02/17/22: Community Calendar

Next Hartley blood drive is Feb. 23

A donation of blood during the upcoming drive in Hartley on Wednesday, Feb. 23, will help save someone in the community. New donors are especially needed at this time.

Blood can be donated at the Hartley Community Center from 12:30-5:30 p.m. Appointments are required in order to give blood. To schedule one, text LIFESERVE to 999-777, call (800) 287-4903 or visit lifeservebloodcenter.org.

Turkey dinner at Red’s Catering

Red’s Catering in downtown Hartley will be serving a turkey dinner on Wednesday, Feb. 23 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Pick up in the front. See the ad on Page 5 for more details.

VITA tax site available in Spencer

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Clay County continues to offer free tax preparation and electronic filing for low-to-moderate income Iowans through the IRS VITA program.

Staff members Sarah Dirks and Michele Hogrefe are trained, tested and certified VITA volunteers for Clay County. Their office is located in Spencer.

Appointments are required and are still available Feb. 17, March 3 and March 17. To schedule an appointment, call (712) 262-2264.

Food pantry at Hope Lutheran

Current hours for the food pantry at Hope Lutheran Church in Everly are Wednesdays, 1-5 p.m. Everyone is allowed to come in and pick out their food, but masks are required.

Foster/adoptive support group begins Feb. 21

Seasons Center for Behavioral Health will begin offering a foster, adoptive and kinship support group at their Family Support Center. The first support group opportunity will take place on Monday, Feb. 21 from 7-8:30 p.m. The Family Support Center is located at 147 South Main in Sioux Center.

The support group will be an informal get together with time for questions, conversations and new connections. It will be hosted by Family Support Center Permanency Support Specialist Sherri Huizenga and Family Support Therapist Jennifer Kooiker.

H-M-S menus

Monday, Feb. 21: Breakfast – Cereal, pop tarts (9-12), fruit, juice; Lunch – Popcorn chicken, mashed potatoes, cooked carrots, breadstick, mixed fruit.

Tuesday, Feb. 22: Breakfast – Mini cinnis, fruit, juice; Lunch – Hamburger/bun, chips, baked beans, cucumbers, applesauce.

Wednesday, Feb. 23: Breakfast – Breakfast pizza, fruit, juice; Lunch – Taco in bag, lettuce/cheese, diced tomatoes, red peppers, green beans, rice (9-12), grapes.

Thursday, Feb. 24: Breakfast – Waffles, fruit, juice; Lunch – Pork chop patty, mashed potatoes, corn, roll (9-12), pears.

Friday, Feb. 25: Breakfast – Donut, fruit, juice: Lunch – French bread pizza, romaine salad, tomatoes, oranges.

Milk served with each meal. Fruit/veggie bar served with lunch.

CC/E menus

Monday, Feb. 21: No School – President’s Day.

Tuesday, Feb. 22: No School – Staff Inservice.

Wednesday, Feb. 23: Breakfast – Pancake, cereal, toast, fruit, juice, yogurt; Lunch – Pizza pocket, tossed salad, applesauce.

Thursday, Feb. 24: Breakfast – French toast sticks, cereal, toast, fruit, juice, yogurt; Lunch – Chicken patty on bun, baked beans, banana.

Friday, Feb. 25: Breakfast – Donut, cereal, toast, fruit, juice, yogurt; Lunch – Popcorn chicken, baby carrots, peaches.

Milk is served with each meal. Menus are subject to change at any time.

‘The Nickel Boys’ is February book club selection

Between the Covers is discussing “The Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead in February. They will meet in the front room of the Hartley Public Library at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 22.

In this Pulitzer Prize-winning follow-up to “The Underground Railroad,” Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys unjustly sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida.

When Elwood Curtis, a black boy growing up in 1960s Tallahassee, is unfairly sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, he finds himself trapped in a grotesque chamber of horrors. Elwood’s only salvation is his friendship with fellow “delinquent” Turner, which deepens despite Turner’s conviction that Elwood is hopelessly naive, that the world is crooked and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble. As life at the Academy becomes ever more perilous, the tension between Elwood’s ideals and Turner’s skepticism leads to a decision whose repercussions will echo down the decades.

Based on the history of a real reform school in Florida that operated for 111 years and warped and destroyed the lives of thousands of children, “The Nickel Boys” is a devastating, driven narrative by a great American novelist whose work is essential to understanding the current reality of the United States.

Newcomers are welcome to the 2022 Between the Covers Book Club. Stop at the library today to pick up your copy of “The Nickel Boys.”

Author to discuss new book at HPL

Local author Roger Stoner will be having a discussion of his new book, “An Unfortunate War: The Sioux Uprising of 1862,” and conducting a book signing at the Hartley Public Library at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26.

Stoner was a columnist for 15-1/2 years and has published several historical novels after a grade school field trip to the Gardner Cabin on West Lake Okoboji, where he learned the frightening tale of the violence which is commonly known as “The Spirit Lake Massacre.” His short stories have been published in anthologies about growing up in small towns in the Midwest, including “Knee High by the Fourth of July,” “Amber Waves of Grain” and “True Cow Tales.” He has also had magazine articles published in “Fishing & Hunting Iowa” and “Successful Farming.”

“An Unfortunate War” describes the events leading up to the Sioux Uprising of 1862 and the aftermath. The story begins by telling the story of how the United States government acquired the lands occupied by the Dakotah (Santee Sioux) people during the first half of the 19th Century. The focus is on the series of treaties that were negotiated with the Santee people which systematically purchased their ancestral homelands. With each new treaty they retained less and less terrain upon which to make even a subsistence living. Excessive dependence upon annuity payments promised in the treaties was the result.

