Stories from Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Karen Byers has seen it all during her 16 years with ISU Extension. The rabid skunk encounter of 2011couldn't stop the annual pancake breakfast and livestock auction at the Dickinson County Fair. The Dickinson County ISU Extension director found ways to celebrate poultry in 2015 – even though birds were banned from the fairgrounds due to avian influenza concerns...

A festive fundraiser Saturday night launched the campaign to preserve the historic Carnegie Library in downtown Spirit Lake. The demolition phase of the project is underway on the front of the structure at the corner of Hill Avenue and Highway 9. Spearheading the project and fund drive is Dr. Steven Baskerville...

District Court Judge Nancy Whittenburg has decided to keep the trial of a former Spencer pastor in Clay County. Defense attorney Aaron Hamrock of West Des Moines wanted the case moved out of the county seat where Kevin Grimes served as pastor at DaySpring Assembly of God Church. He was also director of the Spencer Dream Center, a non-profit outreach center based out of a historic hotel along Grand Avenue...

The trial for a Spirit Lake man charged with attempted murder has been moved back again. Judge David Lester on Feb. 27 rescheduled a pretrial conference for 54-year-old Scott Sidles. Attorneys asked Lester to approve a date change. They were previously scheduled to meet Feb. 21 are now scheduled to meet with the judge at 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 4...

The Okoboji High School FFA Chapter was honored by the Spencer Chamber of Commerce Ag Committee for its past year of work. All FFA chapters were invited to submit reports on their projects for the 2016 calendar year. Six chapters received awards for the scope of their efforts during the Northwest Iowa Ag Expo on the Clay County Fairgrounds in Spencer...

The court process has been delayed for a care provider accused of misconduct with a waiver home resident in Spirit Lake. Danielle Shadle, 40, of Harris, was charged with sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist on Friday, Oct. 25. Officers took her into custody at 1808 Jackson Avenue, which is the location of Echo Plus Inc. in Spirit Lake...

IN THE IOWA DISTRICT COURT IN AND FOR DICKINSON COUNTY THE DUNN TRUST DATED MAY 20, 2005, Equity No. EQCV027888 Unknown Heirs, Devisees, Grantees, Assignees, Successors in Interest, Unknown Spouses and Unknown Claimants of the following described Real Estate situated in Dickinson County, Iowa,to-wit: That Part of the Plat of Triboji Beach, Dickinson County, Iowa, described as follows:...

Dec. 17, 1927 – Feb. 18, 2017 Donald E. Dingel, 89, of Lake Park, passed away in Spirit Lake on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. He was born on Dec. 17, 1927 in Sanborn to Henry and Clara (Protextor) Dingel as the youngest of seven children. Don graduated from Sibley High School in 1945...

Oct. 11, 1982 – Feb. 14, 2017 There will be a celebration of life for Chase Powers, 34, on March 10, 2017, at The Pavilion at Historic Arnolds Park on the shore of West Lake Okoboji from 5-8 p.m. Chase died on Feb. 14, 2017 in Incline Village, Nevada...

March 8, 1940 – Feb. 21, 2017 A funeral service for Kay Monson, age 76, of Spirit Lake, was held Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017 at First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake. Burial was at Lakeview Cemetery. Kay Lorraine Monson, the daughter of Inez Beatrice (Osterson) and Eugene Loraine Fox, was born March 8, 1940 in Jefferson. ...

March 21, 1922 – Feb. 20, 2017 Elizabeth (Betty) Ann Lieb Porter was born in Alton on March 21, 1922, to Gideon and Ellen (Meylor) Lieb. She graduated from Archer High School in Archer in 1939 and from the Academy of Cosmetology in Sioux City in 1940...

Nov. 16, 1931 – Feb. 25, 2017 Dora Elizabeth (Pinkerton) Baum-Rooney, 85, of Spirit Lake passed away Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, March 2, 2017, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, in Spirit Lake with Father Brian Hughes officiating. ...

July 22, 1923 – Feb. 22, 2017 A Mass of Christian Burial for Dolores Fitzpatrick, age 93, of Milford, was held Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Milford. Burial was at Calvary Cemetery.  Dolores Marie Fitzpatrick, the daughter of Clara (Uhlenkamp) and Fred Sporrer, was born July 22, 1923, in Milford. She graduated from Milford High School...

Dec. 30, 1931 - Feb. 18, 2017 A memorial service for Barbara Ernst, age 85, of Lake Park, was held Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, at First Presbyterian Church in Lake Park. Burial will be at Silver Lake Cemetery in Lake Park at a later date. Barbara Ann (Telford) Ernst of Lake Park died on Saturday Feb. 18, 2017, at the Pearl Valley Rehabilitation and Nursing at Lake Park...

Butterflies, bees of all kinds, hummingbirds, moths and ants are all pollinators, affecting the entire food source on planet earth. "We are losing our pollinators at an alarming rate," Dickinson County Conservation Board Executive Director Lee Sorenson, said. "It is an international problem with a 58 percent decline in the honeybee population in the past 59 years and a 90 percent decline in monarch butterflies in the last 20 years alone."...