Stories from Thursday, July 26, 2018

The 4-H Building on the Clay County Fairgrounds once again hosted the annual 4-H Achievement Day. Local 4-H members in fourth through 12th grade brought 600 exhibits in almost 40 program areas Wednesday. (Above) Seventh-grade student Abby Goeken presented her junior welding project to judge Dwayne Van Leeuwen as volunteer Mary Ann Jobst watched. Goeken's dog sculpture was developed as part of a "bucket of junk" workshop during which participants learned to develop projects out of scrap metal. (Below) Seventh-grade student Riley Heman showed off her table setting skills for judges Roberta Hersom and Joni Click. The table setting competition is new to achievement day this year. Judges looked for proper placement of glassware, utensils and dishes as well as how participants coordinated color choices and display pieces.

Teresa Alesch, of Emmetsburg, is a Prairie Lakes AEA administrator who works at the Prairie Lakes AEA office in Spencer. She is also an author, cancer survivor and a mother. Her first work, a nonfiction book, “Broken to Brave: Finding Freedom from the Unlived Life,” was published in late 2017 and details Alesch’s personal struggles in surviving cancer and overcoming a series of family tragedies...

The Spencer downtown will have more traffic this week as the annual shopping event, Downtown Crazy Days, has officially begun. Starting Thursday and ending after Saturday, the sale aims to take advantage of July’s favorable weather to increase foot traffic and sales in the downtown...

The oven products department at the 2018 Clay County Fair will showcase 15 new special contests, Sept. 8-16. Those new contests, along with the traditional classes in the canned goods and dried foods department, will ensure that will be a contest for everyone...

AMES ― The world’s tallest concrete garden gnome is one of the many features at Reiman Gardens in Ames. Each year the gardens have a theme, with wind, waves and light sculpture exhibited this season. “We have changing annual themes,” communications coordinator Maria Teply said. ...

The Davis Family Band hammers out a fan request, playing the 1990 country single, “Friends in Low Places,” made famous by Garth Brooks. The band headlined Thursday’s Mainstreet Market on the Clay County Courthouse grounds, playing original songs, requests and covers. The event featured one of the largest crowds of the year and some of the coolest temperatures as well. The next Mainstreet Market is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Aug. 2, with Amber Norgaard providing the evening’s entertainment

The reality TV craze as we know it traces its roots back to 1992 when MTV started asking its viewers, "What happens when people stop being polite and start getting real?" If you would have told me reality TV would still be going strong after 25 years when I was first took notice of the emerging genre in college, you would have been greeted with a skeptical laugh and a dismissive shrug of the shoulders...

Funeral services for Scott Mackey, 54 of Spencer, will be conducted at 10:30 a.m. Monday, July 30, 2018 at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Spencer. Rev. David Doellinger will officiate the service. Visitation will be conducted starting at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 29, at Warner Funeral Home in Spencer with family present from 2-4 p.m...

ESTHERVILLE — Iowa Lakes women's basketball player Marissa Ruiz committed to continue her academic and athletic career at the University of Wisconsin Superior, a Division III institution, located in Superior, Wisconsin. The Yellow Jackets finished the season 23-5 and won their third straight UMAC Championship...

EMMETSBURG — The Iowa Lakes Community College women's swim and dive team received the Scholar All-American Team Honor for the spring 2018 semester. This award is presented by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America. Teams considered for this award must earn a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. The Iowa Lakes women’s swim and dive team received this award twice during the 2017-2018 academic year...

OKOBOJI — On Saturday, Aug. 4, Chicago’s legendary sketch and improv comedy theater returns to the Lauridsen Performing Arts Theatre stage at the Pearson Lakes Art Center. The show will begin at 8 p.m. Let someone else face your small talk fears head-on. ...

Arts On Grand has put together a couple of fun acts for the 2018 installment of Backyard Bach and Blues hosted at the Paul and Jeanne-Marie Hardy residence. Join AOG for Backyard Bach and Blues at 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11. Members of the Iowa Lakes Community College jazz band will be kicking off the event with a variety of jazz favorites during the dinner hours. The college musicians’ performance will be followed by Rock a la Carte...

ARNOLDS PARK — This Labor Day weekend, music lovers are coming home to Arnolds Park to celebrate Iowa Rock ‘n' Roll Music Association’s 22nd year of recognizing achievements in Iowa’s music industry with the Iowa Rock ‘n' Roll Hall of Fame 2018 Induction Spectacular...

Denzel Washington is back (I say that a lot — too many sequels) as former DIA agent Robert McCall in “Equalizer 2,” the second film in a series replicating a 1980s TV show about an older gentleman who assists people facing dangerous problems with dangerous people. ...

How one interprets the impact of the trade war with China depends on who your constituents are. Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, whose constituents are Iowa farmers, calls the tit for tat tariff exchange and resulting massive losses in soybean and hog prices a "catastrophe." These farmers used to be former Iowa Gov. ...

OKOBOJI — A display of quilts of all sizes and quality nonquilt items will be available at Ingham Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camps' Quilt Auction. All events will be held at the Okoboji site. Auction weekend begins on Friday, Aug. 3, with quilt viewing in the gym from 5-7 p.m., a Scandinavian dinner from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and a Glenn Henriksen Concert at 7 p.m. at which a free will offering will be collected. On Saturday, Aug. 4, a 5K Fun Run at 8 a.m. starts the day, followed by quilt viewing from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Lunch will be available in Dining Hall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The live auction begins at 1 p.m. Pie and ice cream will be served during the afternoon. For those wishing to place a bid but are unable to attend, proxy bidders will be provided. Forms may be completed at the quilt viewing or a call may be made to the camp at 712-337-3306 to request a bidder. Proxy bidding requests close at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The camp is located on the west side of West Lake Okoboji at 1203 Inwan St. in Wahpeton.

ARNOLDS PARK — Legendary Christian recording artist Michael W. Smith is coming to Arnolds Park. A Grammy and Dove Award-winning artist, Smith will perform outdoors at Preservation Plaza in Arnolds Park Sunday, Aug. 19. Known for songs like “Above All,” “Healing Rain” and “Friends are Friends Forever,” Smith has shared a message of hope and healing for more than three decades. His Christian witness and testimony have been heard around the world...

Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady on Thursday signed an order that calls for the high court to take another look at the Lee Christensen murder conviction. The Iowa Court of Appeals on Wednesday, April 17, set aside Christensen's district court conviction and directed the case back to district court for a new trial. ...

The Odor family invites family and friends in the community to join them in remembrance of the life of Gar Odor 1 p.m. Saturday, July 28, 2018, at the Spencer Golf and Country Club. Gar was born on June 20, 1924 in Rembrandt, Iowa, the son of A.D. and Iva Odor. ...

Local officials hope issues surrounding an oil spill near the city of Doon last month will be put on hold by Gov. Kim Reynolds before more material from the clean up ends up in Dickinson County. The Dickinson County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday morning to draft a letter requesting the governor put a stay on oil-contaminated material being sent to the Dickinson County Sanitary Landfill. The board hopes to be present the letter to Reynolds personally...