Stories from Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Spencer police officers and Clay County deputies responded to a call of a man with a gun just before noon Thursday. At 11:38 a.m. the two law enforcement agencies responded to 1004 W. 11th St. to follow up on the call and located 55-year-old Scott Alan Quastad, of Armstrong, inside the residence. ...

U.S. farm income is expected to decrease approximately 32 percent in 2015 according to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA report forecasts net farm income to be $73.6 billion this year, down from $108 billion in 2014. This is the lowest forecast since 2009...

A series of text messages were sent to people with phones through Verizon Wireless over the weekend, many of them claiming to be Northwest Bank, and asking the recipient to follow a link to input account information. These text messages are scams. "This isn't a bank-initiated thing," said Tarrel Storey, senior vice president of marketing at Northwest Bank in Spencer, said. "The messages are sent from fraudsters who are trying to collect information."...

Rev. Jeff Warner completed his weekend of activities in Spencer at the Clay County Regional Events Center Sunday night, joined onstage by members of his Ultimate Strength Team. Warner shared his journey through learning disabilities, violence as a gang thug as a young adult, wealth and success as both a professional boxer and wrestler, losing everything due to alcohol, a turnaround sparked by the love of his life, and ultimately his redemption that lead him to a life of ministry serving others who are hurt and broken. ...

Education was once again a hot-button topic at the second scheduled Eggs & Issues session in council chambers at Spencer City Hall Saturday. In the first session, Spencer Community Schools Superintendent Terry Hemann discussed education dollars. Saturday, Spencer School Board President Bob Whittenburg took up the issue with the five-person panel comprised entirely of state legislators -- acknowledging that he believes all parties involved want to make primary education a priority in the state...

A traffic stop by a Clay County deputy resulted in the arrest of an 18-year-old Hartley woman on theft charges stemming from a string of locker room thefts at Clay Central-Everly High School in January. At approximately 11:36 p.m., Saturday, a Clay County deputy initiated a traffic stop for a traffic violation. ...

Three years ago, I campaigned on opening up options in education. When HF 204 (a bill I sponsored) was passed off the House floor this week, Iowa took one step closer to opening more doors to education. There are currently two school districts in the state that operate online schools, (CAM in Anita and Clayton-Ridge) under a three-year pilot program set to expire on June 30th of this year. ...

DES MOINES -- Spencer 220-pounder Austin Roberts improved on his state ranking by one spot at the Iowa State Wrestling Tournament in Wells Fargo Arena, finishing eighth in Class 2A after being ranked ninth by the Predicament entering the postseason. He ends the season with a record of 44-11...

For the first time in head coach Kory Petzenhauser's tenure, Spencer's boys survived the first round of the postseason Monday night in the Field House, holding on for a 62-55 victory over the Algona Bulldogs who entered the Class 3A District 1 bracket as the top seed. Spirit Lake held off MOC-Floyd Valley 74-66 in overtime in the first game of Monday's doubleheader in Spencer which means the Tigers will play the Indians for a third time this season Thursday night in Sheldon...

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HUMBOLDT -- Spencer's girls have become the little Tigers that could. Sporting a roster with just one rotation player over 5-foot-9 and a starting five averaging 5-foot-7, the Tigers have fought, scrapped and clawed their way to a regional final appearance after taking down Humboldt, a team with six players 5-foot-10 or taller, 67-58 in the Class 4A Region 1 semifinal Saturday night...

Feb. 12 -- Antonio Ibarra-Meza, 35, Marshalltown Open container Failure to maintain registered plates Violation of no contact order Excessive speed Operate without registration Proof of insurance --- Feb. 13 -- James Alan Mumm, 50, Everly Judgement entry...

I sat down on Sunday evening for a night of Oscar-watching. It's a tradition at my house, the same in a lot of other homes I imagine. I do love to see the silly sketches, over-caffeinated winners and those dresses. But, as I prepared to settle in for a night of pageantry and self-congratulations, I had a bit of a revelation...

Services for Merle Yager, 86, of Spencer, will be conducted at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015, at Warner Chapel in Spencer. Rev. Kay Hooper and Rev. John Syvertsen will officiate the service. Visitation will be conducted beginning one hour prior to the services at the funeral home...

Services for Betty Reed, 92, will be conducted at 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015, at Martin-Mattice Funeral Home in Ruthven. Rev. Alan Dean will officiate the service. Visitation will be conducted beginning 4 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Reed passed away Saturday, Feb. 21, at the Ruthven Community Care Center...