A series of feedlot tours offering cattle feeders timely information on regulatory compliance, biosecurity and effective feedlot management will be held June 16-19 at four locations in Iowa including Ireton and Everly in northwest Iowa. Tours will be held in Everly today. Speakers will include IBC Director Dr. John Lawrence, ICA Executive Vice President Bruce Berven, Ken Hessineus of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Tony Toigo, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. The Everly/Royal tour will begin at 10:45 a.m. at the Follon Feedlot. During this tour small (less than 1,000 head), non-permitted feedlots that may need NPDES permits in the future will be featured as well as the Iowa Small Feedlot Plan. Detailed agendas for each of the tours can be found by logging onto www.supportfarmers.com. All tours will conclude by 4 p.m.

* For more information, tour directions or to register, log on to www.supportfarmers.com or call 1-515-225-5490.

Okoboji Women's Connection

Okoboji Women's Connection will have a luncheon entitled "Bustin' Out all Over" at the Inn at Okoboji at 12:30 p.m. today. Cost for the event is $10. Carolyn Tobias of Omaha, Neb., will talk on forgiveness, hope and purpose that can be ours regardless of the difficult situations or hard environments of our past, with the title of her talk "Mirror, Mirror on the wall…I Don't Like What I See at all." Courtyard Gardens of Spirit Lake will be the special feature and Lili Jensen will entertain with her music. All reservations are to be honored. Cancellations were to be in by Sunday evening June 15 at (712) 338-4318.

* For reservations, call Mona 362-4552, Jean 336-6481, Emily 507-847-3813, Kay 262-8911 or Darlene 262-2769.

Clay County 4-H Communications Day -- New Challenge

The Clay County 4-H Communications Day will be held from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., today at the 4-H Auditorium on the Clay County Fairgrounds. New this year is a Share the Fun Club Challenge. Share the Fun is just what its name implies -- sharing talents for fun and enjoyment. It can be any variety of skits, songs, dances, stunts, etc. The Club Challenge is for all Clay County 4-H Clubs. They must have at least 25 percent of their members participating in the club event. Audience members will vote for the Share the Fun Club Challenge winner. Therefore, 4-H club members are encouraged to invite their families, friends and neighbors.

Three Dog Night coming to Wild Rose

Three Dog Night will perform at Wild Rose Casino and Resort in Emmetsburg on June 20. This is an outdoor event, the gates will open at 6 p.m. and the concert will start at 8 p.m. The Palo Alto County Cattleman will be grilling steak sandwiches and beef burgers through the event.

* Tickets are on sale now and are available for purchase through the Player's Club at Wild Rose Casino and Resort in Emmetsburg by calling (877)-720-ROSE or online at www.wildroseresorts.com. Must be 21 years of age to attend and have a free Wild Rose Player's Club Card.

Getting ready to 'Rock, Rumble and Roll'

Bikers, riders and drivers are preparing to Rock, Rumble and Roll on Saturday, June 21 in the Iowa Great Lakes Region. The poker run and concert benefits the Iowa RockNRoll Music Association Museum in Arnolds Park. Participants in the poker run will register at Okoboji Harley-Davidson between 10-11:30 a.m. The ride consists of five stops, including a Queen II ride. Prize money is $200 and the first 100 registered will receive a T-shirt. Several door prizes have been donated by area businesses. The day concludes with a concert in the Roof Garden at Arnolds Park. Headlining is the fabulous Generations of RockNRoll show. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5, with poker run participants admitted free. All proceeds from the event and raffle will go toward day-to-day operational expenses of the museum.

* For more information about Rock, Rumble and Roll, log onto the Web site at www.iowarocknroll.com or phone the museum at (712) 332-6540.

Mercy Me to headline northwest Iowa's RiseFest

RISE Ministries and Northwestern College will co-sponsor the fourth annual RiseFest on June 21 with musical headliners MercyMe, Go Fish and several other bands, an extreme sports area, Kids Zone, seminars and speaker Rob Roozeboom. The event will take place at the Northwestern College soccer complex and will begin with a 5K/10K run at 8 a.m. The musical lineup for RiseFest 2008 will also include the popular children-oriented Go Fish; DecembeRadio, winner of the 2007 Dove Award for Rock Album of the Year; pop/rock band Addison Road, whose single "All That Matters" is in the top 10 of Christian contemporary hit radio charts; and hip-hop band Group 1 Crew. More bands will be announced at a later date. Tickets are on sale at www.riseministries.com and local bookstores.

* For more information, call (712) 324-9763.

Genealogy meeting

The Iowa Lakes Genealogy Society will have a field trip to Lake Park to their new Library and the museum at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 21. For those who want to carpool from Spencer, please be at the parking lot south of the Library before 12:30 p.m. as we will leave at 12:30 for points north.

Light fixture contest continues

Spencer Area Arts Council invites local artists to enter Arts on Grand light fixture contest for the front foyer. The winning entry will receive a $3,500 prize for the design and construction for the light fixture. Deadline for the entry of the design is July, 1 2008. Winner will be announced later in July. Support for the project was provided by a Renaissance Initiative Grant from the City of Spencer.

Abben survivors celebrate 'Seed of Hope'

The Abben Cancer Center in Spencer's fourth annual cancer survivor's day celebration "Seed of Hope" has been postponed to Wednesday, June 25. Join the staff at the Abben Cancer Center at 6:30 p.m. in the Spencer Hospital's Grand Avenue Park. Music will be performed by Laura Carlentini, Ryan Sather and Jack Ryan as you stroll through the gardens. There will be a short program with a dedication of the park benches in the meditation garden to honor all cancer survivors around 7 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.

* For more information, contact 264-6550.