Articles written by Nick Pedley
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Highway 18 resurfacing project on hold
Hartley businesses and residents will have to wait for a revamped highway lane layout through town. The Iowa Department of Transportation recently informed City Hall that a resurfacing project...
Bootsma resigns D1 supervisors seat
Eastern O'Brien County is without a supervisor. District 1 Supervisor Sherri Bootsma on Tuesday resigned her position effective Oct. 13. She had served on the board for five years, but an impending...
COVID-19 vaccine boosters being administered
The ongoing push to get people vaccinated against COVID-19 has entered its third stage. Public health officials, pharmacies and doctors' offices have started administering third doses of the Pfizer an...
Hartley officials confident about CAT grant
A recent trip to Des Moines left Hartley officials feeling good about the city's chances at landing a big grant. A contingent comprised of Mayor Rodney Ahrenstorff, Council Member Mary Westphalen,...
Pedley's Ponderings
I’ll never understand why people get so mad at social media platforms. You have to voluntarily sign up for them, and doing so puts you under their terms and conditions. It also subjects you to the idiocy, lies and unrestrained vitriol that have bec...
New royalty reigning at H-M-S
There's new royalty reigning over the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Community School District. Jesse Garcia and Anna Vander Veen were named king and queen during coronation Tuesday night. The duo was...
Up and running again
The Royal skyline is looking different for the second time in a year. Five new metal grain bins were added this summer to replace former concrete structures, one of which sustained heavy damages last...
2 inducted into Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame
Two local women were honored for their service to 4-H earlier this year at the Iowa State Fair. Marsha Rehder, of Sutherland, and Becky Simons, of Webb, joined the hallowed halls with 4-H's most legen...
Pedley's Ponderings
Personal expectations for my favorite sports teams usually sit somewhere between “middling” and “low.” This is a rather pitiful mechanism of self-protection: When they do well, I’m surprised; when they do poorly, that’s what I thought wou...
A different kind of pipeline?
Dubbing it a "unique opportunity for biofuels and agriculture," the company behind a proposed pipeline that would pass through O'Brien and Clay counties is aiming to reduce CO2 emissions and create...
A long time coming
There was no ribbon cutting or parade, but a massive and important infrastructure upgrade project in Everly is now finished. Work on the city's sewage treatment ponds is finished after more than a...
Ballots set for local elections
Residents in Hartley will actually have a choice to make when they hit the polls Nov. 2. For the first time since 2017, voters in the City With a Heart will be handed a contested ballot. Incumbent...
Everly council mulls federal ARPA funds
The Everly City Council on Monday debated what to do with $40,981 in free money, but answers were few and far between. The chunk of change came courtesy of the federal government as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which was passed by...
Up and down
ISU Extension & Outreach field agronomist Joel DeJong says farmers are in for a wild ride when they harvest their crops this fall. With a growing season marked by hot temperatures and sparse...
Pedley's Ponderings
I'm not an overly adventurous guy. I enjoy experiencing new things once in a while, but I generally stick to what I know. With that in mind, you can imagine how out of my element I was earlier this...
Gas prices top Hartley council agenda
A lengthy discussion about high gas prices lit a fire for the Hartley City Council on Monday. Bill Lindley, president of the city's gas supplier, Clayton Energy, explained that market speculators and...
Local populations decline in last 10 years
If it seems like there are less people in Hartley, Everly and Royal, it’s because there are. Data released last month from the 2020 Census showed population declines in all three communities. In Clay and O’Brien counties, only Spencer and...
King of the colony
Unknowing trespassers who venture into a certain tree grove on the south side of Hartley might find themselves sprinting in the other direction. Buzzing along the tree line is the city's lone...
She's With Us!
If dedication counted in the Billboard Charts, She's With Us would be topping the rankings. The band with ties to Everly and Royal has cultivated a loyal following in northwest Iowa and beyond....
Sweet, sweet success
A homegrown cake and cupcake business is starting to get its legs in Hartley. With the promise of "quality cakes for a little dough," Lauri's Cakes has seen increased attention in the last few years....
A long time coming
The Clay County Fair returns Saturday after a 721-day break, but who's counting? Jeremy Parsons, for one. The fair's CEO and manager is ecstatic to welcome visitors back to Spencer following a...
Pedley's Ponderings
There are a lot of things that grind my gears – my kids’ whining, my old house, crabgrass…the list is endless. But there are some things I tend to ruminate on more than others. Here, dear reader, is a small snippet from my long list. ...
Washing up the tower
Some high-flying work is underway in Hartley, but you won't find any acrobats around. A crew this week began work repainting the water tower. According to Hartley Superintendent of Public Works Jaron...
Honoring Old Glory
Hartley residents have a new outlet to dispose of old flags. The Stoltz family recently donated a receptacle in honor of Donald Wichman, Jackie Stoltz's father. The drop box is situated conveniently...
Filing period now open for city council, school elections
Residents wishing to earn a spot on their local school boards and city councils have until mid-September to get their name on the Nov. 2 general election ballot. The filing period opened Aug. 23 and...
