State and Regional News

A former workers’ compensation attorney for a Tyson Foods meatpacking division sued the company for wrongful termination, accusing company officials of making anti-gay slurs, filing false information in workers’ compensation cases, and sex and age discrimination...

The grand opening for the newest addition to the Little Foote Forest in Milford will be held 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15. “We’re excited to celebrate the new addition to this beautiful park and to thank the donors that made this acquisition possible, including a state Resource Enhancement and Protection grant, the Iowa Great Lakes Saddle Club and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation,” Kiley Roth, the community relations coordinator for the Dickinson County Conservation Board said...

A pair of Mason City residents are being held in the Dickinson County Jail on charges of trafficking methamphetamine. Authorities booked 30-year-old Amanda Kay Adams into the local jail shortly after noon Wednesday, Oct. 2. About an hour later, 29-year-old Jacob Daniel Johnson was booked into the jail as well. ...

The annual Aurelia Little Spooks House and Trunk-or-Treat will be held Saturday, October 19 on Main Street in Aurelia, hosted by the Friends of Aurelia. There will be Halloween games and activities at the Aurelia Community Center and Trunk-or- Treating downtown from 3-4:30 p.m. If would like to join in on the fun and have a trunk-or-treat vehicle on Main Street, call or text Shana at 229-1909...

The Trump administration announced Friday it plans to implement new rules that will increase demand for ethanol, reversing a decline caused by exemptions given to oil refineries. The proposal follows months of complaints by Midwest farmers, politicians and the ethanol industry that the federal government’s granting of waivers to refiners had violated federal law and forced some ethanol plants to close...

A person is defined by much more than their worst moments. That’s what board members of the Colton Baschke Foundation feel. In it’s brief history, the Lakes Area nonprofit has raised funds for the Humane Society of Northwest Iowa and hopes to establish a memorial scholarship for Colton Baschke. Colton died in September of 2017 at the age of 26, after he lost control of the truck he was driving...

Wednesday’s driving rains didn’t dampen the spirits of Storm Lake St. Mary’s PreK-12 student body as they forged on with their plans for the Healthy Walk Iowa. Instead of walking outside in the beautiful city parks, they started in the school gym after school President Father Brent Lingle led them in prayer and went up stairs and down hallways for three cycles. ...

A potential bill could provide greater assurances for Iowa farmers when it comes to selling their corn crop for ethanol production, but U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley says he doesn’t want to count the proverbial chickens before they hatch. The Environmental Protection Agency’s 2019 Renewable Fuel Standard requires 15 billion gallons of ethanol be produced by fuel refineries, but production waivers granted by the EPA have frustrated Grassley and a number of Iowa’s other legislators...

A central Iowa pastor who also served as a chaplain to area first responders was robbed and beaten to death outside of his church, authorities said. Officers sent to St. Paul Lutheran Church in Fort Dodge on Wednesday evening found the Rev. Allen Henderson lying unresponsive outside of the building, police said in a news release. Henderson was pronounced dead at a local hospital of injuries consistent with an assault...

A man has been burned while working at a hog confinement in northwest Iowa. Firefighters were sent a little after 5 p.m. Monday to the hog operation, which sits about 5 miles northwest of Le Mars. Officials say two people had been inside a building, using a power washer to clean it. One left the building to refuel the power washer engine, and he spilled gas on himself and the machine. Fire officials say the vapors ignited, burning the man...

A balloon artist created a goalpost hat, complete with football, during the Beaver Boardwalk event Saturday before the Buena Vista University homecoming football game in Storm Lake. All kinds of fun activities for children were set up in the “Fan Zone”...

On the afternoon of Wednesday, September 25, at approximately 3 p.m. the Storm Lake Police Department took a report in reference to a theft at the Storm Lake Wal-Mart Store. Police were advised that on September 22, three juvenile males allegedly worked in concert with each other to remove over $100 in smoking devise from behind a tobacco counter in the store...

A 100 mph motorcycle ride led to Joshua Weisser’s first trip to the Dickinson County Jail. His second trip, years later, had its share of twists and turns. That final ride was a lot slower and a lot safer — Stew Peters was behind the wheel. His title is lead investigator with the Twin Cities Apprehension Team. Peters doesn’t mind the more efficient term, though...

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Imagine Iowa Great Lakes began work this week to repair the seawall at Arnolds Park. The project will stabilize the foundation of the sidewalk and ultimately serve as a platform for the beautification work led by Imagine Iowa Great Lakes...

The public artwork, “The Gathering: of Time, of Land, of Many Hands,” has stood tall in Spencer’s East Leach Park for 19 years, but never with so few of its mosaic pieces. Each of the more than 60,000 broken tile pieces were cut and installed by members of the community at the direction of Chicago-based lead artists John Pitman Weber and Nina Smoot-Cain in 2000, but deterioration has led some of the pieces to come apart from the structure...

