Monday evening, Clay County Tourism joined the Clay County Trails Association for the ribbon cutting of the newest section of the Iowa Great Lakes Connection Trail. This brand-new, 8-mile stretch gives cyclists in Spencer safe access all the way to Fostoria and is part of an ambitious plan to eventually link the Iowa Great Lakes to Carroll County with a 220-mile trail system.

The Spencer Community School Board gave district administrators the go-ahead to seek a $5 million bond to finance flood repairs at Johnson and Lincoln Elementary Schools during a special board meeting convened June 10.

The latest edition of Spencer Municipal Utilities’ annual Consumer Confidence Report on water quality has been prepared and is being distributed electronically to customers through SMU’s website at www.smunet.net/CCR.

When the Black Tie, Black Leather Affair — Shayla Bee Fund’s largest annual fundraiser — had to be cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns, the West Lake Okoboji Cruise was berthed and has continued each year since. On June 7, The cruise began at Okoboji Classic Cars' parking lot and traveled around West Lake before culminating at Oak Hill Outdoors.

Spencer Rotary showed its support for the 40th Flagfest with a $1,500 donation toward the Spencer Family YMCA Family Day where everyone gets in free starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday. (Photo submitted)

The Spencer Municipal Band, under the baton of Katie Bush, will be continuing its summer music series as part of Spencer’s festivities for Flagfest on Sunday, at 2 p.m., in the bandshell in East Leach Park. The band is made up of area musicians and is supported by the city of Spencer and the Spencer Community Schools.

On Wednesday morning, Spencer Planning and Zoning commission approved the final plat for the Moose Pond First Addition. The development will be one lot in an approximate 1-acre area on the current Fourth Avenue SE. The gravel road will be moved to lineup with the avenue across Eighth Street SE.

Spencer Flagfest will celebrate 41 years of family fun and entertainment on Friday through Sunday, June 13-15. All weekend the annual Display of Veterans Memorial Flags and State Flags will be flying in Spencer thanks to the American Legion Glen Pederson Post No. 1 and VFW Post No. 3159.

The Clay County Board of Supervisors has formally declared medical services an essential county service, unanimously approving a resolution over a year in the making.

The vote sets came after the third and final public hearing and reading of the resolution held during the June 10 regular board meeting. The board received no public comments for or against the resolution before voting unanimously to approve it.

Iowa Lakes Community College invites the public to an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, June 20, from 9-11 a.m., at the Spencer campus in recognition of recent renovations and enhancements made to its Veteran & Military Centers across all three campus locations — also including Emmetsburg, Estherville and Spencer. A special program will begin at 10 a.m., featuring guest speaker U.S. Sen.

ESTHERVILLE — Iowa Lakes Community College’s aviation program recently celebrated a major achievement, completing its 300th FAA check ride since reorganizing in January 2020. Andrew Barbee, of Dubuque, completed the milestone check ride on May 27, successfully earning his certified flight instructor certification.

9TH GRADE

• PEO Chapter AT of Spencer was excited to award Valerie Rodriguez-Gutierrez (above), Spencer High School senior, a $1,000 Local PEO Chapter award to assist in her upcoming college expenses.

The Spencer Chamber Ambassadors visited CW Suter Services on Tuesday to celebrate its grand reopening after last year’s flood. In addition to residential and commercial HVAC, plumbing and temperature controls, their team played a major role in local recovery — replacing more than 300 units across Spencer.

The 2025 Clay County Fair Queen is Nevaeh Brauhn of Sioux Rapids.

Brauhn was crowned June 8 following the annual two-hour Clay County Fair Queen Pageant. This year’s pageant featured an intense competition between ten candidates for the post. This year’s first runner-up was Hannah Tessum of Everly.