Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties

Articles from the September 3, 2020 edition


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  • Dry enough for ya?

    Nick Pedley, News Editor|Sep 3, 2020

    You don't need a weatherman to tell you which way the wind is blowing, and you don't need one to tell you when it's too dry out. A quick drive outside city limits will reveal crunchy cornfields and singed soybeans. Precipitation was in short supply this summer during key periods of the growing season, making local farmers and ag experts pessimistic about yield potential as harvest season nears. "They always say you make beans in August, but we didn't get any rain," said Mason Mentink, an...

  • Not your average fire call

    Nick Pedley, News Editor|Sep 3, 2020

    Royal firefighters didn't have a hard time figuring out where the problem was Aug. 25 when they responded to a call about an explosion at Ag Partners. A gaping hole at the top of the cement structure was clearly visible and black smoke could be seen billowing northwards from miles away. A daunting task no doubt, but the firemen's training kicked in right away. "We called for mutual aid with surrounding departments for water and man power. We also called in a structural engineer," said Royal...

  • Fowl situation or blue-ribbon idea?

    Nick Pedley, News Editor|Sep 3, 2020

    Everly officials are reviewing a proposal that could make local backyards resemble barnyards. The city council on Aug. 17 discussed a suggestion from a resident to allow a limited number of chickens at homes in town. No decision was made, but the council agreed to gather more information before moving forward or dropping the issue altogether. "I could see a lot of problems with it," said Council Member Cheri Hoye. "The smell, for one...they really stink if it's not cleaned regularly. I'm not in...

  • Lift station upgrade to cost between $960K-$1.3M

    Nick Pedley, News Editor|Sep 3, 2020

    Hartley officials have a clearer picture about the scope and cost of a future infrastructure project on the city’s east side. The council on Aug. 25 reviewed specs for lift station and force main improvements planned at the city’s facility located near North Eighth Avenue East and Second Street Northeast. The price tag for the upgrades is estimated to run between $960,000 and $1.3 million, which is significantly higher than a previous proposal from several years ago that pegged the cost at around $500,000. Acccording to City Administrator Eri...

  • Tallying up the total

    Nick Pedley, News Editor|Sep 3, 2020

    If you haven't filled out the 2020 census yet, somebody is looking for you. Census takers started hitting the streets recently to tally residents who haven't completed the decennial survey. According to Maureen Schriner, a U.S. Census media specialist for Iowa and Minnesota, Americans have until Sept. 30 to make sure they're counted. "They will hound you," Schriner said of census takers. "We want to be accurate when we're talking about this, so we want as many people counted as possible." Just...

  • 09/03/20: Crime, Courts, Accidents & Incidents

    Sep 3, 2020

    • Traffic Dakota James Allen Clark, Ashton, Speeding; Driving While Suspended. Julie Ann Marr, Spirit Lake, Illegal Passing. Bailey Mae Anderson, Everly, Speeding. Arturo Nieves, Northfield, Minn., Speeding; No Valid Driver’s License. Aaron Michael Delgado, Minneapolis, Minn., Speeding. John Charles Renken, Sioux Center, Use of Electric Device. Spencer K. Hansen, Paullina, Speeding. Samson Gebremeskel Sibhat, Perry, Speeding. Danielle J. Wheaton, Omaha, Neb., Speeding. Deborah Lazara Castano Gomez, Sioux City, Speeding; Open Container. Kel...

  • Late-summer paint project at Patch-Eeten barn

    Sep 3, 2020

    Kelley Peters and Mel Gilmore, of Kelley Peters Painting, got to work this week giving a fresh coat to the new Patch-Eeten House barn. Peters said the paint job will match the residence. The new barn was recently completed following a month-and-a-half construction period. NICK PEDLEY/SENTINEL-NEWS...

  • 09/03/20: Community Calendar

    Sep 3, 2020

    Garbage pickup changes in Hartley The Labor Day holiday will force changes to the garbage pickup schedule in Hartley. Instead of Monday, it will be Tuesday. Fall clean up day in Hartley The City of Hartley will hold a clean up day on Monday, Sept. 21. Once the trucks have picked up the refuse on your block, they will not return to pick up more. Construction and demolition material will require the use of a dumpster. All refuse must be placed at your regular garbage route pick up site. Visit the city's website for more details. Early Labor Day...

