Stories from Thursday, June 9, 2016

This Saturday, Spencer will welcome its first public piano. The piano will be unveiled tomorrow at 9 a.m. outside Gary's on the River. Public pianos, also known as street pianos, have become increasingly popular across the country. They tend to be placed in high traffic outdoor areas and are usually decorated with bright colors or local scenes. Several larger cities in the Midwest have pianos featured in major public areas...

"Remembering Our Fallen," is a stark reminder of the ultimate sacrifice made by the fallen from Iowa killed in The War on Terror while wearing our country's uniform in a war zone. The photo memorial, which includes military and personal photos of each of Iowa's Fallen, is traveling throughout the state and will be coming to Spencer's Clay County Heritage Center...

Live music entertainment, dancing, food and fun. That's what you'll be a part of if you attend The Chill street dance party on Saturday night of Spencer's 32nd Annual Flagfest. This event is hosted by Weasy's Lounge and Grill, as well as the Spencer USA Young Professionals, and sponsored by Spencer Municipal Utilities...

A 99-year-old car, purchased at a dealership in Fostoria, will highlight Farmers Savings Bank's 100-year anniversary float in Saturday's Flagfest parade. Showcasing the fully restored 1917 Hudson Super Six Touring Car is one of the ways Farmers Savings Bank of Fostoria and Milford is celebrating 100 years of service to Clay County...

After a couple of unfortunate rainouts, the Spencer Historic Preservation Commission enjoyed near perfect conditions Wednesday night for its Reflections at Riverside presentation in front of the mausoleum at Riverside Cemetery. The evening offered several local actors portraying Spencer residents -- many of whom helped establish the community -- speaking on key moments in Spencer's history. The cast of characters -- costumed for the time period -- shared history regarding Marion E. Griffin, Franklin Floete, Cordelia Treat Parker, Frank Medlar, Carrie Randall Tuttle, A.W. Miller, Elizabeth Reynolds Gillespie, Melvin (M.M.) Pesos, William Palmer Woodcock M.D., Otto Bjornstad, Fred Moore, Marge Carroll, N.C. Rindsig, Dale Norton, A.H. "Dad" Avery, Ervin Phillip Arnold and James Redfield. Locations of where each were buried at Riverside were also disclosed. (Top right) Acting participants await their opportunity to share about their character. (Above) Marion E. Griffin (Brian Mohr), who served as the event's master of ceremonies, listens as Frank Floete (Reynold Peterson) talks about being part of the original electric light and power plan in Spencer which is Spencer Municipal Utilities today. (Right) Carrie Randall Tuttle (Maureen Oechslin), whose wedding dress remains on display in Parker Museum, shared her family's story, including the establishment of The R.M. Tuttle Popcorn Company. (Bottom) Many locals turned out Wednesday evening to participate in Reflections at Riverside. (Photos by Randy M. Cauthron)

Tuesday, the Clay County Convention and Visitor's Bureau decided to make some significant changes to the budget in an effort to support new events interested in coming to Clay County. "It is being restructured," Bill Campbell, Executive Director of the Spencer Chamber of Commerce, clarified...

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ORANGE CITY -- With their Red House Records debut, "You're Dreaming," The Cactus Blossoms appeared seemingly from nowhere, garnering comparisons to classic sibling duos. On June 22, the Minnesota brother duo will appear at 7 p.m. at Windmill Park in Orange City. The free concert will move indoors in case of weather to the Unity Knight Center...

OKOBOJI -- Treasure Village Family Theatre from Lake Okoboji, known for its lively shows and audience interaction, will feature two fun stories turned into one entertaining performance this year. Zared Wolf is not your average wolf. He's just a simple wolf who loves to surf. ...

OKOBOJI -- Church Quilting Circles and private groups have been laboring long and hard to prepare amazing works of art. Though quilters spend a lot of time talking and sharing, their quilts still take focus, dedication, creativity, and plenty of time. Camp Okoboji's Quilt Auction features quilts from nearly 50 quilting groups...

Many Republicans, including some who only recently endorsed their party's presumptive nominee because he is their party's presumptive nominee, were having buyer's remorse this week. They have too much character and ethics themselves to support their party's presumptive nominee who continues to show he lacks these attributes. He is a loathsome, reprehensible individual without any redeeming characteristic to justify letting him anywhere near the White House in any capacity...

Longtime Clay County Supervisor Delbert Brockshus is one of two winners of the Second Annual Public Champion of Economic Development Award from the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation. Representatives of the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation -- Brian Dalziel and Barry Sackett -- presented the award Tuesday during the supervisor's meeting with state legislators, Rep. Megan Jones and Sen. David Johnson in attendance...

Funeral services for Nell Dykshoorn, 87, of Spencer, will be conducted at 10:30 a.m. Monday, June 13, 2016, at Hope Reformed Church in Spencer. Rev. Jay Van Gelder will officiate the service. Visitation will be conducted from 2-4 p.m. Sunday at Warner Funeral Home in Spencer...

In the relaunch of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" in 2014, the filmmakers took the incredible unrealistic idea of a bunch of mutated turtles who grow into human-like teens under the instruction of an equally enhanced sensei rat as seriously as possible. The rat and his team of training ninja turtles took on a bad guy named Shredder and his ninja gang group called "The Foot."...

SPARC Concert Series will present Danika Portz as the last concert performer of the 2016 season. Portz will perform at 7:30 p.m. tonight at SCT Playhouse. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students. Portz is a singer/songwriter from the town of Remsen, population 1,600, and she has been singing for as long as she can remember. ...

It has been said that man can live 40 days without food, three days without water, nine minutes without oxygen and only one minute without hope. It has also been said, if you could convince a man that there is no hope, he would curse the day he was born. So, hope seems to be an important part of everyone's life...

Clay County Relay For Life representative Sharon Krile (center) was presented a sponsorship from Scott Alger with Don Pierson Ford-Lincoln and Greg Jones with Asher Motor Company representing Spencer New Car Dealer Association. Clay County Relay For Life will be conducted on Saturday, June 25, at the Clay County Fairgrounds. (Photo by Paula Buenger)

PETERSON -- Sioux Central's baseball boys entered Wednesday night's game with Manson Northwest Webster with plenty of bad taste in their mouths, having fallen to Okoboji 20-0 the night prior. The Rebels wasted little time recollecting themselves, thumping the Cougars 12-2 in six innings...

PETERSON -- For the ninth time this season and eighth game in a row Sioux Central's softballers allowed double digit runs Wednesday night as they fell 14-2 to Manson Northwest Webster, dropping their record to 2-7. "The first inning was really rough. We have to find a way to eliminate the big innings that other teams are having," Sioux Central softball coach Kasey Krager said...

For the first time since their first two complete games of the season, Spencer's boys won back-to-back Thursday night, beating visiting North Union 8-1 to follow up a 13-5 win over Western Christian Wednesday. The Tigers now hold a record of 4-5 overall...

Bringing runners home became a problem for Spencer on the softball diamond Thursday night as the Tigers picked up eight hits and were walked three times but only put up two runs in a 7-2 loss to undefeated 2A No. 4-ranked North Union. The Warriors jacked a solo shot in the top of the first for a quick 1-0 lead...