Stories from Saturday, June 4, 2011

AMES -- Ducks Unlimited received a $1 million North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant for projects in Iowa last week. NAWCA is a federal matching grants program that provides funding for wetland and migratory bird habitat conservation work across North America...

Iowa Great Lakes Lutheran School of Spencer honored its graduating sixth graders on Wednesday, May 25, including: Matthew Heikens, Alice Newby, Marcos Muniz, Ellyse Knaak, Erick Phillips and Chandler Halverson. (Photo submitted)

SPENCER -- Students who have completed grades six through eight are invited to attend the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation's fourth annual Entrepreneurship Academy, held July 11-15, at Iowa Lakes Community College in Spencer. Students from Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson and Emmet counties can come and learn from local entrepreneurs about how to turn a hobby into a business...

Being new to a town is never easy, but the people of Spencer have helped make the transition rather smooth. There have been quite a few pot holes in the road and many kinks to work out. All the while, though, there are numerous smiling faces willing to lend a hand...

Just want to let everyone know, the Terrazzo Coffeehouse, located on the main floor of the Spencer Dream Center is now open for business, serving all those tasty Starbuck's products as well as fruit smoothies, sandwiches, soup, salad and more. This is one of the continuous funding mechanisms for the Dream Center, so each dollar you spend doesn't only taste good, it feels good as the coffeehouse's motto claims...

Severely injured and left for dead along a foot path somewhere in the northern region of South Korea, Clay County native Marvin Schmidt had been stripped of his possessions by enemy military patrols. He was left with an U.S. Army issued shirt, pant and single boot on his person, and two grenades and a copy of the New Testament within reach...

International Coin Collectors Association is coming to Spencer in search of the rarest coins in the world. Spencer is the next stop for the ICCA's world tour. The experts will be at the Clay County Regional Events Center, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 6-10. ...

Funeral services for Mrs. Linda Menting, 62, of Spencer, will be held at 1:30 p.m. Monday, June 6, 2011, at Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints in Spencer. President Jim Olson will officiate the service. Visitation will be held from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, at Warner Funeral Home in Spencer...

Services for Berneta R. Pauls will be held at noon Saturday June 11, 2011, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Ostrander with the Rev. Rolf Wangberg officiating. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. until time of service. Berneta R Pauls, age 86, of Ostrander died Thursday June 2, 2011, at her home...

A man involved in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine was sentenced May 27, to more than five years in federal prison. Blair Burrell, 25, from Hartley, received the prison term after a Nov. 29, 2010, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and two counts of distributing and aiding and abetting the distribution of crack cocaine...

MILFORD -- A faulty electrical connection to a set of personal watercraft hoists in West Lake Okoboji killed a number of fish on Friday, reminding dock owners of the dangers of electrical hookups near water. While investigating the fish kill, DNR staff discovered a charred electrical outlet on the dock. ...

Three vehicles collided just before 10:15 a.m. Friday on North Grand Avenue near the intersection of Second Street. A Penske rental truck, driven by 27-year-old Derek Schwery of Milford, was traveling down the inside lane on North Grand. A vehicle ahead of Schwery's had stopped to make a left turn onto West Second Street. ...

Former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack does not think she is much different than constituents in the newly-drawn fourth congressional district, though she grew up and spent much of her life in Mount Pleasant, the opposite corner of the state. "I grew up in a town like Spencer, a county seat," Vilsack told more than 30 people Friday afternoon at Iowa Lakes Community College. "The values in small town Iowa are basically the same regardless of where you grow up."...

Molly (Steffen) Juza has been recognized as Columbus High School's Academic Booster Club Teacher of the Year. She was nominated for the honor, which was awarded May 13 along with a $500 check, by students of the parochial high school in Waterloo. Juza, who taught Spanish III through VI classes on a part-time basis at the school this year, is working in the district's developmental office this summer. ...

An 18-year-old Everly man was arrested at a residential treatment facility in Sheldon May 31, and charged with three counts of second degree sexual abuse - all class B felonies. The Clay County Sheriff's Office was contacted by the Department of Human Services referencing a sexual abuse allegation. The two agencies conducted a joint investigation resulting in the charges against Trey Kurtis Ginger...

Managing mono-slope barns to improve air quality and cattle performance will be featured at an open house on June 22. The open house will be at the Ron and Clayton Christensen barn near Royal, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Iowa State University (ISU) Extension beef program specialist Beth Doran said the barn is one of four involved in the Tri-State Air Quality project...

Let's all take a moment for those basket support systems and backboards that were left useless after a monster Shaq dunk. Take a moment and think about all those NBA centers who were used and abused for the better part of two decades by the most dominant force the league has ever seen. ...

A local soldier has been deemed a team hero while serving in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Sgt. Dan Shaughnessy was deemed Team Diesel's Hero of May when his platoon took heavy enemy fire and he rendered "buddy aid" to Spc. Dane Nelson after Nelson was wounded in the thigh...