  • 09/03/20: Area Happenings & Accomplishments

    Sep 3, 2020

    CMI holds 28th Annual Firemen's Benefit Century Mutual Insurance Association, a northwest Iowa farm and residential insurance company, had to make adjustments to its Annual Firemen's Golf Benefit Tournament. This year's event was not held in person but instead offered an entry fee match to those teams who have participated in the past. Eleven teams submitted entry fees totaling $2,860, with a match from Century Mutual of $2,860 for a total of $5,720 being distributed among eight fire...

  • S-N Editorial: Where's the common sense?

    Sentinel-News Staff|Sep 3, 2020

    The pandemic has reached its eighth month, but it feels like eight years. There's still no end in sight and hope is admittedly hard to come by these days – it's just one thing after another. COVID-19 hasn't gone anywhere. The threat is still very real, and here in the Hawkeye State, lackluster leadership and poor decisions have led to a spike in cases. Ames, home to Iowa State University, was identified by the New York Times for having the highest number of new cases in the country relative t...

  • Ernst: The Iowa Way

    Sen. Joni Ernst|Sep 3, 2020

    Doesn't it just seem like one thing after another? We're in the midst of a global pandemic, which has taken the lives of more than one thousand Iowans, and then we get hit by a derecho. It's been a trying year for folks across Iowa. The challenges we're facing as a state, and a nation, are some of the toughest in a lifetime. But it's in these dark times that the light can shine through. I believe in Iowans. I've seen your grit and determination throughout this pandemic and as we start to...

  • Over Morning Coffee

    Bonnie Ewoldt, Contributing Columnist|Sep 3, 2020

    Two months from today, Americans will vote in what is arguably the most important election in our lifetime. Yet, 62 days out, the ballot is awash in a sea of controversy. Due to safety concerns during the pandemic, many do not want to go to the polls and prefer to vote by mail instead. With the future of this country at stake, we must ask ourselves if the mailbox can be a reliable substitute for the ballot box. There are two ways to cast a ballot by mail: Universal mail-in voting and absentee...

  • Pedley's Ponderings

    Nick Pedley, News Editor|Sep 3, 2020

    Parenthood is an exercise in fruitless repetition. I was reminded of that recently by our energetic 3-year-old, Oliver. As he’s prone to do, the boy was bouncing off the walls one day and climbed atop our living room couch. He grinned wildly and flashed me a crazed look, which told me all I needed to know. “Don’t do it,” I said coldly. “You’re going to hurt yourself…” The boy jumped, promptly hurting himself and causing a mini-meltdown. After comforting him, I offered a bit of advice that I hoped might stick somewhere in his rapid-fire brai...

  • Corona Royale royally delivers

    Iesha Toft, S-N Contributor|Sep 3, 2020

    Royal Fun Days may have been postponed to 2021, but the 7th Annual Royal Lions Club Horseshoe Tournament lived on last Sunday at Memorial Park in Royal. Lions Grove's officially-sanctioned horseshoe pits were packed with nearly 30 tournament participants and many spectators for the six-hour tournament held by Royal Lions Club. Josh Toft, who organized the event, said the fundraising event proved successful for the Lions Club. More than 50 commemorative Corona Royale T-shirts were sold and...

  • Meet a Maverick: Joan Kimball

    Iesha Toft, S-N Contributor|Sep 3, 2020

    Editor's note: As we enter a new school year, we will be introducing you to new and returning Clay Central/Everly staff, celebrating their passion for teaching and contribution to the CC/E school district. Today we meet Mrs. Joan Kimball, a second-year fifth grade teacher. Mrs. Kimball is in her 23rd year of teaching with 21 of those years being in the Spencer school district. "I am a perpetual fifth grader," said Kimball. "I always tell my students that some day I will know everything a fifth...

