Local and Area News

Galva-Holstein School District voters easily passed a $12.2 million school bond issue this week, with 79 percent approval (471 yes, 124 no.) The bond approval will fund an addition to the Holstein building with new classrooms, will add space and functionality to the day care program, and will also construct a new gym and 8,500 square feet of space for industrial technology, agriculture and automotive shops to be located north of the current elementary...

The Storm Lake Middle School Student Council sponsored two service projects this month. Our Season of Giving food drive last week collected over 1800 items to donate to Upper Des Moines Opportunity. This week, student council is selling candygrams. The money collected from this service project allows students to adopt two families for the Adopt-a-Family program. The middle school students have been very generous with their support of these service projects. / Photo Submitted...

Storm Lake Public Library trustees are concerned about the level of funding being received from the county government. At their meeting Monday, the board reviewed funding by county across the state, finding some much higher, and some much lower than their own county...

Nearly 65 law enforcement leaders sent a letter to Senate leadership Tuesday in support of a bill that would help the families of first responders who die in the line of duty. Mark Prosser, Public Safety Director signed the letter and is available to speak about the effort...

Voters Tuesday defeated the $29 million Storm Lake Early Childhood Center proposal. Two measures were necessary to fund the construction. Measure A had 56.8% approval and measure B 55.2%, with 60 percent “yes” votes needed on both for the project to proceed...

Arlene Sundell has been an artist for almost all of her 93 years, never selling a single piece of work, and never once exhibiting her art. In fact, until now she’s never signed any of her work. “I wouldn’t want it to seem like I was bragging,” she smiles humbly...

Supervisor-elect Kelly Snyder, who won a three-way race for the county’s only contested seat in November, will be stepping down from the courthouse’s security detail, pending an opinion from the state’s Attorney General. Previous recommendations from County Attorney-elect Paul Allen recommended that Snyder step down from his security position due to salary issues...

Buena Vista County Supervisors gave the OK for County Engineer Bret Wilkinson to move forward with initiatives to improve safety at two railroad crossings, one of which saw a fatal crash in June. The railroad’s crossing at 170th Avenue in Newell, where a man driving an agricultural sprayer was killed, was scrutinized for its lack of east-west visibility, impeded by grove of trees to the southwest corner of the intersection and high mounds of dirt on the northwest corner...

The Storm Lake Police Department is reporting package thefts this holiday season, with two calls in the last week—a new occurrence for Storm Lake, according to Assistant Chief of Police Chris Cole. “This is the first year I can recall where they’re getting stolen,” he said, as opposed to mistaken placement or items delivered to the wrong house...

Storm Lake High School’s newest musical group, Mariachi Los Tornados, made their first-ever public appearance during the school’s Holiday Concert Monday, to the delight of the crowd. See the Pilot-Tribune’s Facebook page for video of the concert highlights...

Storm Lake Police were called to the scene of a crashed, abandoned car in the roadway on East 4th Street late Saturday night, the driver’s seat soaked with blood. It didn’t take long to track down the driver, as shortly after that, the sheriff’s department a short distance away notified police that a man with fresh facial injuries was there trying to bond out an inmate...

Students pose for Instagram while they’re dressed to the nines for the holiday season at the BVU Winter Formal.

DES MOINES — A judge said Friday it will take up to 60 days to consider whether to declare Iowa’s fetal heartbeat law unconstitutional or allow a legal challenge filed by abortion providers to proceed to trial. A decision to strike down the law before trial would likely be appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court...

CORRECTIONVILLE — The famous “jog” through the heart of Correctionville suffered a bit of a stumble in recent days. Make that stumbles. Plural. On Nov. 23, and again on Nov. 28, vehicles slid or rolled straight south on Driftwood, failing to negotiate the “correction” on Fifth Street before the road heads south again. The town is named for a surveying “correction” that mappers used because the earth curves toward its top. The east-west correction line runs along Fifth Street, at Driftwood...

Families packed Oneota Park Friday night for Clay County Conservation’s Winter Woodland Frolic event which featured activities like snowshoeing in the woods and taking a tractor ride through the park. Inside the Oneota cabin, attendees witnessed the unveiling of the plans for the Oneota Environmental Learning Center. The center will be constructed from the former horse barn the conservation board hauled to the park in April...

It was a cold, wet morning when Allied leaders boarded a railroad car near Paris to sign an armistice with Germany. The time was 5 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918, and the ceasefire brought an end to hostilities on World War I’s Western Front effective at 11 a.m. that same day — “the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.”...

A Storm Lake man was jailed twice in a matter of hours Saturday after incidents in two different bars, the last ending with a death threat against an arresting officer. Shortly after 2 a.m., police were called out for a disturbance at Mo’s Bar, where a man had refused to leave at closing time and began shouting obscenities at the staff. ...

DES MOINES — Sen. Chuck Grassley says he will not support any Republican challenger to President Donald Trump in the primary ahead of the 2020 election. Grassley confirmed that he will be supporting Trump. He says anyone is welcome to campaign in Iowa, which holds the first in the nation caucus, “but Chuck Grassley won’t be appearing with them.”...

