Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 871
A dilapidated building in downtown Hartley will remain standing for at least another year. Officials at City Hall this week learned that Hartley's application for a Derelict Building Grant to tear down the old Capitol Theatre was denied by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The DNR last year approved a $25,000 grant to remove asbestos and other hazardous material from the building, which had council members optimistic more funds would be allocated for its complete removal. City...
Young academics at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Middle School excelled during a state competition in Ames earlier this month. The students traveled to the campus of Iowa State University for the 2024 State Science Technology Fair of Iowa, where they joined over 600 students from 70 schools across the state. They showcased their exhibits on a variety of topics ranging from chewing gum and bad breath to stain removers and pet urine. Eighteen students in grades 6-8 participated from H-M-S. Big winners...
Youngsters at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary are learning that you don't need to be outside to enjoy biking. For the past two years, PE teacher Janet Prins has been engaging TK-K students with a unit on bike basics. Children learn how to balance and steer on pedal-free Strider Bikes before the pedals are added towards the end of the unit. "The kids absolutely love these bikes," Prins said. "It doesn't matter if they know how to ride or not, they like being able to use the bikes in the gym."...
One of Mother Nature's most dazzling feats was dulled Monday by one of her more mundane. Thanks to an overcast sky, the widely-hyped solar eclipse was rendered somewhat invisible depending on your location in northwest Iowa. Those with a completely overcast view noticed a darker sky, but some still caught a glimpse of the phenomenon peaking through the clouds. Elementary students at Clay Central/Everly crowded the school grounds with special glasses to watch the show – or attempted to, at l...
Pale is a good thing when it comes to the U.S. Drought Monitor's maps, and last week's was delightfully bland for O'Brien County. The map released on April 4 showed O'Brien County as completely drought-free along with Osceola and Plymouth counties. Portions of other northwest Iowa counties were also listed as drought-free, while the remaining land mass was "abnormally dry." The region was the best off in the state as far as precipitation levels go. According to the map, around 20 counties in...
Guests at the Hartley Community Center's annual VIP Supper are in for tricks, treats and plenty of laughs on Saturday night. This year's entertainment will feature Alan Sands, who will bring his comedic magic act to the City With a Heart. Sands, who is also a renowned hypnotist, will put on a show following supper at 7:30 p.m. "I saw a comedy magical show one time and thought it would be a really fun thing to bring here," said community center Director Jessika Storm. "We try to avoid repeating...
Ground won't be broken any time soon, but Hartley leaders are eyeing a new building at Neebel Park. The city council last month discussed the need to replace the current shelter house on the west side of the park. According to Council Member Ron Hengeveld, it's in rough shape and getting worse. "It's embarrassing," he said. "It needs to go away, and it's not fixable." Hengeveld and Superintendent of Public Works Tony Weatherman recently inspected the structure, which was built in 1970,...
Local children converged on the grounds at Community Memorial Health Center last Saturday for the I.E.F. Club's annual Easter egg hunt. This year there were 105 hunters split into three age groups. I.E.F. Club members scattered hundreds of eggs across the CMHC property, and goodie bags were provided to each participant at the conclusion of the hunt. In addition to taste treats, a drawing was held for pool passes and scooters....
The Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn community is mourning the death of one of its students following a single-vehicle accident Wednesday, March 20. According to the Iowa State Patrol, Joshua Cruz, 16, of Hartley, was driving a 2000 Honda Accord eastbound on 300th Street when it left the roadway and struck an embankment on Waterman Creek. The accident report noted Cruz was not wearing a seatbelt and suffered a fatal injury during the crash. The accident occurred approximately three miles northwest of...
Local primary election ballots will feature some interesting matchups on June 4. In O'Brien County, all three supervisors seats up for election are contested on the GOP ballot. In District 1, incumbent Tim Overmire, of Hartley, will square off against Jim Thomas, also of Hartley. In District 2, incumbent John Steensma, of Sanborn, will face current county Auditor Barb Rohwer, of Primghar. Finally in District 3, incumbent Nancy McDowell, of Sheldon, is being challenged by Shanelle Matus, also of...
Call him Iowa's version of Forrest Gump. Tyler Sullivan never stops running, and earlier this month his travels brought him to O'Brien County. During his visit, he stopped by Hartley to tour the historic Patch-Eeten House with longtime curator Connie Olhausen. Sullivan has visited Hartley and O'Brien County before, but his stop at the local museum was a first. He was impressed by the exhibits as well as Olhausen's vast knowledge of local history. "What a true special gem she is," he said....
From local libraries to the Jaws of Life, this year's round of grants from the Clay County Community Foundation (CCCF) will benefit a vast array of local causes. The CCCF on Monday held its annual ceremony announcing funding allocations for 2024. Recipients from across the county were on hand to represent their groups, including three from Everly and Royal. The Hap Ketelsen Community Center received $4,500 to assist with the installation of handicap-accessible front doors. Since the facility hos...
The Everly City Council on Monday moved more real estate. Derrick Nestvold and Steve Schuver will soon become the owners of city-owned lots at 502 N Adams St. and 203 E 5th St., respectively. The former property was sold for $4,000 and the latter went for $3,500. As it did in January for two other properties, the council held a special auction for the lots. The minimum bid for each was $2,000. Nestvold and Schuver exchanged five competing bids for 502 N Adams St. The pair squared off again for 203 E 5th St., exchanging four bids. Nestvold and S...