  • Clay County Fair & Events Center announces September "Un-Fair" activities

    Sep 3, 2020

    The Clay County Fair & Events Center announces a number of September "Un-Fair" activities to help fair fans get their "fix" in 2020, including Fair In a Box and two nights of IMCA Auto Racing. Fair fans can purchase Fair In a Box, a special commemorative merchandise box filled with sights, sounds, smells and experiences related to the fair including an "Un-Fair" 2020 T-shirt, a commemorative pin, a Clay County Fair bandana, a "taste" of some fair food staples and a Centennial Cookbook to...

  • Kenneth P. Snyder, 97, Terril

    Sep 3, 2020

    A graveside service for Kenneth P. “Kenny” Snyder was held Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020, at the Roseland Cemetery near Sanborn. Rev. Ken Carlson officiated. Pallbearers were Christy Welp, Mary Johnston, Kenneth Magby, Joshua Snyder, Kyle Snyder and Michael Snyder. Military graveside rites were conducted by the Sanborn American Legion, Earl T. Conaway Post #318. Sanborn Funeral Home assisted with the arrangements. Kenneth Phillip “Kenny” Snyder, the son of Phillip and Anna (Block) Snyder, was born at Sanborn on June 19, 1923. His early years were spe...

  • Rose Marie Shockey, 91, Sanborn

    Sep 3, 2020

    Rose Marie Gilliland Otcheck Shockey, 91, of Sanborn and formerly of Grinnell and Newton, passed away at Prairie View Home in Sanborn on July 29, 2020. Graveside memorial services will be held at a later date at Union Cemetery in Newton. Rose Marie, the oldest child of Hugh and Mary (Stull) Gilliland, was born at home on Aug. 31, 1928, in Montezuma. She attended the Grinnell Public Schools. Rose was united in marriage to Robert Raymond Otcheck at the Grinnell First Friends Church on Sept. 6, 1950. Robert passed away suddenly on Feb. 5, 1972....

  • From Our Files

    Mike Petersen, Sports Editor & Staff Writer|Sep 3, 2020

    • Aug. 30, 1945 Gene Chase returned to Hartley and was reopening his Standard station on Highway 18. He was giving away 50 gallons of ethyl gas. Due to ill health, Roy (Bud) Pheteplace retired as manager of the Huntting elevator after many years of efficient service. Vernon Jacobson, who had been discharged from the armed services, was the new manager. Prior to his induction he had managed the Huntting elevator at Lime Springs. The Hartley Public School’s enrollment increased again with the high school reaching a new high of 180 students. Twe...

  • Hot start to cross country season at Cherokee

    Sep 3, 2020

    The Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn cross country teams started their competitive season Aug. 27 at the Deb Hankens Invitational, held at Cherokee Golf and Country Club. The weather was hot and the course challenging for the season-opener. "The temps were in the high-90s and the course was hilly. It was a really tough environment," Hawk coach Nicole Dorhout said. "I'm proud of the athletes who ran a tough 5,000-meter course." The girls' team was led by junior Madison Otto's seventh-place finish and a...

  • Zeroing in on the Pioneers

    Mike Petersen, Sports Editor & Staff Writer|Sep 3, 2020

    The total number of yards Okoboji gained Friday night against Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn's defense would not have covered half a football field. Okoboji rushed for 34 yards and passed for six to finish with a net gain of 40. The Hawk defense held Okoboji scoreless while the offense rolled up 320 yards to post a 28-0 season-opening win at Peterson Field. H-M-S was ready for what Okoboji attempted to do offensively. "We were prepared for Okoboji's offense all week. We got plenty of practice for...

  • H-M-S finishes 1-2 at West Lyon volleyball tourney

    Mike Petersen|Sep 3, 2020

    Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn posted a 1-2 record in its 2020 volleyball season debut at the West Lyon tournament on Aug. 25 The Hawks swept West Sioux (21-17, 23-21) and were swept by West Lyon (21-11, 21-9) and Akron-Westfield (21-13, 21-9). Of their 23 total kills, 12 came in the Hawks' win over the Falcons. Overall, Taya Mason and Darby Mastbergen each put down five kills, Jasmine Lux and Ava Reitsma had four kills and Olivia Grooters added three. Lux also had two solo blocks and an assist. Mason...