Voters Tuesday defeated the $29 million Storm Lake Early Childhood Center proposal. Two measures were necessary to fund the construction. Measure A had 56.8% approval and measure B 55.2%, with 60 percent "yes" votes needed on both for the project to proceed...

Upper Des Moines Opportunity reported increased food pantry usage this year, with a slight uptick in the number of families served in Buena Vista county--something that may be indicative of a deeper root cause. Executive Director Jamey Whitney told supervisors Tuesday with a funding request that increases in food pantry and housing assistance usage continue to surprise UDMO. Despite a booming economy, some families may be left behind...

The Buena Vista County 4-H Awards Program is held annually to recognize 4-H members for their efforts and accomplishments during the past 4-H year. This year, 90 youth were recognized in the annual award ceremony in November. The Buena Vista 4-H County Youth Council served as Masters of Ceremony and hosts for the annual 4-H Awards Ceremony. ...

As it expands into Storm Lake from Alta, child care provider Ready, Set, GROW! has been named as one of the recipients of the Iowa Women’s Foundation’s 2019 Child Care Solutions Fund Grant. The $6,000 endowment, which will be delivered to RSG in two installments over 2019, comes just in time as the organization moves into Storm Lake to deliver desperately needed childcare spots...

The Iowa Watershed Approach Program is conferring with farmers and landowners, attempting to gather enough land to make conservation initiatives viable with about $2.5 million in grant money. With the highest nitrate concentration of any stream of its size in North America, the North Raccoon River Watershed is the target of environmental initiatives designed to reduce flooding, soil loss and the flow of nutrients out of fields...

About 400 people have already cast absentee ballots in a $29 million school bond election that if successful, would build a two-phase preschool, kindergarten and first grade complex off 90th Avenue on the west edge of Storm Lake. The early voting included about 250 votes cast during two early voting satellites, held Nov. 27 at the high school and Dec. 4 at the elementary, coinciding with school concerts...

The Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation once again recognized great achievement by local businesses recently at the organization’s annual Business Recognition Luncheon at the Clay County Regional Events Center in Spencer. The luncheon’s keynote speaker, Claudia Schabel, president of Schabel Solutions, addressed the need for businesses in the Corridor and across the state to focus on diversity and inclusion in the workplace in an effort to draw from a changing talent pool...

The Adopt-A-Family for Christmas program has completed its mission for the season, with all 201 families on this year’s list “adopted” before the December 10 deadline. In its more than 20-year history, the Pilot-Tribune/Upper Des Moines Opportunity program has a 100 percent success rate...

O Holy Night starts December 16, 5 - 8 p.m. and Musical performances beginning at 6 p.m. Please take a moment to enjoy the true meaning of Christmas. Please come celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ by viewing these nativities with us. These many nativities have been lovingly loaned for display by members of our Community. ...

Sioux Rapids P.E.O. Chapter GJ announces that applications are being accepted from area women post-secondary students for $300 and $500 scholarships to be awarded in February 2019. To be eligible for a scholarship the applicant must be from, or living in, the Buena Vista or Clay County area. They must have completed one year of post-secondary education and currently be enrolled in a college, university, community college or va-tech school. All applications must be postmarked by January 15, 2019...

Monday, Dec. 10 Storm Lake Chicken Fajita with Roasted Peppers and Onions, Fresh Baked Sub Station, Cheeseburger, Pork Fritter Sandwich, Oven-Roasted Hot Dog, Crispy Chicken Sandwich, Spicy Chicken Sandwich, BBQ Rib Sandwich, Fresh Baked Cheesy Pizza, Fresh Baked Sausage Pizza, Turkey Combo Deli Wrap, Grilled Chicken Salad with Roasted Flatbread, Vegetarian Chef Salad with Roasted Flatbread, Uncrustable & Cheese Platter, Fruit, Yogurt & Cheese Platter...

Beverly J. (Short) Heuton, 85, loving wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother passed away in her home on December 6, surrounded by loved ones. Bev was born on May 7, 1933 to Gaylord and Josephine Short in Carroll. She graduated from Carroll High School in 1951 where she met her soulmate, Jack. They were married December 26th, 1952. From this life-long union came five children; Diane, Allan, Dave, Karen, and Linda...

Local businesses shopped to make the holidays special for less advantaged kids in Storm Lake this Christmas. Five businesses each worked with a budget of $375 to buy toys and needed items for kids at Bomgaar’s Thursday morning. All items will be donated to Upper Des Moines Opportunity, where coordinator Maggie Reyes says they will be put in a large room for parents to come pick out something they know their children will love. ...

Storm Lake has planned a total capital budget of just over $5 million in expenditures for fiscal 2019-20, bolstered by nearly $1.5 million in anticipated federal and state grants. The spending plan was billed as “a blueprint for sustaining and improving city infrastructure,” but one council member felt the preliminary plan fell short of meeting goals the council had set earlier, particularly one to improve public perception of the community...

