Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Sorted by date Results 1101 - 1125 of 1379
H-M-S Music Boosters fundraiser The Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Music Boosters are holding a mattress fundraiser on Saturday, March 20. Every purchase benefits the boosters and the school music trip to Nashville. The fundraiser will be held from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., at the H-M-S Event Center. H-M-S menus Monday, March 22: Breakfast – Cereal, pop tarts (9-12), fruit, juice; Lunch – Mini corndogs, chips (9-12), baked beans, baby carrots, mixed fruit. Tuesday, March 23: Breakfast – Apple frudel, fruit, juice; Lunch – Maid-rites/bun, French fries, broccol...
Local kids looking to cool off this summer won't be able to take a dip in Hartley. The city council on Monday agreed to keep the pool closed in 2021 to accommodate construction of a new aquatic center. Voters overwhelmingly approved a bond issue last week to partially finance the facility, and city officials want to get things moving as soon as possible. "If we're going to be aggressive, we're not going to have a pool season," said Council Member Ron Hengeveld. Increased construction costs were...
Hartley will recover February's natural gas surge prices by adding the expense to customers' bills during the next year. The city council on Monday agreed to add 24 cents per CCF to bills for the next 12 months. Doing so will allow the city to recoup gas price surges from February, which skyrocketed during the five-day polar vortex. "Everybody is doing something different, and there's not a perfect answer for the situation," said Superintendent of Public Works Jaron Benz. "It was such an odd...
More Iowans are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Effective March 8, Iowa vaccine providers were allowed to start vaccinating additional priority populations. Individuals 64 years of age and younger with medical conditions that are or may be an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 are now eligible. Conditions listed on the CDC's website include cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, obesity, Type 2 diabetes as well as several others. O'Brien County Public Health Director...
All households in the 51338 zip code will receive a special survey this spring as part of an Iowa State University research project. ISU Associate Professor Dr. David Peters met with the city council on March 2 to encourage Everly's participation in the survey, which is part of his class' research project. A questionnaire will be written and approved this month, and later distributed and analyzed in April. Results will be presented to the council in May. According to City Clerk Kristi Fliss,...
An upstart cross-state bike ride is facing an uphill climb. Iowa's Ride, which was established in 2019, was supposed to traverse the Hawkeye State from east to west last July on its inaugural trip. It was slated to pass through northwest Iowa with overnight stops in Emmetsburg, Sheldon and Rock Rapids, but the COVID-19 pandemic slammed the brakes on the event. The ride was postponed to the summer of 2021; however, speculation about its viability has grown significantly in recent months. The...
• Traffic Jeanne Hyatt, Des Moines, No Proof of Insurance; Registration Violation; Driving While Suspended. Kenneth Leroy Freudenburg, Council Bluffs, Dark Windows. Daniel DeJager, Sanborn, Registration Violation. Tony Lee Foxhoven, Primghar, Failure to Yield. Heath Donald Brown, Paullina, Speeding. Alexis Jane Longman, Hartley, Minor in Possession of Tobacco. Thomas Steven Geelan, Ruthven, Minor in Possession Alcohol. Joseph Charles McElroy, Ocheyedan, Failure to Obey Stop Sign. Montana D. Bartell, Stockton, Ill., Speeding. Dylan D. Miller, H...
Any doubts about support for a new pool in Hartley were crushed Tuesday. Voters in the City With a Heart overwhelmingly supported a $1.7 million bond issue that will partially finance construction of a new aquatic center. According to unofficial results, 84 percent of voters cast 'yes' ballots while only 16 percent voted against the measure. Pool campaign committee spokeswoman Jackie Stoltz said the group was ecstatic about the big victory. "The committee is really pleased with 84 percent," she...
A lack of members and community interest has a local club staring down its final days. The Everly Commercial Club will hold a meeting on March 9 to vote on disbanding. President Chris Dodd broached the topic with members last month, and most signaled a desire to dissolve the group. Dodd estimated only 20 people are currently members of the Commercial Club, which has existed in Everly since 1914. "It was predominantly business-oriented and focused on promoting our businesses here," he explained....
Greg Musch and Cathy Sweet-Musch have spent more than 20 years in Hartley, but the clock is winding down fast. The owners of Fiesta Foods will call it quits once doors lock at the local grocery store on March 31. The Musches have sold the business to Casey and Julie Conner, who also own stores in Lake Mills and Northwood. "We're experiencing every emotion right now," said Cathy. "We're getting cards in the mail from people, and we have people stopping us almost daily telling us how much they've...
Millions of Americans will feel the pinch of February's polar vortex when they open their gas bills this month, but residents in Everly can breathe easy. The Everly Municipal Utilities Board of Trustees last week decided to absorb price hikes for natural gas instead of passing the buck onto local consumers. Prices surged in mid-February due to complications at gas wells in Texas, which froze up during the record-setting cold snap that immobilized much of the Midwest. As the nation's natural gas...
Declining enrollment numbers were a topic of discussion Feb. 24 during the Clay Central/Everly school board meeting. Superintendent Kevin Wood provided an update on CC/E's PK-6 student population, which has seen enrollment dip from 82 during the 2019-20 school year to 73 this year. Wood told the board to start thinking about the lower numbers, which affect the amount of per-pupil financial aid CC/E receives from the state each year. Fewer students mean less money for the district. "I just wanted...
An order in Clay County requiring that people wear masks in public places when social distancing cannot be maintained has been lifted. The order was approved by the board of supervisors in December following a recommendation from the board of health and later. It stated that once the 14-day positivity rate was under 5 percent for two consecutive Sundays, the mask resolution would be lifted. As of Monday, the Clay County 14-day positivity rate for COVID-19 was 1.7 percent. The order will be...
