Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
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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...
More city-owned property in Everly will soon be available to the highest bidder. The city council on Monday agreed to move forward with the sale of two lots on North Adams Street. An auction will be held at the next regular council meeting on March 18, where interested parties can attend to place bids. The sale of the lots was placed on the backburner due to delays in the surveying process. According to Mayor Ron Thompson, Mohning Land Survey, LLC, of Milford, took a long time to get legal descriptions of the lots back to the city. Officials...
Despite hurdles over the past year, the new owner of Hartley's old packing plant has his eyes set on a spring ribbon cutting. Stephane Comtois, owner of Hartley Cold Services, said the business is planning to be operational by May. He had hoped to be open by now, but various issues pushed the schedule back in 2023. Comtois, whose business background is in the import/export business, was eager to open the doors in 2024. "We made a few mistakes early on in the process and now we're correcting...
The search for Hartley's next superintendent of public works is over. The city council on Monday hired Tony Weatherman, of Spirit Lake. He succeeds Curtis Conaway, who served the position for a short time last year following the resignation of Jaron Benz. Weatherman's salary was set at $80,000, with a 3 percent increase after completion of a six-month probationary period and positive review. His first day on the job is today, Feb. 15. The city interviewed one other applicant for the position....
The Royal City Council on Tuesday crunched numbers to sketch out the town's budget for the coming fiscal year. Once the tally was totaled, FY25's budget was estimated at $449,200. That was $59,000 less than the current year, which is $508,200. Most of the savings stem from water utility expenses. Since the city relinquished its water utility to Iowa Lakes Regional Water last year, it seemingly won't need too much money – if any – from that account. The council budgeted $90,000 for the water uti...
With a little luck, downtown Hartley will have one less building later this year. City Administrator Roxann Swanson on Monday updated the council on demolition plans for the former Capitol Theatre. She recently applied for a Derelict Building Grant from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which would ease the cost of removal expenses once the dust settles. Swanson applied for $75,000, which is the maximum amount under the grant. Demolition been estimated at $100,000-$130,000. "We could...
There's a new face at the helm of the Hartley Community Center. Jessika Storm took over as manager of the local facility on Jan. 1. She previously served on its board of directors for three years and decided to apply when the position opened up in December after former director Brittany Dolphin stepped down. "I really like doing this sort of thing, and being here for the last three years, I've thought of a lot opportunities for it to grow," Storm said. Storm plans to utilize her vast experience...
A new food pantry at Clay Central/Everly has seen steady use in its first year of operation. Elementary secretary Val Johnson started the service after realizing a need in the community. While a food pantry at Hope Lutheran Church in Everly serves the north half of the district, there was nothing in Royal. "Somebody brought it to my attention and I thought, why not do it here?" Johnson said. "I thought it was something we could open up to families with kids at school." Johnson and CC/E...
This winter hasn’t been much of one. I think I can speak for all of you when I say that’s perfectly fine. Still, it’s winter in Iowa, and with that reality comes a degree of boredom. I don’t ice fish, ski or have a snowmobile, so my options at killing time are limited to the indoors this time of year. I can kill a whole evening watching basketball, but that wears thin after one or two nights. My better half has been doing puzzles and reading books. Since my attention span often seems like that of a gnat, I don’t find much interest in those hob...
