The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will start lowering the water level at West Swan Lake, near Gruver in Emmet County as part of a restoration project to improve its water quality, eliminate a rough fish population and provide quality habitat for fish and wildlife.

Construction will begin this fall on a new water control structure at the outlet of West Swan and a new fish barrier below the outlet of Ingham Lake. Construction should be completed by spring of 2023.

Des Moines — The State Forest Nursery is open for fall 2022 and spring 2023 seedling orders.

Tree varieties include 23 species of native hardwoods, eight evergreen species and 15 smaller trees and shrubs. Prices range from 70 cents to $1.20 per seedling. Seedlings are sold in three age classifications, and range in size from 10-30 inches depending on the species.

Iowan author Linda McCann will discuss her novel “Prisoners of War in Iowa” at the Spencer Public Library on Thursday at 6 p.m. Detailing information about the state’s prisoner of war camps during World War II, the novel is McCann’s most recently published historical novel.

Among the many exhibitors at the Clay County Fair this year is one man with decades of experience — and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. Manson resident Don Haupt has been showing his pigs at the Clay County Fair since 1972, and at the age of 95 still finds the same enjoyment he did when he first started.

One of the favorite vendors of the Clay County Fair — the Iowa Chop Shop — has reached its 40-year milestone of service at the county fair. From the Clay County Pork Producers, the vendor offers an assortment of breakfast and dinner items every day at the fair.

DES MOINES — Clay County Supervisors Barry Anderson, Burlin Matthews and Dan Skelton have become Certified Iowa County Supervisors. The Iowa State Association of County Supervisors honored its first class of Certified Iowa County Supervisors during a ceremony, in Des Moines, on Aug. 25, that was held in conjunction with the Iowa State Association of Counties Annual Conference.

With homecoming week approximately two weeks away, students at Spencer High School have nominated 10 seniors to represent the community as members of the royal court.

Iowa District Court Judge John M. Sandy contacted Clay County Attorney Travis Johnson approximately a month or two ago to inquire about getting a Drug Court started in the district, proposing Clay and Dickinson as pilot counties.

“He did the heavy lifting to get approval from the Judicial branch,” Johnson said. “They approved it, but made clear that he would not be compensated at all for his additional time and efforts on the project.”

The Iowa Lakes Development Corridor received two grants on Wednesday, presented by Dakota Business Finance. The grants were a result of awards given from the number of Small Business Administration 504 loans approved in Iowa in 2021 through the Dakota Business Finance by local lenders.

An ordinance that would allow chickens within Spencer’s city limits did not pass its second reading during the Spencer City Council meeting on Tuesday night. The decision came months after the ordinance was discussed in the Planning and Zoning Commission and passing the council’s first reading with a 4-3 vote, the ordinance receiving an opposing vote of 6-1 in its last reading.

The contract for a project upgrading several traffic signals along Grand Avenue was awarded to Z&W Electric for $539,000 by the Spencer City Council on Tuesday. The upgraded lights will run from Eighth Street to First Street with replaced controllers to improve traffic efficiency along other upgrades.

Several candidates seeking an audience with constituents will appear at the Clay County Fair this weekend. Among those appearing at the “World’s Greatest County Fair” on opening weekend, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Admiral Michael Franken; Iowa secretary of agriculture opponents, incumbent Republican Mike Naig and Democratic challenger John Norwood; and Iowa 4th Congressional District Democratic challenger Ryan Melton.

The contract for the necessary remodeling of the former Northwest Bank Building was awarded to Woodruff Construction for approximately $1.9 million by the Clay County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Now called the Northwest Federal Loan Processing Building, the facility will house Clay County Veterans Affairs and Clay County Attorney’s office.

Calling Nashville, Tennessee, home after growing up in Florida, Adam Sanders is looking forward to his appearance at the Clay County Fair, when he opens for Russell Dickerson on opening night, Saturday, on the grandstand stage.

“I’m looking forward to the show,” Sanders said. “I’m getting ready to accept a tour with Dustin Lynch and I’m getting ready for my own All Summer Long Tour. By the time we get to you, we should be running wide open.”

LE MARS — On Tuesday the Spencer cross-country team traveled to Prairie Rose Golf Club in Le Mars for a meet with several schools, including Bishop Heelan, Gehlen Catholic, Sioux Center, MOC-Floyd Valley, Sioux City East and plenty of others in the big competition.