Stories from Monday, December 7, 2015

Mild temperatures helped drive traffic outdoors for Spencer Main Street's annual Grand Meander festivities Monday night. Plenty of foot traffic traveled downtown Spencer as window displays, hot chocolate and live music greeted those taking advantage of the evening. (Above) TubaChristmas returned to Bogenrief Studios for its annual performance. (Right) CrossWinds Church presented a live nativity, complete with live animals, outside Carrick's Hallmark. (Below) Jim Schooley drew a crowd as he worked on his ice sculpture of Olaf, a popular character from "Frozen." (Bottom) Five-year-old Aaron Kiner takes his time as he searches out the right toy at the Spencer Dream Center's toy giveaway, part of the local community outreach's Season of Giving. (Photos by Randy M. Cauthron)

Every three years, "The Messiah" returns to a Spencer venue as one of the musical highlights of the Christmas season. A large audience filled the Sacred Heart Catholic Church sanctuary Sunday evening to listen to the live orchestra and extensive choir under the direction of Joanne Tucker. Five soloists were featured, including Jessica Schable, of Milford, who is a vocal instructor to many young students in the area. More than 100 people participated in the choir -- including several members of the Spencer High School choir -- and 26 musicians played in the orchestra. (Photo by Randy M. Cauthron)

The Spencer City Council approved an Iowa DOT Federal Aid Agreement for a Transportation Alternative Program Project for the 18th Street Trail Project Monday evening. The agreement calls for an 80 percent match or up to $136,000 for the 18th Street Project...

For a second time Monday evening, the Spencer Public Safety Committee discussed the proposed ATV ordinance that was initiated by a petition from citizens wanting to be able to ride ATVs legally on city streets. The petition followed the decision of the Clay County Board of Supervisors passing an ordinance to allow ATVs on county roads for recreational purposes...

Donald Trump has fans. Krista Hoffbeck is one of them. The Marshall, Minnesota, woman read all of the Republican candidate's books in high school. Her parents came down from Redwood Falls, Minnesota -- added an hour to their drive to pick Krista up -- and stayed overnight to get a prime seat for Trump's campaign rally Saturday morning in Spencer...

Businessman, television personality, author and most importantly -- GOP presidential frontrunner, Donald Trump packed the arena at the Clay County Regional Events Center Saturday before noon, seeking to make his case for why he is the best choice among the Republican field of 15...

SIOUX RAPIDS -- Spencer's boys were simply at another level Saturday against the Sioux Central Rebels, running out to a 27-5 lead after just the first eight minutes of a 70-19 game that saw every Tiger get multiple minutes. "We ran into a buzzsaw tonight against a very good Spencer team," Rebel boys basketball coach Stephen Tjaden said. "They are long, athletic and very deep. Our guys have lineed up against some very good teams early in the year, and I know that will help us in the long run."...

SIOUX RAPIDS -- Spencer's girls put on a ball sharing clinic Saturday against the Sioux Central Rebels, dishing out 25 team assists, including nine from Ally Schlaeger, on 25 made field goals, and the defense tallied 14 steals as the Tigers secured their second straight win to start the season by a score of 66-47. Sioux Central dropped to 2-2 with the defeat...

SERGEANT BLUFF -- Spencer 220-pounder Austin Roberts continued his flawless season Saturday at the 16-team Sergeant Bluff-Luton Invitational, pinning four opponents in a grand total of three minutes and 56 seconds of mat time to be crowned the tournament champ and score 30 points for the Tigers...

SIOUX RAPIDS -- Sioux Central's boys slipped to 0-2 on the hardwood Friday night, falling to Newell-Fonda 44-30. "I couldn't be more happy with how my guys battled through. Give credit to N-F. They shut us down on the offensive end and made it very difficult for us to score," Rebel boys basketball coach Stephen Tjaden said...

SIOUX RAPIDS -- Newell-Fonda's patented full-court press gave Sioux Central's girls fits for the first half Friday night as the Mustangs opened up a 15 point lead in the first quarter and never looked back, dropping the Rebels 74-46. "Newell-Fonda came out to start the game with their usual pressure defense, and we were not able to match the speed or the intensity level," Sioux Central girls basketball coach Alan Vasher said. ...