Headed into the holiday season, the food pantry at Upper Des Moines Opportunity is seeing need at a higher level than a year ago. “It feels like it’s quite a bit higher. We might have well over 100 people in our office on a day when food is being given out. You can’t even walk through the door - they are lined up outside before we get here at 8,” says Melissa Keller, director of the Storm Lake UDMO office...

Mariachi Los Tornados will be performing their first public event at the Storm Lake High School Winter Concert on Monday, December 10 in the auditorium. Showtime is 7 p.m. Students will be performing traditional mariachi music including “Arboles De La Barranca” and “El Ray.”  ...

Schaller native Emily Martin shares the story of how their newly-born son came to have a distinctly “Iowa Hawkeye” name. The Martins now reside in Coralville. Greetings fellow Hawkeye Fans. I have a little Hawkeye football story that has a bit of a backstory first. ...

Western Iowa Congressman Steve King says that he is being attacked by a Los Angeles screenwriter over LGBTQ issues, and is asking his supporters to donate money to “counter this new Hollywood leftist threat.” Screenwriter and activist Ryan Murphy is setting up a fund in an attempt to drive 20 politicians that he claims are “anti-LGBTQ” out of office in 2020, singling out the Iowa Republican among office holders who, he was quoted as saying, “think they can get votes by hurting and discriminating against us.”. ...

Poll workers man an early voting station at Storm Lake Elementary Tuesday, while a concert was going on. Turnout was brisk as voters weighed in on a bond issue for a preschool-1st grade building proposal. / Pilot photo by Dana Larsen

Members of the new Storm Lake High School Advanced Ecology class paid a visit to the city council Monday, schooling local leaders on a plan to improve cleanliness in the city. The group has been studying the local environment, focusing on the watershed, and proposing to get involved through some small group action projects...

By ELIJAH DECIOUS Pilot-Tribune Staff Storm Lake resident Noe Casco has been sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of 22 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, all aggravated misdemeanors. Judge Andrew Smith handed the sentence down, as recommended by prosecuting Assistant County Attorney Paul Allen...

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union has named Storm Lake Dance Squad Coach Colleen Wabeke its CHARACTER COUNTS! Coach of the Year. Affectionately known by her team as “Coach Co,” the Storm Lake coach has guided one of the most accomplished dance teams in the state. At the 2018 Iowa State Dance/Drill Team Contest, the Tornadoes earned first place in the Hoopla category...

With just days left to reach its goal, the Adopt-A-Family for Christmas project has seen a heart-warming season, with 197 families adopted. The Pilot-Tribune and Upper Des Moines Opportunity co-sponsor the program each year, matching generous individuals, families, businesses, clubs, classrooms and church groups with needy Buena Vista County families to provide the Christmas experience they might otherwise not have...

Tyson Foods has successfully completed the $2.2 billion acquisition of Keystone Foods from Marfrig Global Foods. The meat giant filed documents Friday with the Securities Exchange Commission for a $1.8 billion loan to help float the buy-out. This acquisition for the company that is Storm Lake’s largest employer includes eight foreign processing plants and three innovation centers in China, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia that Tyson says will help meet growing international demand. ...

After a lengthy hashing-out, the Storm Lake City Council decided Monday to open up a proposed corporate discount for the King’s Pointe waterpark to the public. Punch cards will be sold for $60 each, good for 10 visits to the indoor water park through the remainder of the winter. The cards will be available at the resort desk as soon as they can be printed, likely by this weekend...

Mitch McDonald was presented with the SLPD Police Officer of the Year Award by Mayor Mike Porsch during Monday’s city council meeting. Public Safety Director Mark Prosser said the honor is based on job performance, professionalism, attitude and other factors. ...

A Des Moines man who tried to escape police attention in Storm Lake slipped up when he gave an officer a fake name - and it turned out that the ID he used was wanted for outstanding warrants. Monday night, an officer stopped a car on East Milwaukee Avenue for a traffic offense. ...

Buena Vista University’s Academic Affairs Committee has been discussing changing the academic calendar to include a May term, according to report by the student newspaper, The Tack. Unlike many colleges, BVU’s academic calendar includes a January “Interim” term, which results in the end of the school year later than on some campuses. Other schools that end the school year earlier in the spring often offer an optional term starting in May...

The deadline is approaching to bid on the Literary Baskets, a silent auction fundraiser by the Storm Lake Friends of the Library. There are 26 baskets total, and all can be seen and bid on at the library. New this year is a raffle. The prizes are two Casey’s gift cards and a Visa gift card, all in denominations of $25. Raffle chances are $2 each and can be purchased at the front desk...

The tugboat used in the island restoration is on ice at the staging area near the Storm Lake campground, not quite complete with its mission to finish the Big Island work rip-rap work this season, after the same company was employed by the DNR to rebuild Shorty’s Island off Lakeside the summer before. ...

For the first time in the past decade, Buena Vista University will be hosting a winter formal dance - the Winter Ball. Thursday’s event will follow the traditional All-Campus Christmas Dinner in the Siebens Forum ballroom, where faculty and staff serve the meal to the students...