Stories from Wednesday, January 7, 2015

On Dec. 31, The Clay County Sheriff's office responded to a report of an assault at 307 Long St. in Royal. After a brief investigation. Harry Ritchart, 39 of Royal, was placed under arrest and transported to the Clay County Jail where he was charged with domestic abuse assault...

For the second time, the separate trials of Anthony Botcher and Jaykie Harrington were rescheduled Tuesday. A motion for continuance for the pretrial for Anthony Botcher's second-degree sexual abuse case was requested by both the state and Botcher's attorney Jack Bjornstad...

DES MOINES -- As a community leader in emergency preparedness, response and recovery, the American Red Cross honors those making an impact through their courageous and compassionate actions, demonstrating a true commitment to creating safer, stronger communities...

The Clay County Board of Supervisors entered an agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation for improvements to Highway 71 in Clay County and approved the reopening of three county roads previously closed for projects Tuesday morning. The Board of Supervisors approved entering Clay County into an agreement with the Iowa DOT to make improvements to Highway 71. ...

Kids 1st, a community outreach program of First Christian Church in Spencer, will begin its 2015 dates on Saturday from 5-7 p.m. "It's an infant needs pantry," said Dan Mayes, pastor at First Christian Church. "On the second Saturday of every month from 5 to 7 p.m. we open the pantry for families to come and buy diapers, wipes, lotions and other infant supplies for a little under half of what it would cost in the stores."...

Out of six contractors that submitted bids for the upcoming Spencer High School Fine Arts Center, the Spencer school board awarded the project to Schelling Construction, Inc. Schelling Construction, which operates out of Sioux Center, submitted the lowest bid of $10,226,174, with additional alternate bids...

The Spencer High School choir, theater and band will come together to present an upcoming concert of music from "Les Miserables." The event will likely serve as a foundation for a combined booster club. "The new fine arts center makes it a great time to join forces," said Katie Kardell, SHS choir director. "It would be similar to the Tail Twisters, but for the fine arts. And this concert would be similar to the carnival the Tail Twisters have."...

SPENCER -- Spencer Municipal Utilities (SMU) has been working to renegotiate with several broadcast channels in the SMU cable lineup and the process has come to an end for nearly all networks. As a result, the following channels were removed from the SMU lineup on Wednesday, Dec. ...

Services for Mr. Gene Merrill, 87 of Spencer, will be conducted at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015 at First English Lutheran Church in Spencer. Rev. Paul Kaldahl will officiate the service. Visitation with the family present will be conducted beginning 5 p.m. Friday at First English Lutheran Church in Spencer...

Services are pending for Ruth Siple, 94, of Le Mars, formerly of Spencer, who passed away Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015, at the Prairie View Nursing Home in Sanborn. Warner Funeral Home of Spencer is in charge of arrangements.

Services for Jeffrey Siirtola, 55, of Bisbee, Arizona, formerly of Spencer, will be conducted at a later date. Burial will be conducted at Ahola Finnish Cemetery near Wing, North Dakota, in the spring. Siirtola passed away of natural causes Monday, Jan. 5, at his home...

Funeral services for Dorothy Strawn, 89, of Spencer, will be conducted at 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, 2015, at Bethany Lutheran Church in Spencer. Rev. Len Halvorson will officiate the service. Visitation will be conducted beginning one hour prior to the funeral service at Bethany Lutheran Church...

All is calm and quiet now as the holiday season comes to a close. The whirlwind of holiday fun with Christmas and New Year's the past two weeks has definitely died down. Now it is time to return to the normal ebb and flow of our routines. Due to both Christmas and New Years falling on Thursdays this year, I have had a two-week reprieve from writing a weekly column. So much has happened in that time...

SIOUX RAPIDS -- With both teams stepping onto the floor Tuesday night in search of their first victory of the season, either the Sioux Central Rebels or Clay Central-Everly Mavericks were guaranteed to crack the goose egg in the win column, and the Rebels, behind 32 points from sophomore Mac Prior, answered the call, topping the Mavs 62-40...

SIOUX RAPIDS -- Some nights they fall, and some nights they don't. Tuesday was one of the latter occasions for Clay Central-Everly's girls as they took on the Sioux Central Rebels on the road. The Mavs scored just six points in the first half on a night that saw them go 30 percent from the field overall, and a high-pressure Rebel defense forced 24 turnovers, boosting the home team to a 50-25 victory...

The Iowa Lakes wrestling team will be competing in the National Duals on Friday, Jan. 9 and Saturday, Jan.10. The tournament is being held in the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. There are 16 NJCAA teams invited. The tournament is a 16-team bracket with a double-elimination format. ...

The 2015 Laker Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet will be held on Friday, Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m. on the Estherville campus of Iowa Lakes. The event is open to the public. Anyone who would like to meet the inductees of the Laker Athletics Hall of Fame and share in the memories of the past are encouraged to attend...

OTTUMWA -- The Iowa Lakes Men's Basketball team fell to 8-5 on the season with a 100 to 74 loss at Indian Hills Tuesday night. The Lakers were led by Blake Wilder with 16 points. Indian Hills was led by Jamar McKay with 17 points. The Lakers will open league play vs. No. 4-ranked DMACC on Saturday. Tip will be at 3 p.m. in Laker Gymnasium...

Funeral services for Vivian Heikens Herbster, 96, of Milford, will be conducted at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 9, 2015, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Milford. Rev. Tom Flanagan will officiate the service. Visitation with the family present will be conducted beginning 4 p.m. Thursay at St. Joseph's Catholic Church...

Funeral services for Ms. Normadine Marie A. Bredehoeft were conducted at 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 5, 2015 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Emmetsburg. Rev. Nicholas Thackery officiated the service. Visitation was conducted beginning 2 p.m. Sunday at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Emmetsburg...

Memorial services for Mr. Charles "Spider" Woods, 69 of Spencer, will be conducted at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015 at Warner Chapel in Spencer. Mr. Charlie Gilmore and Mr. Dick Gilmore will officiate the service. A public gathering with the family present will be conducted beginning 5 p.m. Friday evening at the funeral home...