MILFORD -- Sioux Central's five-man wrestling lineup put up 38 points, led by a 20-point, runner-up performance from Caleb Gunderson (145) to finish in ninth place at the nine-team Okoboji Invitational Saturday. Spirit Lake Park and Sibley-Ocheyedan dominated the tournament, scoring 241 and 217.5 points respectively to finish as the top two teams. ...

ESTHERVILLE -- The Iowa Lakes men's basketball team fell to 8-3 on the season with an 88-68 loss against Iowa Western Saturday afternoon. The Lakers were led by Chris Jones with 25 points. Mitchell Keller added 14, and Kyle Bauer had 13. Iowa Western was led by Andre Wallace with 26...

ESTHERVILLE -- The Iowa Lakes women's basketball team defeated the Waldorf JV on Sunday afternoon by a score of 66-49. The win pushes Iowa Lakes to 8-5 on the season. Iowa Lakes had three players hit double figures in the win. Lauryn Smith led all scorers with 21 points. Asiya Smith netted 12 while Jackie Petrich chipped in 11 points for the Lakers...

It's that time of year again. The holidays are upon us with a mixture of turkeys, pumpkins, Christmas trees and holiday music in the air. For some, the holidays are a time of family, friends, and multitudes of activity. For others, including many seniors, it can be a time of sadness and loneliness. Being alone is no fun and can cause much heartache...

Edna was born on Sept. 17, 1948, to Lillian and Howard Gray. When Edna was 6 years old, her mother married Martin Schutt. Martin loved, raised and cared for Edna and her older sister, Mary, along with Lillian. Martin and Lillian later had two sons, Jerry and Paul. The family resided in Hampton...

Managed Care Medicaid is coming fast. The Iowa Department of Human Services, Iowa High Quality Healthcare Initiative, is on a roll to sign up all 560,000 Iowa Medicaid recipients as well as all the medical providers that offer services to those Medicaid recipients by Jan. ...

There's a lot of fear going around right now. Much of it is political. Either we're afraid of other people whose culture we don't understand -- and whose radical percentage has threatened those we can somewhat identify with -- or we're afraid of what will happen if "they" or "he" or "she" is elected into an office this time next year. ...

Balmy temperatures greeted the throngs who headed out for Spencer's Grand Meander. Warmer than usual weather meant folks really felt like "meandering" along the city streets, rather than speed-walking from one warming station to another as is sometimes the case with Spencer's annual holiday event...

Cole Jacobson, a senior at Spencer High School, was awarded with a National ROTC scholarship Monday afternoon, presented by Capt. Jerry Zevecke and Master Sgt. Jason Clayton, with the University of South Dakota Department of Military Science. According to Clayton, selection for this national scholarship is extremely competitive, and the standards of admission are high. The average value of the scholarship is $100,000, though Jacobson will learn the details of his individual scholarship at a later date. Jacobson is pictured with his family -- including mother Cheryl Jacobson; father Kurt Jacobson; and sisters Natalie, Anna and Olivia Jacobson -- and Zevecke at the presentation of the scholarship. (Photo by Kate Padilla)

Services for Lois Ann Beck, 92, of Spencer, will be conducted at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 10, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Royal. Rev. Deb Mechler will officiate the service. Visitation will be conducted beginning 3 p.m. Wednesday, with the family present from 5-7 p.m., at Warner Funeral Home in Spencer...

Services for Audrey Goettsche, 90, of Griswold, formerly of Peterson, will be conducted 11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 9, at Warner Funeral Home of Peterson. Rev. Kim Dewey will officiate the service. Visitation will be conducted beginning one hour prior to the funeral at Warner Funeral Home in Peterson...

Services for Orville "Rocky" Tronson, 84, of Spencer, will be conducted at 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, at Warner Chapel in Spencer. Rev. John Syvertson will officiate the service. Visitation with the family present will be conducted beginning 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home...