties because of flooding. U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley wrote to Secretary Ed Schafer last month asking for the early release...

Environmental protection commission to meet July 8 (07/08/08)
DNR will update the Environmental Protection Commission on the status of flooding events in Iowa and summarize its response efforts to the flood at the monthly EPC meeting July 8. They will also discuss how land use practices can contribute to flooding...

Nature photography instruction (06/05/08)
The Northwest Iowa Center for Photography, in conjunction with CR Gallery and Lost Island Lake Prairie Wetlands Nature Center, would like to invite interested photographers to sign up for a day of nature photography instruction to be given by Stan Buman, a nature photographer from Carroll. ...

Meetings 5-17-08 (05/19/08)
The Spencer City Council will hold a Committee of the Whole session at 5:15 p.m., Monday, May 19 in the conference room at City Hall. On the agenda: City Manager evaluation. --- The Iowa Lakes Community College Board of Trustees will meet at 8 a.m., Tuesday, May 20 in the conference room of the Administration Building on the Estherville campus. The board is scheduled to accept a retirement, and designate board authority to signs checks and contracts...

City Info 5-17-08 (05/19/08)
The city has gone to regular pick up on tagged bags of grass and brush on the following days: Thursday -- west side of Spencer, and Friday -- east side of Spencer. --- Open burning within the corporate limits of Spencer is not allowed by ordinance. To dispose of leaves, grass clippings, other lawn waste or any household waste by burning is illegal. You may be subject to a fine...

County Growers Field planted (05/15/08)
One hundred corn hybrids were planted in the Clay County Growers Field earlier this month. This marks the 21st year for the corn plot. Projects other than the Corn Hybrid evaluation are a Planting Population study and the use of Fungicide on corn. The corn is on land owned by David and Jan Hopkins and farmed by Al Patten...

Meetings 5-14-08 (05/14/08)
The Spencer Planning and Zoning Commission will meet at 8 a.m., today in the council chambers at City Hall. The commission will receive an update on the 2001 Comprehensive Land Use Plan's goals and objectives. --- The Spencer Municipal Utilities Board of Directors will meet at 7 a.m., today in the operations meeting room. Among other items, they will consider a funding request from Jobs Trust...

Supervisors approve Terramech loan (05/09/08)
Members of the Clay County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a six-year, $100,000 loan to help a new company get a foothold in Spencer. The vote, to assist a prospective company called Terramech, came with a recommendation from the county's recently-created Revolving Loan Board...

City Info 5-8-08 (05/08/08)
The city has gone to regular pick up on tagged bags of grass and brush on the following days: Thursday -- west side of Spencer, and Friday -- east side of Spencer. Open burning within the corporate limits of Spencer is not allowed by ordinance. To dispose of leaves, grass clippings, other lawn waste or any household waste by burning is illegal. You may be subject to a fine...

Willow Creek Watershed awarded grant (04/30/08)
Clay County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) Commissioner Jerry Crew announced late last week that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has awarded a grant to the district designed to aid in the development of water quality strategies in the Willow Creek Watershed...

Essick proud to join family farming operation (04/29/08)
(Women in Agriculture: Part One of a Four-Part Series) Stephanie "Steph" (Harves) Essick, who ranks among the nation's female farmers, doesn't view herself as an agricultural anomaly. Like many Midwestern youth, Essick and her older sister grew up on their Clay County farm riding the bean bar, cultivating row crops and hauling bales of hay...

Council authorizes property purchase (04/29/08)
Members of the Spencer City Council on Monday night authorized the sale of a city lot as part of an economic development package. The vote came during a special meeting of the council. General Machine Works owner Eugene Wood would like land to construct a 110- by 85-foot expansion at a site near West Second Street. The company manufactures electric clutches and hydraulic valves for industrial and farming equipment...

Development project on council agenda (04/26/08)
By Russ Mitchell Daily Reporter Staff Members of the Spencer City Council gather for a special meeting at 5:15 p.m. Monday to consider a property sale for the expansion of General Machine Works. Prospective buyer Eugene Wood would like land to construct a 110- by 85-foot expansion at its West Second Street location. General Machine Works manufactures electric clutches and hydraulic values for industrial and farming equipment...

Council green lights sewer study (04/22/08)
A Storm/Sanitary Sewer Evaluation Study was given the go ahead during Monday night's Spencer City Council meeting. The study will serve as the first step in an extensive process designed to help the city comply with an EPA mandate handed down approximately eight months ago, requiring the city to eliminate its combined storm and sanitary sewer systems...

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