(Gillet Grove)--A Webb man is facing a felony drug charge after a traffic stop early Tuesday in Clay County.

Shortly after 12:50 am, a Clay County Deputy initiated a traffic stop for a speeding violation in the 3100 block of 430^th St. Upon approaching the vehicle, the Deputy smelled the odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle. The driver, 46-year-old Billy Jo Doran, was found to be in possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Doran was placed under arrest and was transported to the Clay County jail without incident. Doran was charged with possession of a controlled substance-3^rd offense, a Class D Felony and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Doran was being held in jail pending an appearance before the magistrate.

(Jackson, MN)--Two Jackson area organizations  are among 34 from across the region that were recently awarded nearly $240,000 in grant money from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council.

These grants provide organizations in southwest Minnesota with up to $10,000 to stimulate and encourage the creation, performance and appreciation of the arts.

Rhythm of the River of Jackson was awarded $10,000 to help fund the music festival. In addition to music, the festival includes songwriter sessions and workshops, children’s activities and regional artisans.

Fort Belmont was awarded $1,659 for expanding and enhancing its annual Pioneer Days event through the addition of arts-based programming that highlights traditional music.

All grants are reviewed by grant panelists and must then be approved by the arts council board.

(Estherville) – The Estherville Lincoln Central School Board Wednesday evening heard a presentation from Greg Deim, President of the ELC Booster Club, about the establishment of the Estherville/Lincoln Central Athletics Hall of Fame, beginning with the inaugural Hall of Fame Class of 2027. Deim says the Hall of Fame was created to recognize and honor individuals and teams who have made significant contributions to athletics at Estherville, Lincoln Central and Estherville Lincoln Central High Schools.

He says the first inductees will be recognized on Thursday, May 28th at a varsity home softball game.

The official Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held on March 20, 2027 at the Elks Lodge in Estherville and that evening, Coach Tim Maaske and the 1987 Boys Basketball Team will be inducted as well. Deim says a Hall of Fame Committee will oversee the nomination and selection process.

Future inductees must be at least ten years removed from graduation and may be considered for accomplishments such as conference or state championships, state tournament participation, state-level individual achievements and All-Conference or All-State recognition. Coaches must have served a minimum of 10 years and are evaluated based on program success, championship participation, awards and overall contributions. A maximum of five individuals or teams may be inducted annually.

(Estherville)--Iowa egg farmers are celebrating National Egg Month during the month of May. Brandon Gibson, Director of Operations at Daybreak Foods and Vice Chair of the Iowa Egg Council, says Iowa remains the number one egg producing state in the nation.          

Gibson details the nutritional value of eggs.

Gibson says Americans consume about 250-300 eggs per person each year. He says there is a common misconception about eggs.

A big concern every year in the egg industry is dealing with highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as bird flu. Gibson says putting preventative measures in place has helped reduce the number of bird flu cases in the state.

For more information, visit iowaegg.org.        

(Arnolds Park)--Members of the senior class of GTRA High School returned to the Abbie Gardner Cabin site in Arnolds Park on Tuesday. In 2019, when the students were in the fifth grade, they had made a field trip to the Abbie Gardner Cabin and learned there was an unmarked mass grave. The field trip was led by Shayla Hunefeld(Hun-uh-feld) who was the students 5^th grade teacher at the time.

Hunefeld says the class researched who was in the grave and held fundraisers to raise money for a marker. She says the stone for the monument was donated by Ruthven Rocks.  Hunefeld, who is now the students high school science teacher said the students wanted to revisit the site.

She says it was a great learning experience for the students.

Hunefeld said returning to the site was a nostalgic experience for the students.

Hunefeld made her comments on the GTRA Superintendent Spotlight program which can be heard every Wednesday at 5:45 pm on KILR FM 95.9.

(Spencer) – Fire heavily damaged a house in Spencer Wednesday evening.

According to Assistant Spencer Fire Chief Mark Stover, the Spencer Fire Department was called to 326 East 19^th Street around 6:30 p.m. When firefighters arrived, Stover says the garage was fully engulfed in flames. Fire crews attacked the garage first and then proceeded into the interior of the house to stop flames from going up into the attic.

The residents were home at the time of the fire and made it out safely, along with their dog. Nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution. Heat damage was reported to some siding on a neighboring home.

Stover says the cause of the fire is undetermined at this time.

Firefighters were on scene for a couple of hours. Assistance was provided by the Fostoria Fire Department, Spencer Police Department, Spencer Hospital ambulance and Spencer Municipal Utilities.

(Estherville)--The Estherville Lincoln Central School Board Wednesday evening approved proceeding with planning for phase two of the Athletic Complex project. The 2^nd phase includes new bleachers and a press box.  ELC Superintendent Andy Armstead says the fundraising campaign has raised over $880,000 while the preliminary cost estimate for the project is $850,000 so he felt comfortable proceeding with the planning and design phase of the project. He says the work would be done after the 2026 football season.

In other business, the board approved school lunch prices and fees for the 2026-2027 school year. School lunch prices will increase from $3.30 to $3.40 for kids in 5^th-12^th grade and from $5.00 to $5.25 for adults. Breakfast prices will increase from $2.30 to $2.40 for 5^th-12^th graders and from $3.85 to $4.00 for adults. Lunch and breakfast will remain free for elementary students.

