Stories from Thursday, January 31, 2013

Colton Dixon, "A Messenger." After being dismissed from "American Idol" with six contestants still remaining, some singers might give up. Perhaps the vocal life just wasn't meant for them. Not so for season 11's (and, technically, season 10's) Colton Dixon. The rocker put his nose to the grindstone and followed his own musical whims. For Dixon, this meant breaking into the Christian music scene...

While it was exciting Wednesday when BlackBerry came out with a brand new operating system and two new cellphones that run on the OS, all of the news rotating around the gun issue in this country wasn't. Let's recap. On Jan. 17, President Barack Obama introduced his new proposals for gun laws. ...

The Spencer girls dominated the game Tuesday night in Storm Lake as they dropped the Tornadoes to 0-18 on the season with a 69-27 rout. The Tigers improve to 11-8 overall (7-5 Lakes) and prepare for their second game with No. 1 Western Christian on Friday at the Field House in Spencer...

In perhaps the most dominant performance of the season, the Sioux Central girls throttled St. Mary's Tuesday night in Sioux Rapids and led 48-0 at halftime. Four Rebels scored in double figures and Sioux Central made 23 steals in the 60-10 win. St. Mary's leading scorer, Jasmine Demers, was unable to play due to injury...

The Spencer boys swim team finished the regular season last Thursday with a split against Storm Lake and Carroll. The Tigers beat Storm Lake, 80-8, and lost to Carroll, 74-20, on Jan. 24 in Carroll. Spencer got second place finishes from the 200 medley relay and 200 free relay, while Eli Nelson took second in the 100 freestyle and Cody Brigham got runner-up in the 200 individual medley. ...

You can't draw up a "Parents Night" for a senior much better than Nic Seaman did Tuesday night. Seaman caught an in-bounds pass in the corner and nailed a fadeaway 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Spencer, 51-48, handing the Tigers their second-straight loss...

Clay Central-Everly led the game for nearly 31 minutes. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, they saw a 10-point second half lead slip away in the closing minutes as Harris-Lake Park came from behind to win 51-48 in Everly Tuesday night. CC-E held a close lead at half, 22-19, before extending the lead to as much as 10 near the end of the third quarter (38-28). ...

Each year, a portion of the Spencer school district's policies are reviewed by the board in a rotation that allows the entire policy to be updated every three years. But even though the 500-series of documents - which includes the wellness policy - was scheduled to be reviewed this year, the board moved this specific policy up and approved updates at the most recent board meeting...

The Spencer City Council is considering whether or not to offer health benefits to part-time city employees. "It is not a matter of keeping costs down," City Manager Bob Fagen said. "It's an additional cost that has not been budgeted and would have a dramatic effect on our system if we had to pay those benefits."...

Prior to Clay County Board of Supervisors chair Ken Chalstrom signing an agreement to become part of a seven-county mental health care collective Wednesday afternoon, supervisor Linda Swanson updated the local board on the progress of the regionalization effort...

Members of the local Special Olympics basketball program will compete Saturday at a regional Special Olympics event in Forest City for a chance to move on to the state level. Tuesday afternoon, members of the local team demonstrated ball-handling skills (above) for family and friends and participated in an inter-squad scrimmage against one another. (Below) Jacob Brigham gives a thumbs-up prior to the game, ready to showcase his talent. Brigham would help lead his yellow team to victory. (Photos by Randy M. Cauthron)

To accompany the 2013 All Spencer Reads selection, "The Year of Goodbyes," Spencer Public Library staff organized a Skype conversation with the author of the book, Debbie Levy, and her mother, Jutta Salzberg. Although the book was written by Levy, "The Year of Goodbyes" consists of pages taken from Salzberg's poesiealbum, a book her friends wrote messages in when her family left Nazi Germany in 1938...

Say Yes to a Dress in the Spencer Dream Center will open its doors during prom season from 1-3 p.m. on Saturdays, Feb. 2 and 16, all Saturdays in March and Saturday, April 6. A variety of sizes of free prom dresses are available. Wear it, keep it or bring it back. Questions call Marcia at 260-3479.

Funeral services for Mrs. Ardys Dillingham, 92, of Hartley, formerly of Everly, will be conducted at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013, at United Methodist Church in Everly. Rev. Steve Campbell will officiate the service. Visitation will begin at 2 p.m. Friday, with the family present from 5-7 p.m. at the Warner Funeral Home in Everly...

Rasmus "Rass" P. Rasmussen, May 23, 1927 to Jan. 21, 2013, called from his labors by his Creator, laid down his working tools and entered his home of eternal rest on Jan. 21, 2013. He was surrounded by loving family and friends, and died at his home in Terrebonne, Ore., as he lived -- quietly, softly, without fanfare, but leaving an indelible mark on those he touched and an example of life for others to emulate...

Carolyn R. Feaster, 80, passed away on Jan. 20, 2013 at Deerfield Retirement Community with family by her side. Carolyn was born on Dec. 6, 1932 in Chillicothe, Mo. to Eaton and Mabel Johnson. Following graduation from Laurens High School in 1950, Carolyn attended the University of Iowa, where she was a beloved member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and graduated in 1954. She was an active member of the P.E.O. sisterhood most of her life...

Funeral services for Mrs. Adeline Bensene, 80, of Spencer, will be conducted at 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013, at First English Lutheran Church in Spencer. Rev. Paul Kaldahl will officiate the service. Burial will be at Riverside Cemetery in Spencer. Burial will be held privately prior to the services at the church...

Palo Alto County Sheriff's deputies are investigating five burglaries that allegedly occurred during the early morning hours Monday. The first report was received at 12:34 a.m. regarding an incident at Ruthven Meat Processing in Ruthven. When a deputy arrived, he determined entry was gained through a window, resulting in approximately $400 damage...

Nathan Prenzlow, the new executive director at the Spencer Family Y, was welcomed by the Spencer Ambassadors on Tuesday. Prenzlow, who has been on the job since Jan. 2, moved his family from Pennsylvania over the weekend. He and his wife have three children. Prenzlow began his Y career in Blair, Neb. in 2002, and after leaving the YMCA family to manage a private club for a short period of time, returned to the group when he took a position with the group in Pennsylvania. He worked with several branches before the opportunity in Spencer became available. "My goal was to be in a Y this size. I want to make Spencer my home," Prenzlow told the Ambassadors. (Photo by Randy M. Cauthron)

We all have busy, busy lives, especially some of the working moms and dads that still have kids at home. But it is amazing how many of them find the time to do something to give back to the community. For some, it is a matter of sitting on a committee and helping out by making a few phone calls or taking notes. ...

Manasi Ramachandran and Christopher M. Reardon were united in marriage on Nov. 26, 2012 in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony and celebration at 7 a.m. The bride's parents are Dr. (Mrs.) Usha and Dr. K. Ramachandran, of Tirupattur, India. The groom's parents are Michael and Theresa Reardon, of Spencer...

Doug and Julie Herum, of Estherville, are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Bailey Jo Jackson, to Matthew Michael Sievers, son of Mike and Kim Sievers, of Newell. Bailey is a 2009 graduate of Graettinger-Terril High School and a 2011 graduate of Iowa Lakes Community College. ...