Stories from Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Soon enough, children will be crafting snowmen on the playgrounds of our area communities. Except for the one who will stay inside at his or her desk, without a warm coat to go outside for recess. They will be tossing snowballs - except for the ones who stand at the wall and watch, because they don't have mittens or snowballs...

The Storm Lake City Council chambers were unexpectedly packed to standing-room-only by visitors in soccer uniforms last night. Spokesperson Lorena Lopez said that two or three players from each team in the local adult league were attending to appeal to the City to help them find a new place to play...

EARLY- A judge has upheld the murder conviction of an Iowa mother who was convicted of shooting and killing her 20-year-old neighbor in 2001. Judge Michael Moon rejected an application for post-conviction relief filed by Tracey Richter, who is serving life in prison in the slaying of 20-year-old Dustin Wehde. Richter remains in prison in Mitchellville...

As area towns decide winners and losers of city elections today, four communities will determine a matter that stands to last longer than any political term. The 1 percent local option sales tax that is currently set to expire in 2020 would be continued indefinitely in Storm Lake, Alta, Lakeside, Rembrandt and rural unincorporated areas of Buena Vista County if approved by voters...

Woman accuses live-in boyfriend of sexual assault Storm Lake Police were dispatched to 1716 Tulip Lane Apt. 5 for a report of a domestic argument in progress Sunday night. Upon arrival, officers spoke with a female in the apartment who alleged that her live-in boyfriend, identified as Essossinam Talboussouma, age 25 of Storm Lake, had engaged in an argument with her in her apartment. The victim reported Talboussouma grabbed her by the arm during the argument, causing her pain...

Former Iowa Senator and driving force behind the historic Americans with Disability Act Tom Harkin addressed the inaugural Ruderman Inclusion Summit on the 25th anniversary of ADA. Harkin was honored with the Morton E. Ruderman Award and a $100,000 donation to the Harkin Institute.

A meat company based in Nebraska is recalling 167,427 pounds of ground beef that might be tainted with E. coli bacteria. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Sunday that All American Meats Inc. is recalling the meat that was sold to retailers nationwide. No illnesses have been linked to the beef...

Local organizations who serve veterans are teaming up to provide food, support and resources to northwest Iowa veterans and military families the day before Veteran's Day. All veterans and military families are invited to attend this free event on Tuesday, November 10 from 11:30 - 1 p.m. ...

Legions of ghosts and ghouls, along with super-heros, comic book characters and various figments of people's imaginations invaded downtown Storm Lake for some trick-or-treating last Saturday morning. Temperatures were low, but spirits were high- and not just the ones in costume- perhaps with an assist from the bountiful sugar being doled out...

Western Iowa Congressman Steve King says Hillary Clinton and other 'wealthy liberals' are picking on him. "This week Hillary's Super PAC, Priorities USA, launched its biggest ad campaign to date. The new ad attack singles out Republicans across the country - including me!" King said in a message to supporters seeking contributions...

NEWTON- Addressing roughly 40 farmers and landowners in Jasper County, over the weekend, Sen. Rand Paul told the crowd that, "No private property owner should have their land taken through eminent domain and transferred to another for-profit company."...

As much as I am at my desk today, I'll be in the newspaper's restroom, probably curled into the fetal position. Welcome to northwest Iowa. My opinion is that no one is really healthy here, from the first of October until the first of May. If they seem to be, they are just pretending, to be mean, and should possibly be burned at the stake. The only question here is just how sick you are at any given moment...

There's a new James Bond film coming out, and I know I'll go see it the way I have all the others. Why? Because I want to be a danger-loving, woman-chasing spy? No; I'd just like to be able to do things without studying or practicing, like Bond. Remember when James Bond out-golfed Goldfinger by one stroke? Bond never practiced, never spent a minute on the driving range, but he played like a pro. I play golf three times a week and I get worse, not better...

I had watched my student, Colleen, grow strong as she worked through her divorce and started a new life for herself and her two children. So I was surprised the next semester when she came into my office crying. She flopped into a chair and spoke through her tears. "Professor Howard, I have to drop out of school."...

The Witter Gallery will present an exhibition entitled "Midwest Unclad," featuring the work of artist Holly Zinn, beginning on November 5 and remaining open to the public until November 24. A reception for the artist will be held on November 13 at the Witter Gallery from 5:30 to 7 p.m...

The Rosemary Clausen Center for Performing Arts in Holstein will present the Alaska String Band and its show, A Southeast Alaskan Odyssey, on Saturday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m. This outstanding family of performers is from Juneau, Alaska, a mere 2,744 mile drive and boat ride from Holstein. ...

The Clay County Regional Events Center announced a pair of upcoming shows: BeatleMania LIVE at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, and Clint Black's Christmas Show at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17. BeatleMania LIVE has authentic costume changes to accompany the music from every Beatles era -- Ed Sullivan, Shea Stadium, Sgt. ...