After receiving 12 separate charges of a licensee/permittee supplying alcohol to a person under the legal age, Chris Burg made an initial appearance before the court Wednesday pleading not guilty to all charges. According to court documents, each citation carries a total fine of $2,085, meaning the defendant could be subject to more than $25,000 in fines...

It’s been more than a dozen years since organizers welcomed the public to the inaugural Bee and Butterfly Festival, and Dickinson County Conservation Board Executive Director Lee Sorenson said next year’s festivities will herald a noticeable name change in honor of the festival’s founder Delores Maser...

In a year where mother nature would rarely cooperate, area agriculture professionals said the recent weather has been almost perfect for crops planted in the region to get back on track to normalcy. However, they said area farmers are still prepared for more bad weather news, while hoping for the best...

A premiere screening for the film “Toy Story 3 In Real Life,” produced by Buena Vista University students Morgan and Mason McGrew, will be held Thursday, September 26, 7 p.m., in Anderson Auditorium on campus. The brothers meticulously re-created the computer animated set for the original movie, but in reality...

Congressman Steve King continues to bash “Fake News media, DC political establishment and radical leftists on and off Capitol Hill,” who he claims continue to “lash out at me so often.” In a fundraising email message, King asked supporters, “Have you abandoned me, did I just not receive your email or letter… OR has the liberal mob bullied you…”...

Matt Dengler’s interest in model railroading really began as a child. He grew up in Rock Rapids, Iowa, and had a huge interest in local history and the railroads that ran through that area. “By the time I was born, the railroads had all pulled out leaving behind intriguing shadows and an air of nostalgia that piqued my curiosity’” he explained...

On Saturday, senator and presidential candidate Kamala Harris will join striking Iowa McDonald’s workers in a show of support for workers in the Fight for $15, Harris’ campaign told the Pilot-Tribune. Harris - herself a former McDonald’s worker - will walk the strike line with cooks and cashiers from Cedar Rapids and Des Moines who are demanding $15 an hour and union rights. Strikers will then march Harris to a rally outside the Polk County Democratic Party’s annual Steak Fry...

More than 200 scientists from 38 Iowa colleges and universities have signed on to a climate change statement that warns of “sobering extreme heat projections” for the Midwest that will put people, livestock and pets at risk. The statement released Wednesday says the World Meteorological Association identified July as the hottest month in more than 140 years of record-keeping...

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder within the ranks of veterans is at epidemic levels, and meetings are being set up in Cherokee to help address the issues, after a reported 28 suicides in the Cherokee area, many of which may have involved PTSD. Organizers say that many veterans report difficulty returning to civilian life, struggling with depression, flashbacks, nightmares, anger, self-medication and other issues, which may be triggered unexpectedly. ...

While continuing their mission for veterans and singing to encourage positive patriotism and faith, Iowa sisters Stacie and Carrie Stoelting will sing at an event featuring Second Lady Karen Pence, wife of Vice President Mike Pence. Mrs. Pence is coming to Iowa as Governor Kim Reynolds’s special guest at her annual family fall festival at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The event will be held on Saturday, September 21...

During CommStock Investments’ annual customer appreciation event held inside the Eurocast Events Center Ballroom Saturday at the Clay County Fair, the crowded room heard from keynote speaker Clint Romesha, recipient of the Medal of Honor. “Coming here today is kind of to help share the story,” Romesha said. ...

Seasons Center for Behavioral Health is hosting a free kids’ carnival on Thursday, September 26, from 4-7 p.m. in Spencer. This free, family-friendly event is open to the entire community and families of all ages are welcome. “The purpose of this carnival is to provide a fun-filled event for the whole community, while sharing resources that are available to those in need,” said Katie Ping, Marketing and Events Coordinator at Seasons Center. ...

Hy-Vee, Inc., based in West Des Moines, Iowa, is voluntarily recalling seven of its Hy-Vee Mealtime Asian Entrees after discovering the liquid egg used to make the fried rice contains milk, which is not declared on the product label. The voluntary recall includes seven varieties of Asian dishes in 16-ounce or 20-ounce plastic containers and best if used by dates of Sept. 14, 2019, or Sept. 15, 2019. The expiration date can be found on the label on the top of the plastic lid...

Each year the Clay County Fair Veterans Day highlights veterans and a specific branch of the military. This year, the branch highlighted was the United States Merchant Marine, which speaker Brig. Gen. Allen J. Smith, retired commander of the Iowa Air National Guard, said is an often overlooked part of the military which has served in every war since the Revolutionary War yet few who have served as merchant mariners are recognized as veterans for the purpose of receiving veterans benefits...

An assault by an inmate at a prison in Fort Dodge has left an officer with minor injuries. The Iowa Department of Corrections says that on Sunday afternoon, an inmate at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility attacked a correctional officer. Officials say the attack happened about 4 p.m. when the inmate pushed the officer backward and then attempted to hit the officer. The officer responded with pepper spray and other officers quickly tried to subdue the inmate...

owa Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame 2019 inductees Merle Pithan and Jill Miller autograph a guitar to be permanently displayed in the Iowa Rock ’n Roll museum. Both musicians are currently living in Sioux City.

