Stories from Friday, April 20, 2012

Spencer and Clay Central-Everly high schools will each host prom Saturday night at their respective schools. Themes for the year are "Masquerade Mystery" at Spencer and "Back to the '50s" at Clay Central-Everly. Each school will host a grand march for the public to get the evening's festivities underway...

While this winter seemed shorter than normal and temperatures have been mild over all, some individuals and families are still struggling to pay their energy bills. According to Iowa News Service, nearly 250,000 families are behind on those bills. In Clay County, numerous types of assistance are available for people finding themselves in a similar situation...

Dennis McClain was hired as Clay Central-Everly's new superintendent following a closed session with the school district's board of trustees late Wednesday night. McClain, one of the four candidates that interviewed earlier this week, will begin at CC-E starting July 1...

Northwest Bank completed the conversion of customer accounts at Liberty Bank's Spirit Lake and Arnolds Park locations last weekend. Northwest Bank announced the transaction on Feb. 6. "It allows us to grow within the market that we know and we service," Joe Conover, Lakes Market president for Northwest Bank, said. "We have personal relationships with many of the members of the community. We're excited about the heritage that these institutions have."...

Spencer High School alumni Julie Wurr drew national attention to her Laurens-based Heart 'N Home business. How did Wurr's rural main street operation get the attention of the retail world? See the story in Saturday's Business Spotlight in the Daily Reporter. (Photo by Randy M. Cauthron)

Services for Marilyn Gathman, 75, of Spirit Lake, formerly of Everly, will be held at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 19, 2012, at Hope Reformed Church in Spencer. Rev. Russell Muilenburg will officiate the service. Burial at Lone Tree Cemetery in Everly...

No doubt about it, "The Three Stooges" is pretty much what it's billed as, a recreation of the head-bonking, head-sawing, eye-gouging antics of three morons who became famous in black and white film shorts a couple of generations ago. Peter and Bobby Farrelly's recreation of Moe, Larry and Curly, set in a modern day adventure provides a bit of nostalgia and offers a few good chuckles along the way...

"Waiting for Sunrise," by William Boyd. Harper, 353 pp. William Boyd writes epics. There is no way around this statement. And his latest, "Waiting for Sunrise" is no different. We start in Vienna, 1913. Our hero, Lysander Rief, is an English actor who has come to Austria in search of psychoanalysis. It is the time of Freud and his doctor, John Bensimon, is most intrigued by Rief's ailment...

Love is a Four-Letter Word "Love is a Four-Letter Word," by Jason Mraz. Atlantic Records. Jason Mraz has made a career of the free-spirit lifestyle. His voice is distinct, to be sure, but his easy-going way of life has separated him from nearly every other artist to grace the radio airwaves...

Over the past few years, Arts on Grand has been undergoing a makeover. The restoration of the façade to its original appearance is the most visible part of that makeover. During the next few weeks, AOG will be installing a reception desk and welcome center at the front of the gallery and new merchandise display units in the Gallery Shop...