Stories from Monday, June 1, 2009

After years of planning, the curtain is rising on the new Galva-Holstein performing arts center project - even if it doesn't look all that impressive yet. "Basically, what we have is a giant hole," laughs G-H Superintendent Harold Post. "You have to use your imagination."...

In one attempt to help boost enrollment at St. Mary's Catholic School, local residents plan to open a boarding school residential facility by this fall in the building that formerly housed Fratzke and Jensen Funeral Home. The plan is already seeing interest in prospective students from as far away as Hungary...

POCAHONTAS -- Officials say a hydrochloric acid leak caused by a broken valve has been contained at a city pool in Pocahontas in northern Iowa. No one was injured and no evacuation was needed in Wednesday's incident. About 250 gallons of acid poured out of a tank and a toxic vapor cloud formed just before noon...

SPENCER - The Storm Lake boys soccer team's quest for a trip to the 2009 State Tournament came to an end Thursday night as they fell to Spencer by a final score of 7-0. "They did a good job of just shutting us down," said Storm Lake head coach Ben Schekirke. "The communication that we thought was gonna be there wasn't there. They just outplayed us. It was tough.We held them off for about 20 minutes and then let a goal in. After that they let down a bit, and it was an uphill battle from there."...

WATERLOO - Storm Lake's team of Carsen and Taylor Anderson got their quest for a 2009 State Doubles title off on the right foot, picking up an opening round victory Friday morning. The duo outlasted Pella's tandem of Gerber and Harris in a four set marathon match (6-3, 6-7, 8-6, 7-5)...

ALTA - The Alta baseball team overcame an early 2-0 deficit, knocking home seven runs in the fifth inning to make the score 12-2 and end the game after just five innings. Ben Stevens went 2-4 with 4 RBIs, Jeremy Lambert was 2-2 with a pair of singles and a walk, and Cameron Manteufel, Austin Stille and Andrew Allerdings all added singles...

School is out for the summer, and the kids will have more time to interact with both friends and furbabies, so it is important that parents remind their children that all dogs will bite if threatened beyond their comfort zones, whether they are family pets or stray dogs. ...

The Great American Circus of Stars will make a stop in Alta Monday with a performance scheduled at 7 p.m. at the Buena Vista Fairgrounds. The animal-free circus will include aerialists, acrobats, trapeze stars, jugglers, clowns, comedy acts and thrill acts...

Area children ages 6-14 have been auditioning this week for Spencer Community Theatre's production of "A Year with Frog and Toad: Kids." Rehearsals begin May 31 and run until the show opens on June 25. Arnold Lobel's well-loved characters hop from the page to the stage in "A Year With Frog And Toad." Conceived by Mr. ...