By DAVID PITT Special to The Pilot Iowa’s auditor called Wednesday for other state officials to join him in refusing to pay appeal costs in a lawsuit filed against former Gov. Terry Branstad who was found by a jury to have discriminated against a former state official...

The Spencer Community School District has suffered a second bout of costly vandalism after a Suburban owned by the district had its windows destroyed last week near the high school. Spencer Superintendent Terry Hemann said the incident has led to increased security by the district...

The Clay County Board of Supervisors met with Northwest Iowa Planning and Development Executive Director Ted Kourousis and Clay County Conservation Director Will Horsley regarding the final phase of the Iowa Great Lakes Trail project, continuing from the bike trail’s completed second phase which stretches north of Spencer into Clay County. The project’s main purpose is to link the Spencer trail system with Fostoria and the Dickinson County trail system...

If the Clay County Fair is the king of all county fairs, it only makes sense to bring The King of Rock ’n’ Roll to the fair. Forever Elvis tribute show will perform Sept. 13-15 at the fairgrounds in Spencer, with shows daily at 11:30 a.m. 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m...

Applications are being accepted for the U.S. Citizenship Class offered at the Storm Lake Public Library. The 8-week fall course introduces students to historical and cultural information used on the Naturalization Test. Classes will be held on Tuesdays, beginning September 24 and will meet from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. through November 5. Child care will be available...

Work will begin the week of September 16 on replacing the Michigan Street parking lot that serves downtown Storm Lake, it was reported at a public meeting on the project held last week. The lot will close to the public on Friday, Sept. 13. If weather allows, work is expected to be done by November 1...

Iowa Congressman Steve King and New York Senator and former presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand have been engaging in a war of words via Twitter, that continued even after Gillibrand dropped out of the race last week. In an August post directed at King, Gillibrand had said, “You are a disgrace. Resign,” referring to a Des Moines Register article on comments King made about rape and incest...

The public is invited to the First Annual Sac County Paddle & Float, to be held on Saturday, August 31. Sac Economic and Tourism Development has hired a professional drone pilot to create new marketing for promotion of the 41 miles of the Raccoon River Water Trail in Sac County. The event begins at 1 p.m. with float going from Whitehorse to Grant accesses...

An Iowa-based grocery chain says it’s aware of reports that hacked customer account information is being sold online. The Des Moines Register was the first to report that credit and debit card information of some Hy-Vee customers is being sold on an internet site for $17 to $35 apiece...

Documents obtained by the Chronicle Times reveal that Lopez Foods Inc., who purchased the Iowa Food Group Plant in Cherokee in July, paid a total $9.3 million for the facility, including $5.8 million in Real Property, and $3.5 million in Personal Property...

Disc golf is a very popular sport in Iowa and especially in Cherokee. There are so many people that enjoying playing underway but every time the Little Sioux River floods it shuts there course down for at least a month. Due to the three floods in the past year the City of Cherokee has decided to make a change...

Some western Iowa fields are getting sprayed to get rid of painted lady butterflies that have become problematic for soybean crops. Iowa State University Extension field agronomist Joel DeJong said the agricultural community believes this year’s influx of the painted lady butterfly, or thistle caterpillar, is the largest ever in Siouxland...

An unexpected windfall from a local woman’s estate will greatly benefit the City of Cherokee and Oak Hill Cemetery. The late Velma Townsend of Cherokee and formerly Sutherland, has bequeathed the money to pave all the roads and parking areas in Oak Hill Cemetery, carrying an estimated project cost of $1.4 million...

A man Iowa authorities say was intoxicated when his vehicle crashed into another, killing three men, has pleaded not guilty to charges in the case. The Sioux City Journal reports that 21-year-old Ryan Childers, of Odebolt, entered the written plea LAST WEEK in Ida County District Court to three counts of vehicular homicide and one count of serious injury by motor vehicle...

Three Newell children put on a fundraiser of their own Friday, and donated the proceeds to TLC animal shelter in Newell. The kids came up with the idea to make rubber band bracelets and have a lemonade stand. Rowyn Nielson, Isabelle Landgraf and Will Landgraf, (and a few neighbor kids who helped make bracelets) raised $126 for the furbabies at TLC, selling about five gallons of lemonade. They presented the money to Pauline Larsen, who was thrilled with their donation...

The popular Jaci Hermstad motto, “Cowgirl Up for Jaci” could have easily changed to “Horsin’ Around for Jaci” after more than 60 participants saddled up for a day of horseback action as part of the Horse Show Fun Day event Saturday in the outdoor arena at the Clay County Fairgrounds...

After a successful fundraising campaign, the Clay County Cattlemen raised $5,200 for the Nebraska Relief Fund, which will assist Nebraskans effected by the severe flooding which has impacted the area since the spring. “They went around the local area and people donated hay and money,” said Art Hamrick, of the Clay County Cattlemen. ...