Spencer Community School District is participating in the Summer Food Service Program beginning June 5 and continuing through mid-August. Meals will be provided to all children without charge and are the same for all children regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability on a first come, first serve basis. Starting June 5, lunch will be served at Johnson and Fairview schools from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The Spencer Municipal Band will begin rehearsals for its summer season Tuesday, June 6, at 7 p.m., in the band room at the Spencer Middle School. Additional rehearsals will continue on June 13, 20 and 27. The band is supported by the city of Spencer and Spencer Schools and welcomes anyone who has played an instrument in high school to join them.

BOOKED INTO CLAY COUNTY JAIL

The Spencer Community School District may allow students from Iowa Great Lakes Lutheran School to participate in Spencer Middle School activities. The decision was briefly discussed at the Spencer School Board meeting on Tuesday, though action was tabled until the board’s next meeting.

The Spencer Art Alliance announced the dates for the five arts, farmer’s market and entertainment events in the summer of 2023. Mainstreet Market will run five consecutive Thursday evenings, in July and August and one additional date in September.

Construction for Spencer Hospital’s emergency department expansion is well underway, and hospital officials provided an official update on its progress. The hospital anticipates the work to be completed by late 2024 or early 2025.

The Spencer Hospital board of trustees approved the expansion project in August of 2022 and awarded the bid to L&L Builders. Work began last September, though weather conditions caused some setbacks.

Three rural clinics of Spencer Hospital in Hartley, Milford and Sioux Rapids will eventually transition into federally qualified health centers. The action was approved by the Spencer Hospital board of trustees on Thursday with the hopes of increasing health care access throughout the region.

The Spencer Fire Department was part of a team that helped put out a barn fire in Fostoria this Thursday. The Fire Department received a phone call at approximately 12:15 p.m. about a fire on 180th Avenue in Clay County. Assisting fire departments from Fostoria and Everly, the fire was subdued and the Spencer crew left at approximately 2 p.m. More information to come. (Photo by Celia Brocker)

Fourth graders of Sacred Heart Catholic School and Iowa Great Lakes Lutheran School received a special presentation Tuesday. Erik Erikson from the Spencer Americans with Disabilities Act Council stopped by Sacred Heart to teach the students about living with a disability.

“I love doing this,” Erikson said about speaking to the kids. “I don’t want the kids to feel sorry for me, I just want the message to be that it’s OK to be different.”

Historical video interviews part of Occasions programming

Occasions is now offering video interviews of Spencer citizens on Fridays at 1 p.m. The 52 DVD interviews are part of a project that LuAnn Cunningham and the Parker Museum produced in honor of the state of Iowa’s 150th birthday.

Feel the energy of hundreds of amazing student performers, representing 90 participating Iowa high schools, as they share highlights from their award-winning school musicals during the 2023 Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards Showcase. Iowa PBS is proud to present an exclusive livestream of the full event on iowapbs.org on Thursday, June 1, at 7 p.m. A two-hour highlights special will air Friday, July 14, at 8:30 p.m. and be rebroadcast Sunday, July 16, at 1 p.m.

YANKTON, S.D. — Mount Marty University in Yankton, South Dakota, is pleased to announce the spring 2023 dean's list honorees. A dean's list honoree at Mount Marty University is defined as a full-time undergraduate student completing a full-time load of graded coursework with a minimum term GPA of 3.5. The list includes Jacob Kueny, of Rembrandt.

The first place posters in this year's ADA Poster Contest were displayed at both Spencer Public Library and Arts on Grand after the winners were selected. (Posters submitted)

An official ribbon cutting and first donation with the Spencer Chamber Ambassadors on Tuesday morning for a pop tab house part of a No Boundaries project at Spencer Community Schools. The project, “Calling All Pop Tabs,” worked to create a Ronald McDonald Pop Tab House starting with the journey of KinderKids student Zeke Bieber and the No Boundaries team. Donation houses will be available the Spencer High School and public library. (Photo submitted)

Due to the Memorial Day holiday, production of next week's first edition of the Spencer Reporter will be moved back one day, and delivery will occur on Wednesday, May 31. The Friday edition will be published as normal. Please note that this will also be the case with the first edition of the week during the July 4 week and Labor Day week. Distribution will also be on Wednesday that week.