Stories from Friday, October 5, 2018

Clay County Supervisor Randy Swanson (right) gives a hug to Clay County Treasurer Sande Geidl at her retirement party held at the Clay County Administration building Friday afternoon. Geidl will be retiring at the end of her term in December after a 31-year career at the county. She said she plans to spend more time with her family in Sioux City after her retirement. “It’s humbling and an honor to have served the public all these years,” Geidl said. “I’m excited to be on my own schedule and live my life on my own schedule instead of my work schedule. Just like everyone else says, you’re ready to be around your family and I’m looking forward to that and not driving every week.”

Johnson Elementary first-grade students gathered at Freemen Township Center School, located in Spencer, Friday afternoon to learn about Clay County's one-room schoolhouse history. Retired Clay Central-Everly educator and Clay County Heritage volunteer Marilyn Meyer helped transport the students to a time when Clay County had more than 430 one-room schoolhouses. Each Johnson first-grade classroom will receive a copy of Meyer's book, "Remembering Clay County Rural Schools," to go along with their social studies unit focusing on schools of long ago.

EVERLY — Author S.A. Bodeen will be speaking to the students and public at Clay Central-Everly school buildings on Tuesday. She will be visiting the junior-senior high school in Everly from 9-10 a.m. before journeying to Royal where she will spend the afternoon at the elementary school with grades first to third from 12:30-1:30 p.m., grades fourth to sixth from 1:30-2:30 p.m. and reading to kindergarten students at 2:30 p.m...

Spencer Main Street’s most popular event of the year, the Wine Stroll, will be conducted at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, with strollers meeting at the event’s headquarters, 318 Grand Ave., to register and begin the event. The format for the Wine Stroll is unchanged in 2018, as strollers will receive their commemorative glass and passport at 318 Grand Ave. ...

Research conducted following more than 25 years of mass shootings shows response times from law enforcement averages between five and six minutes, according to Dee Hiney, executive director of facilities management at Iowa Lakes Community College. Hiney used that fact to underscore the importance of developing an active shooter plan to an audience of more than a 100 women Friday afternoon at the 2018 Women of Vision Luncheon...

With construction beginning at the groundbreaking in late May, the remodel of the Community Housing Initiative’s Sunset Apartments — formerly Sunset Retirement Home — has reached its first milestone in the effort to modernize 100 percent of the building and its 91 apartment units. The completed first phase of a total 10 means nine apartments have been completed so far, in addition to many infrastructure improvements and the construction of a storage building on the facility’s east side...

After joining Spencer School district as the director of information technology in 2017, Landon Allen, moved to develop a formal outline of each school's technology needs. After receiving input from the district technology committee, teachers and administrators, Allen has worked to deploy and implement the opening stages of the plan...

Fishing after the sun goes down is a foreign concept to a lot of anglers, and there’s good reason for that. An angler certainly can’t see as well at night as they can during the day, so simple tasks like tying on a new lure gets a little more complicated...

DES MOINES — Fall is often one of the best times in Iowa, with warm days and cool nights, low humidity, very few insects and the brilliant autumn colors of our trees. Every year, thousands of Iowans and visitors flock to the countryside to view nature's colorful display of red, orange, yellow and purple leaves...

DES MOINES — Migration season is always a birder’s paradise as species that aren’t usually found in Iowa can be seen passing through. August through October are typically peak migration months. Warblers are one such group of birds that are fun to watch. During fall migration many warblers have their winter coats instead of their bright breeding plumage which can make it an extra challenge to identify the different species...

DES MOINES — Wait, armadillos in Iowa? Yes, you may get a glimpse of one of these unique critters in our state from time to time. If you do, send a report to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, so they can document their location in the state. In the meantime, did you know these interesting facts?...

There will be opportunities to have pets blessed in honor of Saint Francis on Oct. 6-7. At 6:30 p.m. Saturday, The Way Station will hold its first Blessing of the Animals in East Leach Park shelter in Spencer. The Rev. Beth Preston and Brother John Syvertsen, a Franciscan, will lead the celebration...

A top official with the Iowa Finance Authority was fired earlier this year after Gov. Kim Reynolds received reports from staff detailing sexual harassment — including an incident which occurred in the Lakes area. IFA Executive Director David Jamison was accused of inappropriately touching a female employee in December of 2016 at a hotel bar in Arnolds Park. The Weinhardt Law Firm of Des Moines investigated the accusations and recently released its findings. The report does not name the hotel...

Buena Vista University has again been selected as a NASPA Lead Initiative Institution for the 2018-19 year. Additionally, this is the first year the University has been invited to take on the role of a Lead Consulting Institution. NASPA’s Lead Initiative on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement comprises a network of NASPA member colleges and universities committed to encouraging and highlighting the work of student affairs in making civic learning and democratic engagement a part of every student’s college education. ...