A mild winter is affecting farmland in variety of ways as farmers look toward the spring planting season. Gentry Sorenson, an ISU Extension field agronomist based out of Algona, said dry conditions abound in northwest Iowa. "Rainfall would not hurt during the month of March to help recharge the subsoil moisture," he said. "I'm hearing about a few field fires, and there is a concern about high winds and dry corn stalks." The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor listed all of northwest...
The Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn community is mourning the death of one of its students following a single-vehicle accident Wednesday, March 20. According to the Iowa State Patrol, Joshua Cruz, 16, of Hartley, was driving his 2000 Honda Accord eastbound on 300th Street when it left the roadway and struck an embankment on Waterman Creek. The accident report noted Cruz was not wearing a seatbelt and suffered a fatal injury during the crash. The accident occurred around three miles northwest of Hartley a...
The future of a new recreation trail in Hartley is looking bleak. The Hartley City Council on Monday learned that construction of a new leg of trail extending from Neebel Park would be nearly impossible. Engineer Wes Boyer, of Bolten & Menk, reported the owner of the property that abuts the proposed route will not grant a future construction easement, in turn severely jeopardizing the project's viability. "That's not really on the table as an option," Boyer said of the easement. "That obviously...
A longtime Hartley mechanic will hand over the keys to the next generation April 1. Stan Jacobs last Friday announced the sale of Stan's Service to Stephen and Kelly Embrey. Jacobs has owned and operated the business on Highway 18 with his wife, Bonny, since 1984. "A goal of Bonny and mine for the future of this shop has always been to keep it a service and repair shop, and we just decided the timing is right," Stan said. "When these guys approached us, we thought why not?" The Embreys own and...
Local residents have a three-week window to file nomination papers and get their names on the June 4 primary election ballot. Several county offices are up for election this year. The filing period started March 4 and ends March 22. Candidates must win their party’s nomination in the primary election to get on the November ballot. The following positions are up for election in O’Brien County in 2024. All three are four-year terms: • Auditor, currently held by Barb Rohwer. • Sheriff, currently held by Bruce Devereaux. • Supervisor Districts...
The company behind a proposed CO2 pipeline on Monday announced Valero Renewables' ethanol plant in Hartley would be connected to the route if granted future regulatory approval. Ames-based Summit Carbon Solutions said eight of Valero's ethanol facilities across Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota and South Dakota are expected to be incorporated into the project. Valero was previously associated with Navigator CO2's pipeline, which was scrapped last year after the company cited the "unpredictable nature...
The Everly City Council on Monday voted to remove an allegedly vicious dog from city limits unless its owner installs fencing on her property. In a unanimous vote, the council agreed Lori Adrian’s dog should be removed from Everly unless some sort of physical fencing is installed around her yard or a dog kennel run is built. Adrian, whose animal allegedly bit a deliveryman in August, said she could not afford new fencing and believed her current in-ground perimeter fence should suffice. “That dog is not vicious,” she said. “There have been no...
The Iowa Democratic Party on Tuesday released the unofficial results of its first-ever mail-in presidential preference caucus. The party shifted to mail-in ballots this year after the Democratic National Committee moved on from Iowa holding the first-in-the-nation caucus, which it had done for decades. Preference cards were mailed out Jan. 12 through Feb. 19. As expected, President Joe Biden won with 11,083 first place preference votes. "Uncommitted" was second with 480 votes, while Minnesota Re...
Local lawmakers offered varying degrees of support for a bill that attempts to create a pathway for schools to arm staff members. Sen. Lynn Evans, Rep. Megan Jones, Sen. Dave Rowley and Rep. John Wills discussed the proposal during the second Eggs & Issues forum last Saturday in Spencer. If passed and signed by the governor, House File 2586 would set standards for arming K-12 employees like creating a permit system for staff members who could carry firearms in school buildings. The bill also...
The Hartley City Council on Monday told members of the recreation trail committee that any future help from the city would come after the group obtains a construction easement for the first leg of the proposed project. Committee members approached the council during a special meeting to ask the city to create a trail taskforce to help plans move forward. According to discussion, the group needs to contact the landowner affected by the first leg of the trail, which would require a construction...
I often feel like I don’t do enough to help my fellow man. Last week, I did the bare minimum. After delivering the newspaper, I swung over to the Hartley Community Center to donate blood for the first time. I really don’t know why it took me this long to do it, but it did nonetheless. Since I’m good at laying down and doing nothing, I figured this would be a breeze. I was right – the whole ordeal took less than an hour. A quiet crisis is what sparked me to get pricked and drained. The Red Cross last month announced an emergency blood shortag...
There's a new face leading operations of Hartley's utilities and infrastructure. Tony Weatherman began serving as the city's public works superintendent last week. He currently lives in Spirit Lake and was interested in the job thanks to past experience working for Sioux Center's natural gas department. "It was nice working in a family atmosphere, so I was interested in moving back into a city position," he said. Weatherman was one of two candidates who were interviewed for the job, which was pr...
