What a year

Though in-person events may have been few and far between this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 still had plenty of storylines.

The biggest ones revolved around buildings – Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn's new elementary school opened, Clay Central/Everly sold its former 7-12 grade building and a grain elevator exploded in Royal. Also gracing the pages of the Sentinel-News were more heartwarming stories, like the one detailing a viral video of the late Bonnie Linder's wave to school children in March.

To put it lightly, 2020 was an interesting year filled with highlights and lowlights. The following is a brief rundown of the biggest storylines to fill the Sentinel-News during the last 365 days.

• Caucus craziness

Iowans were taken for a ride in February thanks to convoluted caucus results.

It took several days before a winner of the Democratic Party's presidential caucus was declared. When the dust settled, Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., won 14 national delegates Feb. 3 during the quadrennial event. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders landed 12, while Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren won eight. Former Vice President Joe Biden and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar brought up the rear with six and one, respectively.

Results were significantly delayed after an app used to report precinct totals crashed. Phone lines to party headquarters in Des Moines also clogged up as the night dragged on, and eventually the Iowa Democratic Party was forced to manually verify results from nearly 1,700 precinct locations.

Despite two challengers, incumbent President Donald Trump won the Republican Party's caucus with 97 percent of the vote.

• Stoplight Lounge closes

Thirsty Hartleyites were left with one less watering hole in 2020.

Stoplight Lounge owner Rachel Crist locked up the bar and restaurant for the final time on Feb. 29. Crist closed the local staple to focus on a new career in nursing.

"I think it's going to be a mix of emotions, honestly," Crist said. "It's all I've known my whole life because we've always had it, and it's been such a huge part of my life."

The Stoplight Lounge was a family affair. Crist's father, Roger "Crispy" Crist, opened the business with John Korenberg in 1972 after gutting and renovating the building, which previously served as Hartley's library and post office. Eventually, he bought out Korenberg and took sole possession of the business.

Crispy ran the Stoplight Lounge for three decades before a triple bypass surgery sent him to the sidelines. His daughter took over and grabbed the reins full time.

• Quiz bowlers flex brains

It was in doubt at times, but perseverance paid off in a big way for the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn quiz bowl team in early March.

The group capped a month-long effort with a first place finish in the KCAU-TV tournament. The Hawks hoped the win would earn them an invitation to the national competition, but the COVID-19 pandemic eventually shelved it.

"It was pretty exciting to win it all," said senior Sam Haack.

The win marked the first time in school history an H-M-S team has won the KCAU tournament. The month-long competition began with a qualifier contest in early February and gradually progressed to the championship. All matches were broadcast on the ABC affiliate in May, June and July.

• Hartley woman's birthday wave earns internet fame

The late Bonnie Linder's ever-present smile stretched a little wider in mid-March thanks to some warmhearted Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn students.

Each morning the rural Hartley woman waved to a passing H-M-S school bus from her farmhouse's front porch. Students enjoyed waving back, too, and on one Friday in March they had a special surprise.

Bus driver Jerry Olson stopped the vehicle to let the children wish Linder a happy 93rd birthday by shouting it from the opened windows. The moment was caught on camera thanks to Linder's daughter, Judy Zimmerman, who posted the clip to the Facebook page "I grew up in Iowa!" It was subsequently viewed millions of times on a variety of social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter.

"It's way above and beyond on me," Linder said of her unexpected fame. "[The comments] were coming so fast it was hard to keep up with everything. I'm so dumb with all that computer stuff and I gave up a long time ago, so my girls were showing me everything."

Linder died on Nov. 19 at her home in rural Hartley, surrounded by her children.

• Movin' on up

With classes dismissed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, staff at H-M-S Elementary didn't let opportunity go to waste.

Teachers, custodians, aides and administrators joined forces in May to pack up the building in preparation of the impending move to a new building. The timeline was sped up due to the absence of students, which created a brief rush to get things out.

"We anticipated working on it between now and June," said Elementary Principal Cathy Jochims. "When the middle school project sped up, we had to do it now."

Grades 5-8 are now being housed in the former elementary building for one year while the district completes massive upgrades and additions to the middle school in Sanborn.

• Feenstra wins crowded District 4 race

The June 2 primary election yielded an unprecedented result.

For the first time in 18 years, incumbent District 4 Republican Rep. Steve King found himself on the losing end of the ballot. He lost by 10 points to Randy Feenstra, a Republican from Hull who represented District 2 in the Iowa State Senate.

King tallied 36 percent of the vote, while former Woodbury County Supervisor Jeremy Taylor pulled 8 percent. Ex-Irwin mayor Bret Richards garnered 7 percent and Arnolds Park businessman Steve Reeder won 3 percent.

Feenstra went on to defeat Democrat J.D. Scholten in the November general election.