• Traffic Jennifer Ann Schultz, Sheldon, Driving While Suspended. Kelsey Jo Daniels, Paullina, Passing School Bus. Brandon Michael Koch, Primghar, Driving While Suspended. Tejon Malik Conrad, Primghar, Driving While Suspended, 2 counts. Jeffrey G. Gerritson, Sheldon, Littering. Lisa Diana Hinojosa, Paullina, No Proof of Insurance; No Valid Driver’s License. James Daniel Casey, Ashton, Use of Electronic Device; Failure to Maintain Control. Daniel Jake Phillips, Cherokee, Speeding. Victor Jose Nunez Cintron, Hartley, Speeding. Tanner Dean Fje...
The need for a new pool in the City With a Heart is obvious to Jackie Stoltz. "It's important that our town be progressive and offer multiple things," said the Hartley woman, who served on the pool taskforce committee and is also helping raise funds for a new aquatic center. "We can't just sit back and do nothing. We have to move ahead and be progressive." Local voters will decide the fate of a $1.7 million bond issue on March 2 that, if passed, will finance more than half the cost to construct...
In response to Gov. Kim Reynolds' lifting of the statewide face covering mandate, the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Community School District has rescinded its requirement that they be worn whenever social distancing is not possible. The board on Feb. 17 voted 3-2 to follow the district's original return to learn plan, which includes mitigation strategies to limit the spread of the coronavirus within school facilities. The strategies include staying six feet from others as much as possible, frequent...
Kim Morran has to remind herself to breathe every now and then. The director of O'Brien County Public Health has been swamped over the past month during the initial rollout phases of the COVID-19 vaccine. There are plenty of arms to go around, but the vaccine supply has been limited. "It has been extremely busy and stressful," Morran said. "I only have one nurse and myself, and a secretary. We have utilized volunteers to assist in the office and for the larger clinics." O'Brien County is...
COVID-19 positivity rates continued a downward trend both locally and statewide over the past week. As of Wednesday morning, O'Brien County's seven-day positivity rate was 3 percent while Clay County's was 2 percent. Local 14-day positivity rates weren't available on the state's COVID-19 data website. Last week, O'Brien County's 14-day positivity rate was 5.9 percent while Clay County's was 6.9 percent. Statewide, the 14-day positivity rate was down from 7.5 percent to 4.1 percent....
The final sale of general obligation bonds to finance facilities construction and improvements is scheduled to be completed during the March 15 meeting of the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn school board. A resolution approving the process of selling $460,000 in bonds was approved on Feb. 17. The sale would complete the issuance of $18.9 million in bonds authorized by voters in 2018 to finance construction of new elementary and middle schools and renovations of the high school. The district is hoping int...
• Traffic Abigail R. Boone, Sheldon, Failure to Yield Right of Way to Pedestrians. Adam Larry Timmerman, Cherokee, Speeding. Jacob J. Schnider, Sheldon, Registration Violation. Alexander Todd Davis, Sheldon, Dark Windows. Evan Paul Schmidt, Marion, S.D., Registration Violation. Shelly L. Ohrt, Hartley, Seatbelt Violation. Matthew Lee Wallinga, Paullina, Registration Violation; No Proof of Insurance. Anthony Lane Fellers, Milford, Windshield Requirements Violation; Speeding. Tyler John DeBruin, Doon, No Valid Driver’s License. Drew Michael Mer...
Keith and Jackie Stoltz might count cans and bottles instead of sheep when they lie down at night. It wouldn't be surprising, because the Hartley couple counts plenty of them during the day. So far the Stoltzes have helped collect $20,356.65 in five-cent deposit refunds thanks to the can and bottle drop-off in downtown Hartley. All money raised from the recyclables is given to the city's new pool fund, which itself had a balance of $85,278.55 as of Tuesday afternoon. "People are still supporting...
The Everly City Council on Monday agreed to move forward with a review and update of the town’s ordinances. The last time ordinances received a lookover and refresh was in 2010. The city will work with Northwest Iowa Planning and Development to update rules and make changes where necessary over the coming year. The council, along with Mayor Brad Behrens, expressed interest in simplifying some ordinances if state law allows it. Some rules have no flexibility, as they are codified in Iowa law. “I hate doing this,” Behrens said of the updat...
Some folks might blame it on the groundhog, but the recent cold snap freezing northwest Iowa and the greater United States has only one culprit. The polar vortex paid the lower 48 a visit over the past week, plunging temps well below zero throughout the Midwest. Northwest Iowa wasn't spared and daily highs didn't surpass a goose egg during the coldest days. According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Sioux Falls, overnight wind chills on Feb. 15 dipped to -40 in Lake Park, -38 in Spencer...
COVID-19 positivity rates declined in both O'Brien and Clay counties last week, mirroring a downward trend statewide. As of Tuesday evening, O'Brien County's 14-day positivity rate was down from 6 percent the week before to 5.9 percent, while Clay County's was down to 6.9 percent from 8 percent over the same time period. The statewide positivity rate was down from 8.6 percent to 7.5 percent. Coronavirus-related deaths were up one in Clay County to 25 and up four in O'Brien County to 58. There...
If slow and steady wins the race, Clay County Public Health officials are more than ready to run a marathon. Rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine has entered its second full month. While the pace has been slow, there hasn't been a shortage of arms for the shots that have been allocated to Clay County. Colette Rossiter, Clay County Public Health coordinator, is looking forward to getting many more people inoculated in the coming months. While some residents might be growing anxious about when their...
