SPENCER — The Spencer School Board has received the Team Achievement Award from the Iowa Association of School Boards. Only 15 board teams in the entire state earned this award in 2022. To qualify, the majority of board members must have earned Individual Achievement Awards through the IASB Annual Board Awards program.

ARRESTS

As part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative, Seasons Center for Behavioral Health will receive $400,000 a year for the next five years to enhance partnerships in rural northwest Iowa and increase access to specialized, trauma-informed, and evidence-based mental health services for foster, adoptive, and kinship children and their families.

Spencer Schools Transportation Direct Julie Nemmers has announced her intention to retire from the position at the end of the current school year. After joining the district in July 1, 2006, Nemmers became a huge advocate of bus and child safety working alongside local law enforcement and media to promote caution on the roadway.

At last week’s Clay County Board of Supervisors meeting, the board approved contracts to bring updates to the county jail’s surveillance system. As the jail’s current system is over a decade old, representatives from the Clay County Sheriff's Office insisted it was outdated and required replacement.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is accepting comments on the proposed new armed forces fishing licenses, through Jan. 24.

The 2022 Iowa Acts Senate File 581, passed and signed into law on June 17, 2022, broadens the qualifications for who may obtain a lifetime trout fishing license to include Iowa residents who qualify for the disabled veteran homestead credit under section 425.15. The lifetime trout fishing fee is $63.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resource will release trout in five locations across Iowa this winter in areas that would not support them during warmer months.

Winter trout stockings are a great place to take kids to catch their first fish. A small split shot and a hook with almost any kind of bait will catch trout.

The North American Ice Fishing Circuit will once again be coming to the Iowa Great Lakes, but instead of a single day qualifier, competitors will have the chance to fish two single-day, two-person team events called the Okoboji Double Header.

AMES — The application window for the 2023 Winter Master Gardener training cohort opens Jan. 9. The training will be offered in 27 counties or extension regions, beginning in February.

SIOUX CITY — Lutheran Services in Iowa is hosting virtual and in-person orientations in the month of January to families in western Iowa wanting to learn more about foster care and adoption.

Hundreds of Iowa children are currently in need of a foster family, but there are not enough foster homes in western Iowa available for them.

The Spencer Reporter and Northwest Iowa Shopper office will be closed Monday in observance of New Year’s Day and to allow our staff to enjoy the holiday with family and friends. Tuesday’s Spencer Reporter will be delivered on Wednesday.

Longtime Northwest Iowa Bone & Joint partner, Dr. Rick Wilkerson, who splits his time between Spencer and Decorah where he serves as the chief of orthopedics for Mayo Decorah Hospital, as well as the team physician for Upper Iowa University and Luther College, recently returned from his second journey to serve in Ukraine.

• Originally printed in the June 7 in the Daily Reporter, Gregg and Stephanie Ries nuptials at Oneota Cabin celebrated Gregg’s Irish heritage as it included traditional dress, music and ceremony. A small group of family and friends joined to celebrate and the Daily Reporter’s Celia Brockler was invited to capture it all in photos.

Irish eyes were smiling.

• The No. 2 News Story of the Year surrounds the potential closing of the Spencer Area Activity Center when finances and a tired board felt the writing was on the wall. Despite a small group of volunteers offering to assume board leadership, the existing board moved forward with plans to shutter the facility. Eventually the existing board and director stepped away leaving room for a new group to step in and take over. With a new board and a new start, SAAC changed its name to Occasions.

To encourage reading during the winter months, Spencer Public Library has prepared a Winter Reading Challenge for its patrons. The program will be available for children, teens and adults from Jan. 1 to Feb. 28.

“The title is called 'All the Feels,' so the theme is based upon relaxation, feelings, being cozy in winter and taking care of yourself,” adult librarian Robin Munson said.