Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
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Time flies, even for centenarians. Leona Holmes hit 100 years of age today. The milestone is a marker anyone would be lucky to reach, but the Hartley woman didn't exactly have it circled on her calendar. "I didn't even know it was catching up on me until my son started asking me about my party," Holmes admitted. She and her family will celebrate her century of life during a party at Crazy Bob's. After a year of pandemic-induced lockdown, Holmes was looking forward to seeing everybody in the...
With all Iowans ages 16 and older now eligible to be inoculated against COVID-19, a large-scale vaccination clinic is planned in Spencer on Saturday, April 10, at the Spencer High School Fieldhouse. Registration is open to anyone regardless of county or state residence. Clay County Public Health, Avera Medical Group Spencer and Spencer Hospital are collaborating with Estherville Pharmacy to offer the event. The Estherville Pharmacy secured a federal allocation of 1,170 doses of Pfizer's...
Community Memorial Health Center in Hartley is adjusting to some big changes. After spending the past year mostly shuttered from the outside world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, residents at the facility are now able to leave on outings with their loved ones more frequently. The change was precipitated by vaccinations, as a majority of residents have been inoculated and a growing number of the general public has also received their shots. "There's a lot of changes coming out now, and we review th...
• Traffic Craig Jeffrey Downing, Sioux City, Littering. Ryon Michael Crisp, Correctionville, Failure to Maintain Control. Collin McKee, Hartley, No Valid Driver’s License. Douglas Alan Portz, Sheldon, Speeding. David E. Norton, Primghar, Improper Brake Light; No Proof of Insurance. Dakota Charles Rettig, Spencer, Registration Violation. Michael James Bruns, Ashton, Registration Violation. Aklil Abebe Taye, Sheldon, Failure to Maintain Control. Justin A. Berning, Sheldon, Registration Violation. Trent Alexander Trudeau, Paullina, Seatbelt Vio...
The first play in more than two years will debut next weekend at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School. The drama department will present two showings of The Internet Is Distract–Oh Look a Kitten! The first performance will take place on Friday, April 16 at 7 p.m., with the second slated for Saturday, April 17 at 7 p.m. Both will be held at the H-M-S Middle School in Hartley (old elementary building). The play promises plenty of laughs. Micah only has 45 minutes to finish her paper on The Great G...
O'Brien County Public Health has received 600 doses of Johnson & Johnson's Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. Several mass vaccination clinics have been set up over the next week to help distribute the supply. Additional doses of the Moderna vaccine are also slated to arrive early next week. There is limited amount of supply available. Vaccine clinic dates and locations are listed below: • Saturday, April 10: O'Brien County Courthouse, 155 S Hayes Ave., Primghar – Vaccine: Johnson & Johnson's Jan...
Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of a fire that claimed the life of an Everly woman on March 23. Firefighters were called to 306 N Ocheyedan St., at approximately 3:20 p.m. According to Assistant Fire Chief Ray Savage, smoke could be seen coming from the house's vents. Emergency personnel entered the home and found its owner, Janice Erick, 91, who was transported to Spencer Hospital. She later died of injuries sustained in the blaze. Fire departments from Everly, Royal,...
A new bike ride slated to traverse the entire state will be much shorter. Officials with Iowa's Ride announced Tuesday the event will be held over one weekend July 16-18 in Eldora. Previously, the ride was supposed to take place July 18-24 starting in Dubuque and ending in Rock Rapids. Emmetsburg and Sheldon were named overnight towns on the original route. According to a release from Iowa's Ride, officials wouldn't have been able to adequately accommodate riders and adhere to COVID-19...
O'Brien County Public Health will hold its first vaccination clinic for the general public on April 6. As of Wednesday morning, six time slots were still open. Individuals 18 years of age and older that would like to receive the first dose of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine are eligible to register. The clinic will be held at Crossroads Pavilion Event Center, 301 34th Ave., in Sheldon. Previous vaccination clinics were open only to individuals in certain qualifying professions and those older than...
Enrollment numbers at Clay Central/Everly need to improve or the district's budget will be much tighter next year, according to Superintendent Kevin Wood. The warning came March 24 during Wood's 2021-22 budget presentation to the school board. He noted CC/E's unspent authorized budget (UAB) is "staying pretty healthy," but warned that figure will start going down "in a hurry" if enrollment dips further. Wood is projecting an enrollment of 49 PK-6 grade students next year. Right now, the...
• Traffic Ricky J. Pulscher, Hospers, No Proof of Insurance. Fernando Alfredo Ramirez-Chilel, Worthington, Minn., Speeding. Ty R. Hollenbeck, Everly, No Proof of Insurance; Minor in Possession of Tobacco. Alan B. Herrera Santana, Grand Island, Neb., Speeding. Reynaldo Esteban Martinez Niz, Sibley, Speeding. Joshua James McPeek, Sheldon, Seatbelt Violation. Stewart G. Strubbe, Sanborn, Registration Violation. Nathan Kenneth Serr, Sanborn, Registration Violation. McKenzi Margaret Puhrmann, Paullina, Failure to Obey Stop Sign; No Proof of I...
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn turned in a silver medal performance during a recent statewide battle of wit. H-M-S had two teams compete in the Virtual Iowa Quiz Bowl Championships last Saturday. The varsity team comprised of Bennett Haack, Christian Voss, Sam Heyn and Brenton Thomas posted an overall record of 5-1 with wins over Chariton, Bishop Heelan, Rivermont, Logan-Magnolia and MVAOCOU. The Hawks fell to Des Moines Christian in the championship round to earn state runner-up in the Small School...
