Stories from Thursday, April 3, 2003

Bright sunny skies and temperatures hovering near 80 degrees proved to be the perfect learning combination for several classes of junior high students at Alta on Tuesday and Wednesday, as they participated in a variety of outdoor classroom activities in the Alta City Park throughout the school day...

A new bill which has made its way onto the floor of the Iowa Senate could mean that municipal telecommunications companies across the state could be forced to shut down, including Alta-Tec, which provides telephone, cable television and internet service to number of residents in the town...

What a way to open the track and field season for Storm Lake St. Mary's. The Panthers won two relay events - their first first-place finish in a relay in quite some time - to highlight their season debut on Monday night at the Jefferson-Scranton Earlybird Invitational...

The numbers were astronomical. Thirty-one runs, 35 hits, 11 errors, six home runs, 3 hours and 40 minutes. When the dust all settled - and it took an extra inning for it to happen - Buena Vista had posted a wild 16-15 victory over Morningside College in 10 innings on Monday in Storm Lake...

The Greater Storm Lake Area Jaycees are sponsoring Operation Hometown Support and urging everyone in the community to participate in supporting local soldiers overseas. This project consists of collecting personal care items and food items that soldiers could use while working hard overseas. ...

Lois Anderson Lois M. Anderson of Lake Pointe Villa, Storm Lake passed away Sunday morning, March 30, 2003 at the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center. Funeral services will be 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, April 2, at the Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake with Reverend Duane Queen officiating. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements...

SHERRI KLOHS AND JASON DURST Bill and Connie Klohs of LeMars and James and Connie Durst of Albert City are proud to announce the engagement and upcoming marriage of their children, Sherri Lynn Klohs and Jason Matthew Durst, both of Byron, MN. Sherri is an accountant for McGladry and Pullen and Jason is a registered nurse at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN...

Needlecraft class to be offered Learn to enjoy this easy needlecraft and make pretty practical items for friends and family. Amber Joplin will be offering "Getting Hooked on Crochet" on 3 Tuesdays, April 15, 22, and 29, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the High School Media Center. ...

The Buena Vista Community Theatre at the Roxy is proud to announce this summer's production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." This musical by Andrew J. Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice is sure to delight everyone - no matter what the taste in music. The musical styles ranging from classical Broadway ballads to country western, rock, calypso and go-go dancers. French cafe performers, and a touch of humor lend a modern touch to the Biblical story of Jacob and and his twelve sons...

Farmers in northwest Iowa and across the state could be in for a surprise when they buy their fertilizer for their crops this spring, as nitrogen prices have risen up to $300 a ton in some areas, a 35-percent increase from last fall. The rising prices reflect a sharp increase in the cost of natural gas, a major component of nitrogen fertilizer. ...

I had to smile when I heard the Carson & Barnes Circus - "the biggest big top in the world" - is coming to Storm Lake this season. I imagine a lot of us while growing up have dreamed of running away with the circus. A friend I've not seen in a long time did just that...

There are two sources of income to cover a paycheck. In private industry it is profit and in public service it is taxes. In private industry if a person is given a raise in wages but does not produce more, the price of the product will have to be raised. The same is true with a public employee who gets a salary increase. If they do not produce more or better the cost of services will increase...

A northern Iowa school district and one four miles away in Minnesota are considering a cross-border merger to save their cash-strapped districts. The merger of Northwood-Kensett district and Glenville-Emmons district in Minnesota would be the first of its kind in Iowa...

A series of grass fires Tuesday and Wednesday resulted in at least one tragedy when a Storm Lake man was found dead at the site of a grass fire southwest of Linn Grove. Ellis Francis, 77, of Storm Lake, was found at the scene of a blaze on his farm southwest of Linn Grove Tuesday afternoon...

It wasn't a matter of "yes" or "no," but "why" and "how." A public hearing over a proposed whole-grade sharing agreement for Newell-Fonda and Albert City-Truesdale held in Newell Tuesday generated feedback from residents searching for more information, but did not result in a consensus for or against the merge...