Armstead says all other fees will remain unchanged for the 2026-2027 school year.

The board also discussed plans by the key club to reduce the price of student athletic passes from $55 to $20.

The board also approved students and employee handbooks for the 2026-2027 school year and an amendment to the 2025-2026 Fiscal Year budget.

(Estherville)--A graduation ceremony was held Wednesday morning for the 2026 Lead the Ville Class at the Janice K. Lund Performing Arts Center on the campus of Iowa Lakes Community College in Estherville. Eight Estherville residents received awards for completing the nine month leadership course. One of the graduates was Northwest Bank President Marcy Sander.

Also graduating from the program was Justin Barnett with Estherville Foods who said it was an excellent experience.

The Lead the Ville class met once a month to tour various businesses, governmental agencies and service organizations. Sander was asked about her favorite part of the program.

Each Lead the Ville Class is asked to come up with a project to benefit the community. Sander says this year’s project was drinking water stations in city parks.

The other graduates were Tammy Andrews of Bank Plus, Austin Fick of Fick’s Ace Hardware, Dane Ross with the city of Estherville and Julie Duitsman, Crystal Olson, and Candi Wacker with Avera Holy Family Hospital. This was the third graduating class of Lead the Ville. For more information, visit estherville.org.

(Jackson, MN)--Two Jackson area organizations are among 34 from across the region that were recently awarded nearly $240,000 in grant money from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council.

These grants provide organizations in southwest Minnesota with up to $10,000 to stimulate and encourage the creation, performance and appreciation of the arts.

Rhythm of the River of Jackson was awarded $10,000 to help fund the music festival. In addition to music, the festival includes songwriter sessions and workshops, children’s activities and regional artisans.

Fort Belmont was awarded $1,659 for expanding and enhancing its annual Pioneer Days event through the addition of arts-based programming that highlights traditional music.

All grants are reviewed by grant panelists and must then be approved by the arts council board.

(Spirit Lake)--The Dickinson County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a six-month moratorium on the issuance of permits to build large data centers in the county.

Supervisor Steven Clark says the moratorium will give the county’s zoning board the opportunity to study what has happened in other communities in this state and the adverse effects, and what the positive points would be, and whether or not they would feel that that’s a good fit for the county.

Clark says no data center has approached the county yet about building there, so this moratorium would just be precautionary.

During a public hearing, several residents expressed opposition to a data center being located in Dickinson County.

After the public comments, the board voted 4-1 in favor of the six-month moratorium.

(Mankato, MN)--A Fairmont man was injured in a two vehicle accident Tuesday afternoon near Mankato.

The Minnesota State Patrol says the accident happened shortly before 2 pm at the intersection of southbound Highway 169 and Highway 68.

The patrol says a 2022 Jeep Compass driven by 43-year-old Christoffer Anderson of Fairmont was southbound on Highway 169 and a 2021 Chevrolet Spark driven by 44-year-old Claudia Moreno of  North Mankato was travelling eastbound on Highway 68 when the two vehicles  collided.

Both drivers were taken to Mayo Clinic Hospital in Mankato with non-life threatening injuries.

(Algona)--Schools in the Algona area were placed on lockdown for about two hours on Wednesday.

According to a news release from the city of Algona, at approximately 11:48 a.m. Bishop Garrigan received a phone call from an unidentified male caller from an unknown phone number. The unknown caller said he planned to come to the school with a gun.

The school immediately began lock down procedures at Seton Elementary and the Bishop Garrigan campus. Algona Community Schools also began sheltering in place in all school buildings as a safety precaution. Due to a multi-agency training exercise being held nearby, many additional law enforcement agencies were able to help provide a presence at various school buildings through the community.

North Union Schools and West Bend Mallard Schools were not sheltered in place but did have increased officer presence.

Shortly before 3:00 p.m., the shelter in place was lifted for Algona Community Schools and Bishop Garrigan Schools. Both schools dismissed at the regular time using normal procedures and held after school activities as scheduled. Classes and activities will be held as scheduled on Thursday.

According to Algona Police Chief Bo Miller, at least one other Iowa school experienced a similar call on Wednesday; that call was later deemed to be a false threat.

Multiple agencies assisted with the incident, including the Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office, Kossuth County Emergency Management, Iowa State Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Emmet County Sheriff’s Office, Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Office, West Bend Police Department and Emmetsburg Police Department.

Special assistance was also provided by Algona Municipal Utilities.

The threat made to Bishop Garrigan remiains under investigation.

(Algona)--The Algona Chamber of Commerce has announced the themes for this summer’s Party in the Park events. Algona Chamber Director Avery Pederson says Party in the Park will be held from 6 to 8 pm on the 2^nd Wednesday of each month on the Carnegie Library Lawn at the corner of Dodge and Nebraska Streets in downtown Algona. Pederson says the theme for the first Party in the Park on June 10^th is Trunks of Fun.

Pederson says the 2nd Party in the Park on July 8^th will have a patriotic theme.

