Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
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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...
The master contract for the 2024-25 school year was approved by the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn School Board on Feb. 19, but terms of the agreement could be impacted by legislation under consideration in Des Moines. The district and H-M-S Education Association (HMSEA) agreed to a tentative agreement that calls for a 3.8 percent increase in the wage base. Superintendent Patrick Carlin said contracts will be based on a $43,000 base salary; however, things could be "significantly impacted" should...
A report released last week should have Iowans thinking twice about their icy-cold vices. Health experts unveiled the 2024 Cancer in Iowa Report, and results were extremely concerning. Iowa once again has the second-highest rate of new cancer cases in the U.S., alongside the fastest-growing rate of new cancers. The state also reported the fourth-highest incidence of alcohol-related cancers in the country and the highest in the Midwest. Health experts at a news conference last week cited alcohol usage as a possible driver in Iowa’s cancer r...
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...
In our free-market economy, Americans should have the freedom to purchase the car or truck of their choice without the federal government putting its thumb on the scale to advance a specific policy preference and distort the market. However, President Biden doesn’t see it that way. He prefers government intervention and costly mandates that support his Green New Deal agenda and further his vision to cripple the American energy sector through executive orders, burdensome regulations, and red t...
The Iowa Taxpayer Relief Fund is an account in the state treasury that holds unanticipated state revenue to be returned to the taxpayers. In order for funds to be deposited in the Taxpayer Relief Fund, actual state revenue has to exceed what had been projected for state tax collections by the three-member Revenue Estimating Conference (REC). The difference between what was actually collected in tax revenue and what the REC had projected is deposited into the account once the fiscal year’s b...
Following our first legislative deadline, the seventh week of session in the Iowa Senate focused on debate and sending bills to the House of Representatives for their consideration. One bill that passed the Senate is Senate File 2161, which raises the penalties for swatting. Additionally, the Senate passed Senate File 2096, ensuring Iowa can have the most qualified applicants considered for appointments to a board, commission, committee or council, regardless of their gender. Senate File 2251...
To the editor: The Iowa House is considering a bill designed to combat “organized retail theft” of property from stores. Lawmakers supporting the measure said they wanted to deter looting, which has happened in some U.S. cities. Law enforcement has not always intervened. Iowans may naively think such lawlessness cannot happen here. But it can – and it is. Summit Carbon Solutions has been using strong-arm tactics to take farmland for a pressurized CO2 pipeline. Meanwhile, power players in the Iowa Senate, Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitv...
The O'Brien County Community Foundation (OBCCF), an affiliate of the Siouxland Community Foundation, is accepting grant applications from 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and units of local government impacting O'Brien County. Grant applicants can request up to $15,000. Applications are submitted online at www.siouxlandcommunityfoundation.org and are due by April 15. Since grants were first distributed in 2006, the OBCCF has awarded over $1.6 million to nonprofit organizations from the county e...
Bald Eagle Day March 2 at PHC The O’Brien County Conservation Board invites the public to the Prairie Heritage Center to experience a live bald eagle on Saturday, March 2. Christina Roelofs from the Nishnabotna Conservation Foundation will present a program about the bald eagle at 2 p.m. Daycare fundraiser is March 9 The Hartley Community Daycare Center will hold its annual fundraiser on Saturday, March 9 at the community center. This year’s entertainment is The Mitch Gordon Band. See the ad on Page 5 for more information. Hartley Com...
• Traffic Baldomero Navarrete Dominguez, Aurora, Ill., Speeding. Jason Lee Kirby, Sioux Falls, S.D., No Valid Driver’s License. Jeffrey David Heithus, Paullina, Speeding. Elizabeth A. Smith, Alton, Failure to Obey Stop Sign. Addisen Ann Reeves, Alta, Minor in Possession, Alcohol. Simon Samuel Fraga, Worthington, Minn., Failure to Maintain Control. Sandra Gomez, Sioux City, No Proof of Insurance. Chevy J. Behrens, Primghar, Speeding. Luis Noel Madrid Recinos, Worthington, Minn., Speeding. Richard Israel Hernandez Cubias, Sheldon, No Valid Dri...
