Stories from Thursday, April 3, 2014

The Clay County Fair has landed country music's Hunter Hayes presented its U.S. Cellular Grandstand performance at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7. "For those who follow country music, Hunter is one of the brightest new stars," Clay County Fair Manager Jeremy Parsons said. "I know people will look back at this performance and remember the night Hunter Hayes was at the Clay County Fair."...

Private services for Robert Pelletier, 54, of Spencer, will be conducted at a later date. There will be no visitation. Pelletier passed away Wednesday, April 2, 2014 at Spencer Hospital. Warner Funeral Home of Spencer is in charge of arrangements.

Rev. Russell Muilenburg said he and his church board had a couple of goals in mind when Hope Reformed Church of Spencer decided it was time renovate and expand. "Our real goal was to have a nice community space ... When somebody walks into the building, we want them to feel a sense of joy. We want them to feel at home," Muilenburg said...

Spencer Community Theatre announce the lineup for its 55th season Thursday afternoon. Those selections include: --- By Heitzman, Holcenberg, and Reid Auditions: Aug. 11,12 Performances: Oct 10-12, 16-19 Bingo is a splashy, zippy, outrageously funny new musical. ...

Spencer Area USBC Bowling Association Manager Merlyn Brown became a Hall of Famer Saturday in Burlington

Spencer Municipal Utilities conducted an open house Thursday evening, opening its doors to the public and offered tours of its newly renovated facility located on Second Avenue East. (Above) SMU Electric Manager Roger Morris was among the staff providing tours and information about the new surroundings. Morris showed a group around the local programming studio. The local utility has moved from its previous Grand Avenue site, which is now being renovated and will soon become home to the Spencer Police Department and Clay County Emergency Communications operation.

DES MOINES -- Reps. Jeff Smith (R-Spirit Lake) and Megan Hess (R-Spencer) welcomed three students from the University of Iowa to the floor of the Iowa House of Representatives during Hawkeye Caucus Day on the Hill.

Clay Central-Everly Girl Scouts celebrated National Girl Scout Week by hosting a Ice Skating Pizza Party at the Boji Bay Ice Arena in Spirit Lake with sister scouts from Spencer Troop No. 118. The girls and their leaders spent three hours ice skating, taking photos with cutout props and enjoying pizza and soda.

April is Autism Awareness Month, and local organizations are spreading the word about the developmental disorder that is on the rise. A new study from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention reports 1 in 68 children are affected by autism spectrum disorder...

During the lunch waves Wednesday, Spencer High School's Natural History class collected food that would have otherwise been thrown away as an experiment in vermicomposting at the school. Vermicomposting is a method of creating a compost using vegetable or food waste, bedding material and earthworms...

An insect no larger than Lincoln's head on a penny, known as the emerald ash borer, is responsible for a quarantine on the entire state of Iowa. The quarantine restricts the movement of firewood and other plant materials in and out of Iowa to keep the ash tree killing bug from spreading to neighboring states...

The Clay County Sheriff's Office is seeking information regarding a vandalism which reportedly occurred between March 25-28 at 110 Fifth St. in Gillett Grove. Tim Callahan, who lives at the address, reported multiple .22 caliber rounds had been fired into 2002 Ford F250 he owned. The shooter is unknown at this time and anyone with information regarding the incident is encouraged to contact the Clay County Sheriff's Office to assist in the ongoing investigation...

The Spencer Ambassadors joined staff from Spencer Municipal Utilities for the ribbon cutting Thursday afternoon at the new SMU operations facility in Spencer on East Second Avenue. Following the ribbon cutting, the staff at the local utility offered tour to the Ambassadors and the general public. (Photo by Randy M. Cauthron)

The LifeLight RESET tour will stop in Spencer Sunday, April 6 for a concert at the Clay County Regional Events Center. Headlines Building 429 and Family Force 5 will join other musical favorites Hawk Nelson, Satellites & Sirens and Lybecker. Doors will open at 6:45 p.m. ...

Someone recommended "Room," to me several years ago, back when it still dominated every book-related conversation and top seller list. I read it in a day and loved every second of it. Since then, I've gravitated toward anything with Emma Donoghue's name on it, and "Frog Music" sounded like another blockbuster in my mind...

You can definitely tell when a band has been together for a while; they feed off each other's energy in a way that creates really tight music. Even in an album, you can hear the musicality of the group and in the way they work together. Building 429 is one of these bands, and "We Won't Be Shaken" is one of these albums...

Spencer Community Youth Ministries invite all families and community members to join in the Community Cross Walk during Holy Week. This year's "walk" will be conducted beginning at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 16. The walk will start at Grace United Methodist Church and conclude at Sacred Heart...

Rev. David C. Zimmer will be installed as pastor of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Spencer at 4 p.m. April 6. Zimmer was born and raised in the Chicago area. He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering technology from Bradley University in Peoria, Ill. ...

You can hear the crowd chanting: "Ahnold, Ahnold, Ahnold." That's right the Terminator himself, America's favorite Predator fighting, Conan sword-swinging barbarian is back in action. And this time he's leading a team of hardcore undercover DEA operatives taking on the nastiest drug cartels of the world in "Sabotage."...