She says the theme for the final Party in the Park on August 12^th is Fit and Fabulous.

For more information, go to algona.org/events or call the Algona Chamber of Commerce at 515-295-7201,

(Arnolds Park)--Arnolds Park Amusement Park, the No Boundaries program and West-O have come together for a special project to celebrate the 40^th Anniversary of the Queen II. Arnolds Park CEO Jon Pausley.

Pausley says the groups worked together to come up with the name of the beer.

He says some of the proceeds from the sale of the beer will go to support Arnolds Park’s Gift of Smile program.

Pausley says the Flagship beer will be released on May 29^th in conjunction with the ambassador event at Arnold’s Park Amusement Park. It will be available at several locations in the park including aboard the Queen II.

(Estherville)--The Emmet County Board Supervisors Tuesday adopted an ordinance repealing the county’s current ordinance on regulating and restricting the use of land for hazardous liquid pipelines. The move was recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission following federal court rulings finding similar county ordinances in Iowa are preempted by federal law. Supervisor Jeff Quastad said that the higher court made the decision and the local government needs to repeal the ordinance. No one spoke at a public hearing on the issue.

The Supervisors also approved a recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Commission to deny a request from Eric Olson to rezone property from A-1 Agricultural to I-1 Light Industrial. Olson had wanted to start a Freon recycling business on the property.

The board also approved a request from Peg Mason to use the courthouse lawn to host weekly Bible readings on Wednesday afternoons after 3 p.m. as part of the Iowa 99 county bible reading marathon.

(Estherville)--Iowa Lakes Community College has announced the lineup for its 2026–2027 Estherville Performing Arts Series at the Janice K. Lund Performing Arts Center. The upcoming season offers a variety of performances designed to engage audiences of all ages and interests. The first year of the performing arts series concluded in March. Jessi Strom, Performing Arts Center Promotions and Operations Director, says it was a big success.

Strom says the 2026-2027 series will feature more performances.

She says two more bands will close out the schedule.

Strom says for those looking to experience the full season, Iowa Lakes offers two subscription options.

Individual tickets will be available for $20 for adults, with all-inclusive pricing and no additional fees, beginning June 1st. Children and Iowa Lakes students are admitted free. Each performance also includes a small reception for attendees. Tickets and memberships can be purchased through the Iowa Lakes Box Office at: iowalakes.edu/performingarts or by calling 712-362-7918.

(Arnolds Park)--The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and the Iowa Great Lakes Pheasants Forever Chapter are holding an Arnolds Park Nature Restoration Workday later this month. INHF Spokesman Joe Jayjack says the workday will be held on Wednesday, May 27^th from 8 to 11 am

Jayjack says there are some things volunteers will need to keep in mind.

He says Pheasants Forever has been a great partner on the project.

To ensure enough parking, Jayjack says they are asking volunteers to sign-up in advance by going to inhf.org and clicking on the events tab.

The 73-acre Arnolds Park Nature Area was acquired by the INHF last fall following a fundraising campaign.

(Estherville)--The Estherville Lincoln Central District has announced the hiring of Brad Peter as the new Demoney Elementary Principal, pending approval by the school board.

Peter brings 21 years of experience in education, including the last decade in leadership roles. Throughout his career, he has served as a math teacher, cross country coach, track & field coach, Teaching & Learning Coordinator, Activities Director, and Assistant Principal. He currently serves as the Assistant Principal of a large suburban middle school in Maple Valley, Washington, but is excited to return to Northwest Iowa where he has strong family and professional ties.

Peter shared that he is especially excited about the opportunity to bring a servant-leadership approach to Demoney Elementary and help create a culture where students, staff, and families all feel valued, supported, and empowered.

(Estherville)--Award-winning Iowa historian and University of Northern Iowa assistant professor Kevin Mason, author of the new book “Retracing the Dragoon Trail in Iowa,” will be at the Estherville Public Library this Thursday, May 14, at 6:30 PM. Drawing from his new book, Mason says he will uncover how the state’s prairies and wetlands evolved into the farms, towns, and highways we know today.

The event is being hosted by the Estherville Public Library and the Emmet County Historical Society & Museum. Mason says the book was inspired by his walk across Iowa in 2021.

He says several chapters of his book focus directly on the history of Estherville and the surrounding area.

Mason provides more details about his presentation on Thursday evening.

Copies of Mason’s book will be available for sale. Mason is also the founder of a website on Iowa history: notesoniowa.com.

(Curlew)--A Curlew man is facing felony theft charges for allegedly stealing a vehicle.

Shortly after 8:10 PM on May 6^th, the Palo Alto County Sheriff's Office was notified about a possible stolen vehicle being in the Curlew area. Deputies responded and located a stolen vehicle in the 4500 block of 390^th Ave. After an investigation, Deputies arrested 60-year-old Shayne Brodersen of Curlew for 1^st Degree Theft, a Class C Felony. Brodersen was also taken into custody on a valid Dallas County Arrest Warrant for Operation Without the Owner's Consent, an Aggravated Misdemeanor.

Brodersen was booked into the Palo Alto County Jail to await his initial appearance in front of a magistrate.