Over 130 lives impacted by blood donors Forty-five units of blood were collected during the Hartley community drive held on Feb. 21. According to LifeServe Blood Center, those blood donations will save and potentially sustain the lives of 135 people in need. LifeServe Blood Center recognizes local donors that achieved milestone donations at this blood drive: Randall Kramer, 10 gallons; Brian Rons, 6 gallons; Ashley Tessum, 3 gallons; Curtis Stoltz and Keith Stoltz, 2 gallons. Together those five...
The Clay County Fair this week announced two nights of Grandstand events as part of the SRG Concert Series for the 2024 Clay County Fair powered by SMU, Sept. 7-15. • The Mavericks with special guest The Jorgensens: Monday, Sept. 9 The Mavericks, the eclectic rock and country group known for crisscrossing musical boundaries with abandon, has gone through three distinct phases since it was founded in Miami in 1989. An initial period of heady success marked by big hits and critical acclaim in t...
Spencer Hospital paramedics Chris Meyer and Brian Trojahn were surprised with Team GEM Awards last week for their role in saving the life of a Sutherland woman late last summer. Denise Steffen nominated the two professionals. The pair was called to an accident scene by the Peterson Community Response Unit, which sought assistance to care for the critically-injured Steffen. She had been horseback riding with friends when a creek bank collapsed, causing her and her horse to fall, and for Steffen...
The turning of the calendar from 2023 to 2024 led to a strong finish for the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn girls' basketball team. H-M-S finished the pre-holiday portion of the schedule with a 4-5 record. But following the break, the Hawks won six straight games and nine of their final 13 to post the program's best record in seven years. The Hawks also climbed up the War Eagle Conference standings, finishing fifth at 6-4. "Going from a 3-19 season record last year to 13-9 this year, I couldn't be more...
With only two returning players with any varsity experience, the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn boys' basketball team faced a major rebuilding task during the 2023-24 season. Unable to score consistently and outmanned in most games, the Hawks finished 0-22 overall and 0-10 in the War Eagle Conference. Despite negative outcomes on game nights, Hawk coach Naet Hoaglund saw progress during the season. "Obviously a challenging and struggling year in terms of results," he acknowledged. "Our ultimate goal...
Both Okoboji/HMS wrestling squads enjoyed success on the mats during their 2023-24 seasons. The Pioneer girls ended their dual season with winning records overall (7-2) and in the Siouxland Conference (5-1). They finished in a second-place tie at the conference tournament. Senior Avery Ballis, the only senior on the roster, and freshman Brooke Stockdale were at-large selections for the all-conference second team. Junior Amelia Sirola advanced to the girls' state wrestling championships where...
When a high school bowler rolls a perfect game in any competition, it is a major accomplishment. But to bowl a 300 game at a state meet is something special. That is what Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn bowler Jack Mastbergen did during the Class 1A state individual tournament on Feb. 21 at Waterloo. The junior put Xs on the scoreboard during the first nine frames of his third game in pre-bracket play, and then put up three more in the 10th to reach perfection. "Jack started off from where he left off...
• March 3, 1949 Students of Hartley No. 2 presented an interesting demonstration of their hobby club. Following a program of readings and musical selections, guests viewed the students’ hobbies and some of their artwork. On each club day the students worked two hours on their chosen hobbies. Alvin Frick, well-known Hartley orchestra leader, announced the grand opening of his new Standard service station on Highway 18. Over $100 in valuable prizes were to be given away. LuVerne Sartorius, who successfully handled the Cancer Drive in 1948, was...
Author’s Note: This is the second of a series of devotionals from Psalm 146. “Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD his God” – Psalm 146:5 In putting our hope and trust in a “prince,” or a “son of man,” or “we the people,” we have learned they can only offer temporary help and oftentimes, self-defeating or destructive help. There is only one person that we can put our trust and hope in and that is Jesus the Christ. In verse 5 of this psalm, He is referr...
