Stories from Tuesday, June 10, 2008

The Midwest's most in demand vocal group, Tonic Sol-fa, will return to entertain fans at this year's Clay County Fair. The four-member male collaboration, originally from the Twin Cities area, will perform their songs in the Grandstand at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 8...

Funeral services for Mrs. Ruby Meyer, 90, of Spencer, will be held at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, June 10, 2008, at First English Lutheran Church of Spencer. Rev. Paul Kaldahl will officiate the service. Visitation will begin at 2:30 p.m., Monday with the family present from 6:30-8 p.m. at Warner Funeral Home of Spencer...

Spencer was treated to a handful of remarkable interactive performances this weekend by members of the Montreal-based Rubberbandance Group. Pictured below, Victor Quijada, Joe Danny Aurelien, Emmaneulle LePhan, Yannick Matthon and Louise-Michel Jackson entertained during Saturday afternoon stops at the Spencer Public Library, where the books "Barn Dance" and "Giraffes Can't Dance" were brought to life, and at the skatepark in East Leach Park...

About 50 people gathered in the commons area of the Gateway North Center holding up signs like "Stop RU-486 - It's a child not a choice," "Abortion hurts women" and "Adoption the loving option." The former shopping mall includes community college classrooms and a cluster of professional offices, including Planned Parenthood. ...

A recent survey from the Iowa State University Extension shows an 18 percent increase in the average price of farm land rentals across Iowa. Taking most of the blame for the price jump is the increase in corn and soybean prices with corn increasing from $3.80 to $5.80...

James Oleson is a self-described idolizer of fighter pilots. The California native, who earned a degree in criminal justice from the University of California and currently runs Oleson Landscape and Design in Arnolds Park, has spent the past five years working on a compilation of 126 personal accounts of World War II and Korean War "fighter aces." Oleson deems his end-result, the 361-page "In Their Own Words: True Stories and Adventures of the American Fighter Ace" book, "a tribute," as well as "a labor of love.". ...

Funeral services for Eunice LaVonne May (Gray) Howard, 81, will be held at 11 a.m., Wednesday, June 11, 2008, at First Christian Church in Estherville. Rev. Doug Burton will offiicate the service. Visitation will take place from 4-8 p.m., today at Henry-Olson Funeral Home in Estherville...

Funeral services for Florence A. Osher, 89, of Ruthven, were held Monday, June 9, 2008, at Lost Island Lutheran Church. Rev. Luther Thoresen officiated the service. Interment took place at Crown Hill Cemetery of Ruthven. Florence passed away Friday, June 6, 2008, at the Spencer Municipal Hospital...

Fred Lutz, with Kiwanis After Five Club of Spencer, presents a check for $500 to Flagfest Committee chairpersons: Bill Campbell, Jodi TenKley and Tracy Coleman. The donation will be used to offset the costs associated with the annual community celebration, recognizing Spencer as the "Flag City," the second weekend in June each year...

Spencer Community Theatre will be holding auditions for the summer Children's Musical: Disney's The Aristocats. Auditions will be at 6 p.m., today. Auditions will be held at Spencer Community Theatre, 518 1st Ave. E. Children ages 6-14 are eligible to audition for and participate in AristoCats, Disney's comedic animal tale based on the Disney film of the same name. ...

Clay Central-Everly hit two more home runs, giving them 12 on the season, Zach Drees tossed a complete game shutout and the Mavericks rolled to their ninth straight win Monday in Ruthven, beating the Raiders 7-0. "It was just solid. We made the most of almost every opportunity we had," said Clay Central-Everly head coach Mike Elbert. "My confidence level is going up."...

It's been more than seven years in the making, but Monday night, Spencer finally found Storm Lake's number. Winless against Storm Lake during head coach Greg Jones' tenure -- a streak that had reached more than 15 games -- the Tigers scored one run apiece in the final two innings, including a go-ahead single from Emily Wassom in the sixth, and Jami Webster retired nine of the final 10 batters she faced, helping the Tigers overcome Storm Lake 3-1...

The Sioux Central Softball team claimed its second tournament title of the season Saturday, winning the South O'Brien Softball Tournament with a 9-1 win over Clay-Central-Everly and a 5-0 win over the tournament host Wolverines. Brooke Scharn earned both wins for the Rebels...

Windom -- Mitch Kurth pitched four hitless innings and the Cardinals scored in all but one frame Sunday in Windom, putting up double digit runs for the third time this season and winning their fifth straight contest in a 10-0 victory over the Pirates...

STORM LAKE -- Spencer gave up five unearned runs in the first inning and the Tigers suffered their third straight Lakes Conference loss Monday, falling 6-3 to Storm Lake. "We had a couple miscues on defense that opened up the door for them to jump out," said Spencer head coach Brian Dirkx. "We did a better job fielding the balls in the infield today. We made the routine plays, but we've let too many fly balls drop. That will be a point of emphasis in practice this week."...

RUTHVEN -- Laura Brugman tossed a one-hitter and Clay Central-Everly improved to 2-2 in the Cornbelt Conference Monday, beating Ruthven-Ayrshire 15-0 in four innings. Brugman faced just two batters over the minimum, walking one and striking out six. Brugman retired the final 12 batters she faced after the first two Ruthven-Ayrshire batters had reached base...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The iPhone will soon be $200 cheaper and come with satellite navigation and faster Internet access, but it will be pricier to own because monthly service charges are rising. Apple Inc. revealed Monday that it has scrapped its premium pricing plan for the iPhone and unveiled an upgraded model that works over faster wireless networks, addressing key criticisms about the device that have hurt the company's foray into the cell phone industry...

I can be a bit of a bulldog when I want to accomplish something, I don't like to quit until I reach my goal. But even I would have to hollar "Uncle" if I were up against a mountain of rock. However, the family of the late sculpture Korczak Ziolkowski marked the 60th anniversary of the first blast their patriarch made in the hard rock of the Black Hills...

Area seniors in Clay, Dickinson, Lyon and O'Brien Counties held elections to select their representative to the Board of Directors for Northwest Aging Association of Spencer, with the following results: Clay, Bob Rose of Spencer; Dickinson, Irene Kruger of Lake Park; Lyon, Ruth Caswell of Rock Rapids; O'Brien, Carol Wellcome of Sheldon...

WASHINGTON -- Sure, exercise is good for your waistline, your heart, your bones -- but might it also help prevent addiction to drugs or alcohol? There are some tantalizing clues that physical activity might spur changes in the brain to do just that. Now the government is beginning a push for hard research to prove it...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Crude oil futures fell by more than $4 per barrel on Monday, retreating from the previous session's record rally as the U.S. treasury secretary indicated he would not rule out intervening to shore up the U.S. dollar. Light, sweet crude for July delivery fell $4.19 to settle at $134.35 a barrel in volatile trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday, easing back from a nearly $11 per barrel spike on Friday predicated on a number of political and supply concerns...