Stories from Saturday, November 5, 2011

Dirt crews are expected to begin working on Monday and bridge crews will begin arriving later in the week as work on the long-anticipated West Beltway project gets underway. "The west beltway is a joint project between the city and the county," Mark White, Spencer Public Works Department director, said. "The part that's left right now is the county portion."...

Spencer Community Theatre hosted participants in the 11th session of Leadership Iowa Friday, completing a two-day visit to Clay and Dickinson counties. Bob Rose, executive director of the Spencer Chamber of Commerce and Spencer Mainstreet, and the Spencer Ambassadors were on hand to welcome the visitors from across the state as they enjoyed a light breakfast at SCT...

Two city council seats are up for grabs in Peterson. Steve Lohr and Doug Reed are looking to retain their positions on the council, while Vince McGee joins the race. Lohr, 49, has served on the council 12 years and is employed by Farmers Co-op in Larrabee. He and wife Joanne have two children...

The Holiday Family Adoption program kicks off today with the first listing of families in The Daily Reporter. The Holiday Family Adoption program, a Spencer-area holiday staple, allows generous area families, businesses and service groups to share in the holiday spirit and bounty...

The 2011 edition of the Clay County Fair attracted nearly 328,000 visitors with fun and unique fair attractions. One such attraction was Grandpa's Barn, home of the new MaxYield Cooperative Milking Cow that gave fairgoers an opportunity to try their hand at milking a cow...

Spencer High School student Maddie Gould has been chosen as the Spencer Rotary Club's Student of the Month. Maddie is the daughter of Bob and Kaelynn Gould. Rotary President Rhonda Wedeking presented Maddie with her plaque. (Photo submitted)

Last school year, the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation helped two schools introduce the Junior Achievement Program into its classrooms; Clay Central-Everly's elementary and Newell Fonda's kindergarten implemented the programming. The Corridor announced both Clay Central-Everly and Newell Fonda are both continuing the JA program this year, and Spencer's Johnson Elementary's second and fourth grades are incorporating the program...

I received an email from one of the coaches who has assisted us in the Spencer Youth Football League for the past four years. He thanked Dan Heissel and myself who have shared director responsibilities for the local programs for the past few years for having "twisted his arm" to coach four years ago when his son entered the league...

Services for Elwin Clark, 67 of Terril, who died Thursday morning at a Sioux Falls, S.D. hospital, will be 10:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 7, 2011, at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Terril with burial to follow at the Fairview Cemetery in Terril. Visitation will be Sunday from 3-5 p.m. at the Turner Jenness Funeral Home in Milford...

I'm bitter. This past week I could have been watching the first week of the NBA season. Instead, I'm not watching anything at all. There's nothing on to fill the void. Major League Soccer? Not my cup of tea. World Series of Poker? No, thank you. I'm looking for LeBron and Kobe. Football picks up the slack on the weekend, of course, but that can't fill the emptiness left by my beloved NBA...