Stories from Monday, April 6, 2015

The Spencer Jaycees and DaySpring Assembly of God Church of Spencer offered a pair of free opportunities Saturday morning for area children and families in conjunction with the Easter holiday. The Jaycees got the day started with its annual Easter Egg Hunt at the indoor soccer complex. (Above) Alex Baldwin, 9, Molly Moser, 8, and Kailey Krull, 8, all of Spencer, discuss strategy before beginning the hunt for the prized eggs. (Below) Once the eggs are collected, participants take the eggs and trade them for age appropriate prizes at the Jaycees event. (Top Right) Jada and Kiana Minger, both of Spencer, survey the grass near their feet for any remaining eggs outside DaySpring Assembly of God Church. The local church had Roman soldiers welcoming the young guests (Bottom Right), offered a brief Easter story, gave away some prizes with a special drawing, conducted its Easter Egg Hunt, and provided free inflatables and a hot dog lunch. Both activities were well attended. (Photos by Randy M. Cauthron)

The Spencer Police Department's K9, Mennox, has received a ballistic vest thanks to a nonprofit organization, Vested Interest in K9s Inc., and an anonymous donor who provided $950. Vested Interest in K9s Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charity located in East Taunton, Massachusetts, dedicated to providing bullet and stab protective vests and other assistance to dogs of law enforcement and related agencies throughout the United States. ...

After receiving two bids, the Spencer City Council awarded the contract for the 2015 HMGP West Central Sewer Retrofit Project to Vander Pol Excavating, of Orange City. Vander Pol bid the project at $3,312,235.91, which was 2.38 percent over the engineer's estimate...

Representatives from Winther, Stave & Company presented the Spencer City Council with the audit of fiscal year 2013-14 Monday. The council approved the audit in a 6-0 vote. According to the audit, the city is in "good financial condition." "In our opinion, the financial statements that are included here do present fairly in all material respects the respective cash basis of all governmental activities, business-type activities, each major fund and aggregate fund information of the city of Spencer as of June 30, 2014, and the respective changes in cash balances," Arvin Druvenga, a partner with Winther, Stave & Company, said.. ...

It's the time of year to start cleaning out the closets and storage areas, and re-evaluating the value of keeping old equipment around "in case." Those who have an old wheelchair or walker that they're no longer using can donate it to Wheels for the World, an organization that provides wheelchairs and similar equipment to people with disabilities, many of them overseas...

The Spencer Progress and Development Committee discussed two development agreements Monday evening prior the Spencer City Council meeting. The development agreements discussed concern the Dollar Tree and Noteboom Implement projects. The city has drafted a nine-year development agreement with Dollar Tree for their new building being built northeast of Menards...

Between the 2014 census and the recent landshed survey conducted by the Iowa Lakes Corridor, a trend is showing the population of Spencer maintaining and the population of Clay County decreasing slightly. "In a year-to-year look, Spencer decreased in population between 2013 and 2014," said Kiley Miller, president of the Iowa Lake Corridor. "But if you look back to 2010, the general trend shows Spencer holding steady. Not growing, but not shrinking."...

Michael Anderson, who was born on Christmas Eve to Art and Marie Anderson, of Spencer, learned how to work at a young age. Following graduation with his high school equivalency, he moved to San Diego, California, and worked for a construction company. Anderson then transferred to Sarasota, where he assisted in the construction of hurricane-proof apartment buildings...

STORM LAKE -- Iowa Rep. Steve King has reintroduced the No Hungry Kids Act, in the U.S. House of Representatives. A Storm Lake principal who says that some students in her school are left hungry by strict school lunch regulations, has advocated for changes in the lunch rules -- to the point of bringing King in and feeding him a typical school lunch...

Nominations are now being accepted for four positions on the Clay Council on Aging Board of Directors. Clay County Council on Aging is the governing body for the services that emanate from the Spencer Area Activity Center. By-laws state board members must be under age 50. ...

Four months ago, my husband and I wished our son well, reminded him of our love, and, with big hugs and only a few tears, sent him off for a semester's adventure in London. Well, I've spent the past couple of weeks checking in on him and visiting a few places on my personal "bucket list."...

Marjorie M. (Schulze) Stallcup, the daughter of Rinholt and Myrtle (Gordon) Schulze, was born Feb. 26, 1932, in Humboldt, where she was raised and educated, graduating from the Humboldt High School. In her 13 years of school, she had a perfect attendance record. Before her marriage, she worked at the Humboldt Schools as a secretary...

Services are pending for Arlo Benson, 92, of Spencer, formerly of Marathon, who passed away Saturday, April 4, 2015, at Edgewood Vista in Brainerd, Minnesota. Warner Funeral Home of Spencer is in charge of arrangements.

On Monday, HF 528 was on the debate calendar. This bill concerns determining who has responsibility for paying the medical expenses of prisoners. Currently, medical expenses are paid by the counties -- if the person does not have insurance and if the person cannot afford to pay themselves. This bill proposes to change this process so that the costs are assessed to the city if a city police officer makes the arrest and the county if a county sheriff or deputy makes the arrest...

Retirement is one of many transitions in life. Some people switch from working to retirement easily, others have a hard time coming to terms with no longer being a part of the workforce. To escape the shock of retirement, there are several steps that can be taken to make this change easier...

Spencer's boys got their season off on the right foot Monday night, shutting down Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji's attack while racking up three goals in each half for a 6-0 victory that moves the Tigers to 1-0 overall and in the conference. "I think the final result sort of flatters us a little bit. ...

SPIRIT LAKE -- Spencer's girls didn't give Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji much of an opportunity for any type of offense Monday night during their season opener, blasting 23 shots, including 19 on-target attempts in a 4-1 victory that saw the Indians struggle to move the ball past the center line...

The Iowa Lakes men's and women's golf teams were in action this past weekend for the final round of the Iowa Central Golf Tournament held at Otter Creek Golf Course in Ankeny, IA. On the men's side the Lakers carded a team score on day two of a 319. ...

ESTHERVILLE -- The Iowa Lakes Community College baseball team battled through a tough series against Southwestern Community College this past weekend, losing game three 5-4 in 10 innings and winning game four 5-4 Saturday after splitting Friday's doubleheader as well...