Defending state 8-man football champions Newell-Fonda faced a stern test in a Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire team that had lost only once this season, but after a hard-fought first half, the Mustangs sturdy run game paced them to a 28-14 win and punched their ticket to a quarterfinal playoff game on Friday...

After dominating for most of the first half, the Ridge View football team slipped on the field in the second half and saw its state title hopes come to an end against South Central Calhoun Monday. The Raptors (8-3) were defeated, 35-17, by the Titans (10-1). With the loss, Ridge View's season comes to an close...

The Buena Vista football allowed more than 200 yards of total offense in the first quarter and fell behind 21-0 after one period, and the Beavers couldn't overcome the deficit on the road at No. 21 Wartburg College during a 55-0 loss to the Knights...

Storm Lake cross country's season came to a close on Saturday as two Tornado runners competed in the state meet in Fort Dodge for the first time. The Tornadoes saw junior Dylan Cavanaugh finish ninth at the meet in a time of 16:47.4 and sophomore Leandro Marin place 111th with a time of 18:12.9. With Cavanaugh's top-15 finish, he garnered All-State honors at the meet...

The Alta-Aurelia girls' cross country team closed out the season with its first ever state meet performance in Fort Dodge on Saturday. The Warriors placed 13th as a team with 311 points, which was 245 points behind first place finisher Central, Elkader. For Alta-Aurelia head coach Wendell Larson, the finish was a statement of what his girls can do...

The Storm Lake girls' swim team advanced four swimmers in six events to the state meet in the qualifying regionals in Fort Dodge on Saturday. Seniors Keely Soellner and Destini Oehlertz will both move to the state meet as individuals for the Tornadoes. The other two Storm Lake state qualifiers were sophomore Kylie Mongan and senior Joy Bral, who made up two free relay teams along with Soellner and Oehlertz...

Men's Soccer The Buena Vista men's soccer team saw its 2015 campaign come to an end on Tuesday night with a 7-0 loss on the road at Simpson College. The Storm came out and scored a pair of goals less than six minutes into the match for an early 2-0 lead. ...

BROOKINGS, S.D. - South Dakota State University admissions representative Thomas Hagena will visit several high schools to promote the university and answer students' questions about financial aid, scholarships, major and minor programs, student life and more...

ORANGE CITY --Mallory Bjork and Morgan VanDerSloot are serving as tutors for the 2015--16 school year at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. Tutors offer support to students in a variety of academic disciplines, including math, science and writing. ...

Leadership for the 2016 St. Mary's Ball and Charity Auction has been announced. Nick and Kim Foell will be co-chairing the major fundraiser alongside chairs Tim and Erin Smith. The two couples will lead the charge for the March 19, 2016 semi-formal fundraiser that nets over six figures to operate the Storm Lake preK-12 parochial school...

On Saturday, October 17, eleven Storm Lake Middle School 7th and 8th grade band students were selected for membership in the Northwest Iowa Bandmasters 7th & 8th Grade District Honor Bands. SLMS students competed with students from 42 other Northwest Iowa schools. Approximately 190 out of 300 students were chosen to perform in one of two honor bands...

Iowa Central Community College was honored to have members of the Decker family on hand to present a $25,000 check to the Triton Athletic Department on Saturday, Ocr. 24, from the Estate of Dale and Donnabelle Decker. The Decker's have been avid longtime supporters of Iowa Central and our athletic programs...

The Scholastic book fair with preschool level books will be held November 9th - 12th at the East Early Childhood School Library in Storm Lake. Monday and Wednesday hours are 8 - 5:00, Tuesday and Thursday hours are 8 - 7:30. This "Monster" Book Fair is open to the public or you can shop online at Scholastic.com/fair, then select Iowa, Storm Lake, East Early Childhood...

January 28, 1930 - October 30, 2015

May 19, 1927 - October 30, 2015

May 8, 1928 - October 30, 2015

December 14, 1956 - October 28, 2015

September 11, 1937 -- October 31, 2015

AMES, Iowa -- Food safety experts at Iowa State University are taking a lead role to help producers in Iowa and the Midwest comply with new federal regulations to guarantee the food we eat is safe. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 48 million Americans -- or one in six -- get sick every year from foodborne illnesses. ...

Reach for the Stars, represented by Flor Johnsen and family of Laurens received a grant money award of $1,000 from Memorial Lutheran Church, Ministry Endowment Fund, Nevada, Iowa. There were 27 awardees that presented different projects within the congregation, local, and global ministries. The event took place at Memorial Lutheran Church, Nevada during their worship service on October 25, 2015...

The state meeting of Colonial Dames XVII Century was held at Methodist Manor in Storm Lake on October 3. State President Mary Stille of Schaller presided. State officers from the Siouan Hawkeye chapter were in attendance. Four former State Presidents were in attendance-Marjorie Miller of Storm Lake, Ruth Shannon and Judy Enos of Des Moines, and Nancy Downing or Glenwood. ...