Fridley Theatre’s plans to expand, enhance, and rebrand the Southpark 7 movie theater in Spencer are moving along quickly, said company president Russell Vanorsdel during an April 19 tour of the facility.

WASHINGTON — Spencer Municipal Utilities has earned the American Public Power Association’s Safety Award of Excellence for safe operating practices in 2023. The utility earned a gold award in the category for utilities with 30,000 to 59,999 worker-hours of annual worker exposure.

The 28th annual Rodders Swap Meet returns to the Clay County Fairgrounds bright and early next Sunday when gates open at 6 a.m. Organized by Denny Houseman. All vendors are welcome, with no preregistration required. Participating vendors are expected to set up between 2-7 p.m., Saturday, April 27.

Iowa Great Lakes Lutheran School hosted a three-day celebration commemorating the school’s 25th anniversary. One of the most popular youth-targeted events was conducted Saturday morning in the school’s gym where students and families gathered together for the carnival. Games of skill and chance, bouncy houses and obstacle courses, a cake walk and photo opportunities made for a fun event — in the midst of a breakfast in the gathering area of the attached First English Lutheran Church.

Four young ladies will compete for the title of Clay County Fair Queen on Sunday, April 28, at the Clay County Regional Events Center. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Clay County Fair Queen Contest.

Spencer, Sioux Central and Okoboji high schools all hosted their spring proms Saturday night. While the exciting evening often includes nice meals, a grand march, music and dancing, snacks, and an a fun late night after-prom. But beforehand is when the magic happens — preparation for the big night and pictures with a date, family and friends.

Every Monday and Friday — 1 p.m.

Geri-Fit: Senior Chair Fitness — Limited space available.

Every Tuesday — 5:30 p.m.

Just Write — All ages can come to the library for a quiet place to work on their writing. An hour of quiet and then go or stay to visit with other writers. A great opportunity to get your writing done and meet other writers.

April 1-30

Clay County Community Foundation’s mission statement reads, “Connecting donors who care with causes that matter.” In the case of most of these grants presented, the “donor” is the state of Iowa. In 2005, any county that did not have a licensed gaming facility was offered the chance to share in that revenue by forming a county foundation, which Clay County did. Seventy-five percent of those dollars allocated to us from the State each year are distributed in the form of grants to nonprofits.

Supporters of the Clay County Fair Charitable Foundation enjoyed an evening of food, fun and silent auction bidding in an effort to generate supportive dollars at the Farm to Fork FUNdraiser Thursday night, filling the Clay County Regional Events Center ballroom. The $100 ticket, with all proceeds going to the foundation to support special fair projects, included a bottle of wine on each specially decorated table.

Janzen’s Greenhouse

2401 Albion Avenue, Fairmont, MN

Hours: M-F 9-6 • Sat -Sun 9-5

Sunday 12-5

Kandi’s Flower Market

3939 300th St, Graettinger, IA 51342

Hours: Check Facebook page for

hours each week

The Flower Market

516 County Highway 34, Jackson, MN 56143

Hours: Weekdays 8-6 Saturday 8-4 Sundays 12-4

The Willow Tree Garden Center

Most folks don’t get to spend their days watching birds, identifying native plants and looking at animal tracks. But Clay County Naturalist Brianne Blom has made a career exploring the natural world and teaching others to appreciate nature.

DES MOINES — The Iowa Department of Education recently awarded more than $1.7 million in competitive grants to 20 Iowa school districts — including Spencer — focused on aligning secondary career and technical education programs with student attainment of industry-recognized credentials.

Marking the beginning of its 18th year of serving area families and children dealing with serious medical conditions, Shayla Bee announced tickets for its largest fundraiser of the year, the Black Tie Black Leather Affair, went on sale, less than a week after the organization recognized its anniversary.

FOSTORIA — Twenty-nine-year-old Dustin Sargent was stopped and taken into custody at 7:30 p.m., April 16, on an active Humbolt County warrant out of Nebraska for third-degree sexual assault involving a child.

Sargent, who was arrested in the 200 block of NW First Street and transported by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office to the county jail where he was detained for another agency.

MILFORD — At approximately 3 a.m., Tuesday, the Milford Fire Department was paged to an apartment building at 1022 Okoboji Ave. — U.S. Highway 71 — in Milford following the report of smoke.

While en route, responders were informed that law enforcement had found a fire in the laundry room and used extinguishers. Once they believed they had it out, officers began evacuating the residents.