Spencer Main Street will be kick off the Christmas season with its Grand Meander holiday tradition on Monday, Dec. 5, from 5-7 p.m. Families will be welcome to take a stroll downtown and take part in holiday-themed activities provided.

“For this, people can meander down the street or pop inside the stores and see what’s happening,” Main Street Director Nancy Naeve said. “There is so much to see and do.”

BOOKED INTO CLAY COUNTY JAIL

Taking advantage of the early holiday weekend crowds in downtown Spencer, young members of the Shayla Bee family hosted a craft and bake sale at KOLJ on Grand Avenue. The fundraisers generated more that $420 for the local children’s charity in a short period of time. Shayla Bee provides financial and emotional support to nominated families throughout northwest Iowa who find themselves with children facing medical challenges. The local nonprofit has assisted more than 200 families.

Santa Claus made his official arrival in Spencer on Black Friday, setting up shop at the Southpark Mall where he met with children all weekend to receive Christmas wishes and distribute candy canes to his visitors. The holiday weekend appearance is Santa’s first of many this holiday season at various venues and events. Additionally, the Spencer Reporter will partner with Santa for its annual Letters to Santa collection at its 310 E. Milwaukee drop off site.

A Spencer-area holiday staple, the Holiday Family Adoption Program allows generous families, businesses and service groups to share the holiday spirit and bounty. Thanks to the generosity of families and businesses, area families will be gifted with items to help make this Christmas season a little bit brighter.

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Did you ever try to win back the money that you had recently lost?

Have you tried to cut down or stop your gambling?

EVERLY — Friday evening, an evening of holiday activities will be hosted inside the Hap Ketelsen Community Center, in Everly, as the facility is transformed into a Winter Wonderland from 5-7:30 p.m. A freewill offering will be provided by The Friends of the Everly Public Library The evening will include a Festival of Trees, a bake sale by the Clay County Countrymen 4-H Club, free crafts and games for the kids, and Santa and Mrs. Claus arriving with a gift for each child.

Hunters donated 4,183 deer hides to Elks Lodges across Iowa last year, which was a slight increase from the 2021-22 season. The deer hides are used by the Veterans Leather Program to make professionally-crafted leather gloves for veterans in wheelchairs and also turned into leather used for therapy programs for recovering veterans.

Hundreds of yellow ovals offset the brown and green coloration of each female brown trout ready to spawn at the Manchester Fish Hatchery. The splashes of color are signs that trout spawning season is in full swing.

Brown trout spawning was completed a couple of weeks ago. Brood trout from the French Creek genetic lineage were collected from Spring Branch Creek in Delaware County. The fish are checked for ripeness and spawned streamside before being returned to the stream.

The long wait is almost over. For an expected 100,000 deer hunters, the shotgun deer seasons are right around the corner and before they head to the timber, it’s important that everyone go through their gear to make sure everything still fits and still works and takes time to review their hunting safety plan.

At a special meeting of the Spirit Lake Protective Association on Saturday, Nov. 12, Terry Wilts, secretary of the East Okoboji Lakes Improvement Corporation, presented a check for $5,000 to the SLPA in support of the Spirit Lake North Watershed Project, a crucial 195.5-acre tract of land located just across the border (Minnesota side) which became a reality this past May.

A LITTLE HISTORY

Duaine Holck was celebrated Tuesday night.

After learning less than 12 hours earlier that he had been named the 2021 Spencer Citizen of the Year, Holck — with wife Sally by his side — stood in the doorway of the Clay County Regional Events Center Ballroom, welcoming family, friends and well-wishers attending a ceremony in his honor.

“I was definitely surprised,” Holck said. “My wife kept the secret for about a week. She got me up at 5:30 (a.m.), it was unusual.”

An early Thanksgiving was celebrated at Grand Avenue Community Outreach Monday night. The Grand Avenue Community Kitchen provided all the traditional Thanksgiving staples — including mashed potatoes, stuffing and, of course, pumpkin pie — to anyone who wanted to stop by for a community meal. GACK offers regular weekly meals on Monday and Thursday evenings in downtown Spencer. (Photos by Celia Brocker)

A Spencer-area holiday staple, the Holiday Family Adoption Program allows generous families, businesses and service groups to share the holiday spirit and bounty. Thanks to the generosity of families and businesses, area families will be gifted with items to help make this Christmas season a little bit brighter.

During its meeting on Monday, the Spencer City Council agreed to renew its recycling contract with Van’s Sanitation at an increased price. The new four-year agreement will increase the city’s pay from $12 per ton to $25 per ton, along with a fuel surcharge of $20 per load should the local diesel fuel price exceed $5.75 per gallon.