• Protestors March in Spencer to honor George Floyd

Hundreds of protestors made their voices heard loud and clear June 4 in Spencer.

Between 400-500 people descended on the Clay County seat to march down Grand Avenue in honor of George Floyd, who died at the hands of Minneapolis police on Memorial Day. Though tensions in Spencer were high prior to the event due to rioting and looting seen elsewhere across the country, the event was peaceful. No arrests were made and law enforcement worked with organizers during the planning process.

Participants started at East Leach Park before embarking down Grand Avenue to the police station. Many held signs and shouted chants demanding justice for Floyd's death.

• H-M-S Middle School comes down

The Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Middle School had its date with an excavator in mid-July.

A majority of the school was demolished to make way for new additions and other upgrades. The revamped facility is slated to reopen to 5-8 grade students sometime in 2021.

Middle school Principal Mark Dorhout was on hand July 13 to watch the demolition. Like many onlookers, Dorhout admitted the moment was a bittersweet cocktail of old memories and future optimism.

"I'm just really excited," he said. "There's a little bit of nostalgia, but I'm just looking forward to the opportunities that the new building is going to have. It's going to be great."

The largest portions were built in the 1930s and 1950s, and much of the internal infrastructure like plumbing and the boiler heating system were starting to deteriorate. A lack of handicap accessibility was also a big problem at the middle school.

• Former CC/E school sold

For the first time in its existence, the former Clay Central/Everly 7-12 grade building got new owners this year.

The school board in July agreed to sell the facility to Guardian Educational & Athletic Services (GEA) for $5,000. GEA intends to transform the former school into an "intermediate college program," according to one of the group's founders, Brent Koppie, with a soft opening planned in the spring 2021 semester with around 10 students. A hard opening would follow in the fall of 2021 with between 36-60 students, and if capacity goals are met within the first year of operation, the next goal would include expansion of facilities and staff to accommodate up to 100 students per year.

According to GEA's business plan, the firm intends to create a "post-secondary program aimed at athletes who wish to continue their athletic careers while continuing their education." Koppie said GEA would cap enrollment at around 100 students, as the facility is geared towards a small learning environment. Portions of the building will be renovated into dormitories to house students as well.

• H-M-S cuts ribbon on new school

Following more than a year of construction, H-M-S elementary students were able to enjoy their new school in Hartley in 2020.

The ribbon was cut during a special ceremony in August. The event recognized those who helped make the dream of a 21st Century educational facility a reality. They included the committee that helped get the $18.9 million bond issue passed in the spring of 2018 and the district's administration and staff.

"We're excited to get the kids in the building and get things started," said Superintendent Patrick Carlin.

After Board President Scott Heetland officially cut the ribbon, those who were present for the event were invited to tour the new facility. It was noted that the "pod" layout is a new concept in school construction that allows for greater collaboration among staff and more flexibility for small and large group instruction.

• Grain elevator explodes in Royal

A quiet summer afternoon in Royal quickly transformed into a crisis situation Aug. 25 that drew in emergency personnel from across the area.

At approximately 3:15 p.m., an explosion occurred in one of Ag Partner's cement elevators on the north side of Royal. The blast could be heard across town and scattered debris throughout the area immediately surrounding Ag Partners.

Royal resident Rich Green was on Main Street at the gas station when the explosion occurred. He said 'the whole building shook' and immediately ran outside to investigate the commotion.

"All I could see was this big flame," he said. "The explosion shook the whole town. First, there was this squealing noise, then two loud booms. It sounded like a double-barreled shotgun going off, both triggers pulled."

Ag Partners chalked up the explosion to "a grain dust incident." The elevator was eventually demolished in December.

• City acquires dilapidated theater

The City of Hartley became the owner of a sizeable portion of downtown real estate this fall.

The council in September agreed to acquire the former Capitol Theatre building on Central Avenue from Dwight and Darla Jacobs, of Spirit Lake. The arrangement ended months of legal wrangling, which began last year after the council declared the dilapidated former theater a dangerous building on the advice of county-level health officials.

The city council was hesitant about the move. With no options for restoration, it will have to be razed. A previous estimate pegged demolition expenses at around $130,000.

The council has not discussed the issue since September.

• Industrial park nearly complete

Hartley's new industrial park was constructed this year along the west side of town.

Construction started in the spring with groundwork and progressed rapidly throughout the summer. Cement roads were poured in September, and very little work remains once things thaw out in the springtime.

The new industrial park is located directly west of Grace Fellowship on Highway 18. Its construction was prompted by a lack of space in Hartley, as the current industrial park located on the southeast side of town is near capacity.

The project's price tag is estimated at $1.1-$1.3 million. The area has been divided into nine lots – the largest encompasses 3.56 acres and the smallest occupies 0.83 acres. The city is using tax increment financing (TIF) funds to pay for some of the development expenses.