Against the sweeping backdrop of a rapidly expanding nation, “An Unfortunate War” explains the idiosyncrasies associated with the United States government policies toward the original Americans living in southern Minnesota. Unrest due to these policies caused an uprising leading to “An Unfortunate War.”

Healthy cooking workshops to be held at Paullina

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will host two different “Healthy & Homemade” programs on March 3 and March 10, from 6-8 p.m. in the Lau Room of the Paullina City Hall.

Many people find it challenging to prepare healthy meals. Several factors, including a lack of time, money and/or experience in the kitchen, can contribute to this challenge. These “Healthy & Homemade” workshops will help participants learn ways to overcome these challenges.

“If you’re looking for ideas on how to eat healthy and make the most of the time you spend in the kitchen, this workshop series is for you,” said Renee Sweers, Extension human sciences specialist in food and health.

The “Healthy & Homemade” programs hosted in Paullina will include:

• Thursday, March 3, 6-8 p.m. - Slow Cooker Meals. Explore the basics of using the slow cooker, food safety tips and meal ideas.

• Thursday, March 10, 6-8 p.m. - Cook Now, Enjoy Later. Discover how planning can reduce stress, save money and help you provide your family with nutritious home-cooked meals.

Recipes, tastings and hands-on activities are included with each program.

According to Sweers, cooking at home can be a way to save money, eat healthy and reduce the risk of chronic disease. Studies have shown that meals cooked at home tend to be healthier.

Participants can choose to attend one or both sessions. Registration fee is $10 per session, which includes food tastings, recipes and hands-on resources. Preregistration is required to plan for food and materials. Preregister for one or both sessions online at https://go.iastate.edu/BDPAT2.

For assistance registering or more information, call the O’Brien County Extension office at (712) 957-5045.

Blood drive Feb. 21 at Spencer

LifeServe Blood Center is conducting a drive at Southpark Mall, 901 11th Street SW in Spencer, on Monday, Feb. 21, from 1-4 p.m.

Appointments are required. Schedule a donation appointment online at lifeservebloodcenter.org or call (800) 287-4903.

Regular hours at Royal library

Hours at the Royal Public Library are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 3-5 p.m .; and Tuesday and Saturday, 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Virtual ‘Your Money, Your Goals’ offered Feb. 23

A four-hour “Your Money, Your Goals” program to help frontline workers assist clients who are facing financial challenges will be held virtually on Wednesday, Feb. 23, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. and 1-3 p.m.

When money worries and challenges become overwhelming, many people become unable to see beyond their immediate crisis and soon other parts of their life begin to fall through the cracks. During this virtual training, frontline workers – service providers, clergy members, volunteers or anyone interested in helping others – will gain resources and tools to help their clients take steps toward financial stability and self-sufficiency.

According to Carol Ehlers, Extension human sciences specialist in family wellbeing, research shows that economic barriers prevent many people, particularly in low-income households, from managing daily tasks and challenges, and can negatively affect their ability to plan for the future. They can become so overwhelmed by their money worries and challenges that they don’t have the capacity to perform basic functions.

The sessions feature a toolkit developed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Participants learn about tools and resources to help others understand their financial values, how to use credit wisely, manage debt effectively and access appropriate community resources.

To register for this virtual program, visit http://www.extension.iastate.edu/humansciences/your-money-goals. The registration fee is $35 and the registration deadline is Feb. 21.

Regional pork conference at Orange City

The Iowa Pork Producers Association invites the state’s pig farmers to attend one of four Iowa Pork Regional Conferences being held in February. The events are being held at different locations from Feb. 21-24.

In addition to the regional conference program that runs from 1-5 p.m. each day, a separate morning session from 9 a.m.-noon will provide Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) Plus training. The PQA Plus training is sponsored by IPPA and provided by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

There are four topics for the afternoon sessions on swine health, economic issues, marketing opportunities and Extension resources for pig farmers.

In this area, a conference will be held Monday, Feb. 21 in Orange City at the Sioux County Extension Office, 400 Central Ave. NW, Suite 700

Dr. Chris Rademacher, of the Iowa Pork Industry Center, will provide an update on current swine health issues, such as PRRS, E. Coli, African swine fever, vaccines and biosecurity. Extension Livestock Economist Dr. Lee Schulz will give an overview of some economic decision tools that ISU has developed for pig farmers, including tools coming from the Pig Survivability project. Joe Kerns, Partners for Production Agriculture, will review grain and livestock markets, layered over weather and trade situations that may offer opportunities to save on your feed budget and take advantage of greater pork demand. And there will be a review of decision-making tools that Extension swine specialists can provide to solve production problems and other issues on your pig farm.

Check-in starts 30 minutes before the start of the conference. Pre-register for the conference and/or PQA Plus certification training to ensure adequate materials are available. To pre-register either go online to IowaPork.org/IPPA-Regional-Conferences; call IPPA at (800) 372-7675; or email [email protected].

3 local Al Anon meetings scheduled

Al Anon meetings are held at the following locations each week:

Wednesday, 8 p.m., 511 Southmoor, Spencer; Thursday, 8 p.m., Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Royal; Sunday, 7 p.m., Sanford Medical Center, 118 N 7th Ave., Sheldon.

All are welcome to attend.