The weekend of Oct. 27-28 features one of the most time-honored hunting openers in Iowa: the pheasant opener. Lots of preparation goes into preparing for this opener. Often times, hunters return home to meet with friends and family members. It almost becomes a homecoming of sorts. So, what can hunters look forward to this fall?...

SIOUX RAPIDS — Sioux Central picked up its second Twin Lakes volleyball win while snapping a three-game skid against Storm Lake St. Mary’s at home Thursday night. The Rebels mostly dominated the action, winning 25-10, 25-14, 25-18. “Our seniors really stepped up tonight for senior night,” Rebel volleyball coach Sara Grossnickle said. “They were great leaders on the court throughout all three sets.”...

EVERLY — The Class 2A No. 5-ranked Unity Christian Knights tore through Clay Central-Everly 25-11, 25-6, 25-20 Thursday night. Lizzy Hagedorn led the Maverick offense with seven of the team’s nine kills. Jenny Hollesen had a team-high 11 digs. Joie Schmidt set up six assists. The CC-E front line compiled seven total blocks while the team served at a 92 percent clip...

AMES — The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University has awarded nearly $3.5 million in scholarships to students for the 2018-19 academic year. Scholarship awards for the 2018-19 academic year were presented to: Benjamin McClain, of Everly, Joseph Fleming Scholarship; Blake Lineweaver, of Milford, CJ Gauger FarmHouse Fraternity Scholarship; Emily West, of Peterson, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences General Scholarship; and Evan Hansen, of Spencer, CHS University Scholarship.. ...

STORM LAKE — El Salvador, the hottest new restaurant in Storm Lake, is storming into Little Vientiane’s old location at 805 Flindt Drive, across from Dairy Queen, bringing new Latin American flavors to Storm Lake’s culinary scene. “My mom pretty much just decided she wanted a restaurant,” said Neira Paniagua, daughter of owner Maritza Paniagua...

I received a letter last week from a concerned citizen who passed it along to me with hopes I could get a message out to our reading public. My hope is that you will share it with some friends of your own — both in and out of Spencer — who might otherwise not have access to the content as I feel it is important for the safety of our young children...

Funeral services for Lorraine Kenney, 92, of Spencer, will be conducted at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Spencer. Rev. Tim Johnson will officiate the service. Visitation will begin at 5 p.m. Monday with the family present from 5-7 p.m. at the Warner Funeral Home in Spencer...

Donald B. Larsen, 90, of Oro Valley, Arizona, and longtime Storm Lake resident, died Monday, Sept. 24, 2018, at his home in Oro Valley. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, Oct. 18, at 11 a.m. at Hope Evangelical Free Church in Storm Lake. Visitation will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 17, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake. Burial will be in the Lone Tree Cemetery in Sioux Rapids...

Funeral services for Joe Syndergaard, 76 of Spencer, will be conducted at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018 at Warner Chapel in Spencer. Rev. Al Dean will officiate the service. Private interment will be conducted at a later date. Syndergaard passed away Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018, at Spencer Hospital...

Funeral services for Lois Brown, 85, of Laurens, will be conducted at 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 8, 2018, at Laurens Methodist Church in Laurens, Iowa. Rev. Ed Frank will officiate the service. Visitation will be conducted one hour prior to the funeral service at Laurens Methodist Church in Laurens...

BUENA VISTA COUNTY — “It seems like it used to be houses and families,” out in the country, said Rhonda Kolpin Handy, whose childhood home is facing the construction of another livestock confinement facility 1,875 feet away. Changing times are here, she says, for the homestead that has been in her family for 125 years...

It’s here — already. A few isolated cases of the flu are being seen, and it’s prime time for those annual flu shots. The Buena Vista County Public Health Department has started its series of flu vaccine clinics in communities around the county, some businesses, Faith, Hope & Charity facility, and all of the Storm Lake public schools. ...

SIOUX CENTRAL — With winless Manson Northwest Webster coming to visit Friday night, the outcome of Sioux Central’s contest was never really in doubt. However, coach Brandon Goodchild wasn’t particularly impressed with what he saw in a 36-14 victory that moved his team to 6-1 overall this season and 3-0 in district play...

Clay Central-Everly’s Trey Stoneking, pictured trying to evade a defender last week, and the rest of the Mavericks struggled on the road in Westside Friday night, taking on No. 3-ranked Ar-We-Va in district play. The Rockets raced past the Mavs 58-12, taking a commanding 42-0 lead by early in the second quarter, to remain undefeated on the year. CC-E slips to 0-7 this season overall and 0-5 in district play. This coming Friday the Mavs will host a Harris-Lake Park team in Royal that was hammered by Newell-Fonda 52-8 Friday night.

When it came down to it, No. 5-ranked Sergeant Bluff-Luton had Britton Delperdang, and Spencer didn’t Friday night as the senior Warrior unofficially carried the ball 40 times for 230 yards and a touchdown to go with a 22-yard catch, accounting for over half of SB-L’s yardage total of 432 in a 24-20 victory over the Tigers that puts the Warriors definitively in the driver’s seat of the district...