The end of the former Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn elementary school's usefulness as an educational facility is on the horizon, prompting discussion concerning its future by the board on March 15. Superintendent Patrick Carlin suggested two options for the building, which is housing H-M-S's middle school students while a new facility is under construction at Sanborn. The first is to demolish the building, most of which was built in 1936 along with an addition in 1955. If that were to occur, the...
Planners of Hartley's new pool should know its precise location soon. A land survey of Neebel Park is slated to take place this month to pinpoint the layout of the future pool. It was hoped to take place last week, according to project manager Michael Fisher, but snow cover made that impossible. Once the fieldwork is complete, planning will move forward in earnest. The design team was scheduled to meet with the pool committee Monday evening to present some of the components of the project and...
Every adult Iowan who wants a COVID-19 vaccine will be eligible to receive one starting April 5. Gov. Kim Reynolds made the announcement March 17 during her weekly news conference. The governor noted the White House believes vaccine shipments to Iowa will double from about 100,000 per week to about 200,000 per week soon, which prompted the eligibility expansion. Currently, those age 65 and older, individuals in certain occupations, and people 64 and under with pre-existing medical conditions...
COVID-19 positivity rates climbed in Clay County and decreased in O'Brien County during the past week. Clay County's seven-day positivity rate climbed from 9 percent on March 16 to 12 percent on March 23. O'Brien County was down from 11 percent to 6 percent during that same time period. Statewide, the state's seven-day rate was up from 4.2 percent to 4.3 percent. Coronavirus-related deaths were unchanged in O'Brien and Clay counties at 58 and 25, respectively. Those numbers have been the same...
• Traffic Cole Thomas Stofferan, Sheldon, Registration Violation. Jasmine Marie Heithus, LeMars, Speeding. Matthew David Steffl, North Branch, Minn., Speeding. Ali Jean Jinkinson, LeMars, No Proof of Insurance. Keaton Reed Sampson, Primghar, Speeding. Jason Wayne Johansen, Spencer, Speeding. Shawn Rutzen, Sheldon, Driving With Obstructed View. Keegan Douglas Driggs, Sheldon, Registration Violation. Jose L. Guzman, South Sioux City, Neb., Speeding. Gregory R. Lear, Spencer, Use of Electronic Device. Allan Robert Langfitt, Jr., Lennox, S.D., S...
Two administrators at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Community School will be leaving the district at the end of the 2020-21 school year. Mark Dorhout, who has been middle school principal at H-M-S since 2004, has accepted a middle school science teaching position at the Panorama Community School District in Panora. Dorhout had been a science teacher prior to becoming an administrator. Elementary Principal Cathy Jochims is retiring at the end of the current school year. She has served in that role at H-...
Everly Mayor Brad Behrens is hoping a city-led committee can replace the impending void left by the Commercial Club. Behrens on Monday told the council he would like to see the city establish a committee that would help organize community events and oversee remaining monies left by the Commercial Club. The 107-year-old group, which is in the process of dissolving due to low membership and a lack of local interest, met earlier this month and agreed to proceed with disbanding. According to...
Royal residents will soon be informed about emergencies affecting their water service through an alert system operated by the community’s water provider. City council members learned on March 10 that Iowa Lakes Regional Water has an automated calling system that alerts customers in situations such as service interruptions or boil advisories. Mayor Josh Toft said the call alerts would eliminate the need for the city to physically place notices of water-related service issues on the doors of all 209 residences. According to discussion, the c...
Plans for a redesigned water tower in Hartley are up in the air. The city council on March 8 tabled a decision on changes until next month. The redesign's price tag was too high for some council members, who had previously agreed to revamp the structure. "I agree with changing it, but not the price," said Council Member Ron Hengeveld. "It's too much." The city has a maintenance contract with Suez worth $17,500 each year. Included in that price is a 10-year painting agreement. The water tower...
You can't get rid of Old Man Winter that easy. Denizens of northwest Iowa were reminded which season it is on Monday when a winter stormed dumped nearly half a foot of snow on some parts of the region. The wet, heavy white stuff made for strenuous scooping, and snowflakes continued to fall during most of the day on Tuesday. Accumulation on Monday varied across the region, according to the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls. Everly and Sheldon tallied 5" and 5.5", respectively, while Lake...
COVID-19 positivity rates in O'Brien and Clay counties continued to climb over the past week. O'Brien County's seven-day growth was the highest, increasing from 8 percent on March 9 to 11 percent on March 16. Clay County's positivity rate increased from 8 percent to 9 percent over that same timeframe. Overall, the state's seven-day rate was 4.2 percent, up from 3.9 percent a week ago. Coronavirus-related deaths were unchanged in O'Brien and Clay counties at 58 and 25, respectively. Those...
• Traffic Jesus Munoz, Sioux City, Speeding. Anthony James Klave, Paullina, No Proof of Insurance. Umer Kassim Osman, Minneapolis, Minn., Speeding. Emily Catherine Roghair, Sioux Center, No Proof of Insurance. Alex J. Fischer, Paullina, No Proof of Insurance. Troy Arnold Deling, Armstrong, Improper Passing. Anthony Charles Cole, Fremont, Neb., Speeding. Jennifer Louise Jahner, Sheldon, No Valid Driver’s License. Cole Thomas Stofferan, Sheldon, No Proof of Insurance. Nicole Lynn Campbell, Peterson, Speeding. Brandon Marquis Miles, Sheldon, No...
Clay County Public Health still isn't having trouble finding arms for the limited doses of COVID-19 vaccine it receives each week. Department Coordinator Colette Rossiter said rollout has continued to progress as fast as possible this month. With more Iowans eligible to receive a shot, demand has only continued to increase. She stressed patience as the nation's vaccine supply builds and more doses become available to the greater public. She also noted that even though more Iowans are inoculated...