🌱 Clear Lake's Giving Tree has a new home this holiday season

Coffee in hand, Clear Lake? We've got the latest town updates for you. Keep reading to stay in the loop. ☀️

In today's newsletter:

• Clear Lake's Giving Tree has a new home this holiday season
• Des Moines I-35 closures start tonight, with longer shutdown Friday
• Clear Lake posts playoff shutout, girls take seventh in cross-country

Also on today's calendar: Costumes & Creations and 9 more events.

Today's riddle: What are the two sides of a circle? 🤔 (Answer below!)

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Weather forecast:

• Wednesday: Clouds breaking and breezy, with a high of 57 and low of 32 degrees.
• Thursday: Partly sunny; breezy, cooler, temps: high: 41, low: 25.
• Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high of 41 and low of 22 degrees.

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📰 News we're reading

1. Help make the holidays brighter with the Clear Lake giving tree (globegazette.com) — Clear Lake's Giving Tree opens November 17 at its new home, the Chamber & Welcome Center at 205 Main Avenue, to help local families with holiday gifts and essentials. Donors can choose an ornament with a requested item, then return wrapped gifts with the original ornament attached by December 11.
   

2. I-35 closures Nov. 11-14: Northern Iowa driver alert (northiowatoday.com) — Heading back to Clear Lake through Des Moines? Northbound I-35/eastbound I-80 between the Southwest Mixmaster and Iowa 141 closes November 11 and 12 from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., then November 13 from 7 p.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday. Follow posted detours and check Iowa 511 for updates, including a possible Saturday-night closure.
   

3. Area Scores: October 25-31, 2026 (siouxcountyradio.com) — Clear Lake shut out Iowa Falls-Alden 20-0 in the first round of the Class 3A football playoffs. In cross-country at Fort Dodge, Clear Lake’s girls finished seventh with 209 points, with a sixth-runner tiebreaker separating them from sixth-place Decorah.
   

4. North Iowa Concert Band presents free fall concert (globegazette.com) — Eight Clear Lake musicians are among the North Iowa Concert Band members performing a free fall concert November 24 at 7:30 p.m. in NIACC's North Iowa Community Auditorium. The program will honor late band founder Chuck Cooper and open with “Beyond the Summit,” composed by NIACC alumnus Jared Barnes.
   

5. November 10 recap: North Iowa news you may have missed today (globegazette.com) — Clear Lake's Jaxson McIntire appears among this week's candidates alongside Corbin Rysavy of Saint Ansgar and Zander Hansen of West Fork, though the recap doesn't identify the contest. The regional roundup also includes Iowa football updates and appointments to Gov.-elect Rob Sand's leadership team.
   

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📸 Around Clear Lake

Show off your photography skills and the sights around town! Click here to submit your Photo of the Day to Patch AM!

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🗓 Upcoming Events in Clear Lake

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

★ Featured events ★

Thursday November 12

• Clear Lake, Iowa: Empower Your Finances →
  Clear Lake, Clear Lake
  1:30 pm

Want to see your event featured? Click here!

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Other local events

Thursday November 12

• Jazz Night at Reserve 173°
  Reserve 173 Bar & Grill, 306 1st Ave. N., Clear Lake
  6:00 pm

Friday November 13

• All Request DJ Night at Rookies
  Rookies Rockin' Sports Bar, 307 Main Ave., Clear Lake
  9:00 pm

Saturday November 14

• Costumes & Creations →
  Clear Lake IA
  10:30 am
• Puzzle Swap →
  Clear Lake IA
  2:00 pm
• Cosmic Bowling
  Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, 514 Buddy Holly Place, Clear Lake
  8:00 pm

Monday November 16

• Mahjongg!! →
  Clear Lake IA
  3:00 pm
• ATLAS →
  Clear Lake IA
  3:30 pm
• Writing Group →
  Clear Lake IA
  6:00 pm

Tuesday November 17

• Lapsit Baby Time →
  Clear Lake IA
  10:30 am
• Book Chat: To the Moon and Back →
  Clear Lake IA
  12:00 pm
• Homeschool Hangout →
  Clear Lake IA
  1:00 pm

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📣 Clear Lake Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

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Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

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Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• Perkins Restaurant & Bakery posted a job opening for Kitchen Leader in Clear Lake. Apply here.
• Chick-fil-A posted a job opening for Front of House Team Member in Clear Lake. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Clear Lake here.

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Ok Clear Lake! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: "What are the two sides of a circle?" — The inside and the outside ! (Thank you James M. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!

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We use a combination of real people and machines to tell you what’s happening around town. Learn more about Patch AM.

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