Stories from Friday, September 26, 2014

Although Science, Technology, Engineering and Math were part of the Spencer curriculum last year, last year's focus was on the Project Lead the Way efforts in the sixth and eighth grades at the middle school. This year, however, a large emphasis has been put on expanding the STEM curriculum at the elementary level, and including it at the high school level...

Drones, also known as unmanned vehicles, are an up and coming technology becoming more prevalent in use. During Iowa's last legislative session, House File 2289 was passed that regulates the use of drones by law enforcement. The bill protects individuals from illegal searches by law enforcement via drones...

The Clay County Trails Group will host the "Greater" Fostoria Bike Ride beginning at noon Sunday as a means of generating awareness and funds for a proposed bike trail that would extend Spencer's existing bike trail north to the Clay County border. "It's been a 50-year conversation to have a trail from Spencer to Okoboji," Kathy Fueston, CCTG member, said. ...

Recently, the financial website NerdWallet produced a report that stated Iowa could potentially increase its tax revenue by $24 million if the state were to legalize recreational marijuana. The information was based on the state's current sales tax rate and the number of Iowa adults who said they regularly use marijuana in anonymous health surveys...

The Iowa League of Cities recognized the city of Spencer as a 2014 All-Star Community at the League's Annual Conference and Exhibit, conducted in Council Bluffs from Sept. 24-26. The All-Star Community Award is the most prestigious honor given by the League to cities. ...

The students and staff in the Clay Central-Everly School District took to the streets in Everly Friday afternoon to celebrate their week of homecoming festivities with a parade followed by a pep rally in the CC-E gym. One of the floats in the parade suggested a less then pleasant end (above) for the Remsen-St. Mary's program. The Maverick cheerleaders taught the pep rally crowd how to "get down" while the elementary posse demonstrated their support for the high school programs along the parade route. A photo gallery from the activities can be found at www.spencerdailyreporter.com. (Photos by Randy M. Cauthron)

MANSON - A Twin Lakes Conference quadrangular went in opposite directions for the Sioux Central Rebels and Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire Titans Thursday night against Southeast Valley and Manson Northwest Webster. The Lady Rebels managed to beat the Jaguars and Cougars in five and four sets respectively while the Lady Titans endured a pair of three-set defeats...

OKOBOJI -- The Iowa Great Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce invites you to hit the trails with your four-legged family members for the 3rd annual University of Okoboji Mutt Strutt Saturday, Oct. 4. It's a fun and fur-filled 1-mile walk which begins at the Pearson Lakes Art Center at 8:30 a.m...

DICKINSON COUNTY -- The Dickinson County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to send a certified letter to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources that will call on the state agency to reconsider and deny the application for a hog building construction project near Horseshoe Bend Park...

*Grants fund religious education Two Spencer High School graduates were the recipients of a pair of Eastern Star Training Awards for Religious Leadership. Grant Honorees Ryan Edwardson, 25, and Sara Edwardson, 22, are the son and daughter of Lori and Jeff Edwardson of Spencer...

Every day, someone in America is a victim of fraud. Fraud comes in all shapes and sizes. In fact, older Americans lose nearly $3 billion a year just from investment fraud schemes, according to a recent Met Life study. The Iowa Insurance Division, in conjunction with our other state agency partners, is working to educate Iowans on investment and insurance fraud and empower Iowans so that our family members, friends and neighbors are not victims...

I was scrolling through my news feed a few minutes ago and I came across a follow-up to one of the stories surrounding the Slender Man meme. Back in May, two 12-year-old girls stabbed their also 12-year-old friend 19 times, intending to murder her. Due to a passing cyclist, the girl was saved, but the attackers claimed that committing a murder was the first step in becoming a proxy of the Slender Man, whose fan fiction they had been reading online...

John Colby Huckelberry, 71, passed away peacefully at his home on Monday, Sept. 22. The son of Guy and Gerine Huckelberry, John was born April 10, 1943 in Sioux Rapids. He was a graduate of Sioux Valley High School and continued his education at Westmar College in Le Mars earning his bachelor's degree in education. ...

VERMILLION, S.D. -- Athletes always dream of what can happen in their chosen field. Sometimes that dream is simply to win a game, conference or national championship or to even make it onto the field. However, occasionally athletics allow someone to achieve something even greater that can never be taken away from them, something that provides the closest thing to immortality that sports allow...

Many are screaming from the rooftops. Others are saying it's overblown. What am I talking about? Why the "latte salute" of course. If you haven't seen video or at least a photo of this incident on broadcast television, in a newspaper or through social media, apparently you've been living in hiding for the past several days. But in case you have, and this is the first paper you're looking at since emerging -- allow me to thank you for your readership -- please be patient while I recap...

FONDA -- They called this campaign Carson Strong for a reason. Ten-year-old Carson Chase of Fonda is as tough as they come. On the heels of a 23-hour surgery to remove an aggressive tumor from his spine, he is working hard at recovery and therapy, even as he goes through both radiation and chemotherapy...

STORM LAKE -- Students at Buena Vista University got a first-hand lesson about texting and driving Monday. The UNITE Arrive Alive project based in Michigan set up a simulator on campus that allows students to experience the consequences of distracted driving...

STORM LAKE -- In a series of related and unrelated investigations into the illegal sales and use and methamphetamine and marijuana dubbed "Operation Smoke Stack," Storm Lake Police have made 23 arrests in the past few days. Some of the investigations have been ongoing for over nine months...

ROYAL -- Clay Central-Everly wasn't able to get their first win of the season Friday night at Memorial Field in Royal, falling 42-22 to Remsen St. Mary's, but they made a lot of strides in the right direction in a game that had to be called with 8:43 remaining in the fourth quarter due to a blown transformer that left the field in complete darkness...

PAULLINA -- Sioux Central's defense just couldn't get off the field Friday night against the South O'Brien Wolverines on the road as the home team fed the Rebels a steady diet of runs to score once in each quarter for a 25-14 win. "They were pounding it. They're a pretty good team, good up front, and they have a good, little back, back there," Sioux Central football coach Brandon Goodchild said. "They controlled the football on us, and we had no answer defensively."...

For starters, I feel like it's my duty to remind you all that I'm a die-hard Red Sox fan. Those of you who attend local sporting events have likely seen me donning a hat with the classic "B" on the front. (To those of you who don't, go support the kids would ya?)...