Stories from Thursday, November 5, 2015

Improper disposal of medical sharps exposes the public and our employees to the risk of being injured and poses a very serious public health concern, according to officials at Rowley Recycling Center. What are sharps? Sharps are anything that is capable of puncturing or lacerating the skin including but not limited to needles, syringes, lancets, auto injectors, infusion sets or Connection needles/sets (including the tubing). ...

December 2, 1939 - October 23, 2015

November 2, 1942 - October 3, 2015

Burglary turns into false report On October 30, at approximately 2:34 a.m., Storm Lake police officers were called to 135 Flindt Drive for a report of a Burglary to an occupied residence. While on scene and talking with the reporting party and victim, officers observed inconsistencies with the account of the victim and physical evidence available. Investigators spoke with the victim at the Police Department and confronted her on the inconsistencies...

Members of the Storm Lake St. Mary's Adult Choir chartered a bus to Denison Sunday to participate in the 11th annual St. Cecilia Sing at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. They sang group pieces with the other choirs in attendance as well as two pieces of music by themselves. ...

Iowa KidsNet, the statewide organization that recruits, trains, licenses and supports Iowa's foster and adoptive families, will hold an information session in Spencer on November 23 for individuals interested in becoming foster or adoptive parents. Foster care is the temporary placement of children with families outside of their own home due to abuse, neglect or other family crisis situations. ...

Believe it or not, the holiday season is just around the corner. One of the best parts of any good holiday celebration is beautiful holiday plants, including the spectacular amaryllis. What is the best way to ensure it will bloom for Christmas, and can it be saved afterward?...

The Buena Vista volleyball team began the Iowa Conference Tournament against a team that just handed them a tough five-set loss two weeks ago, but this time around the Beavers finished things off with a hard-fought 3-0 sweep of the Spartans. Dubuque actually jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the opening set before the Beavers began to find their groove offensively to get back into the set by squaring things up at 9-9. ...

The Storm Lake girls' swim team is gearing up to compete at the state swim meet this Saturday in Marshalltown. Last Saturday, the Tornadoes qualified Keely Soellner and Destini Oehlertz in two individual events for the state meet. Soellner will race in the 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard freestyle, while Oehlertz will swim in the 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke...

The Buena Vista football team suffered its fifth loss in a row on last week but hopes to get back on track this week against Central. The Beavers (1-7, 0-5 IIAC) struggled to find any consistency on the field in the 55-0 loss to Wartburg last Saturday. To reverse BVU's fortune and to get the first conference win of the season against the Dutch (5-3, 3-2 IIAC), Beaver's head coach Jay Anderson said his players need to win the battle at the line of scrimmage...

The Buena Vista wrestling team will look to ride a youthful roster as it kicks-off its regular season this Friday at home against St. Olaf. The Beavers finished last season 3-14 overall and 0-7 in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and was 39th as a tournament team. To be more competitive on the mat this season, BVU head coach Jeff Breese will lean on several newcomers to the program...

The Newell-Fonda football team will look to advance to the state semifinals this Friday against Colo-Nesco at home. Coming off a win against Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire last week, the Mustangs (11-0) will battle to keep their state title dreams alive versus the Royals (9-2). Newell-Fonda head coach Brian Wilken has coached his team to 22 wins in a row, dating back to last season, but to him the all the credit belongs to the players on the field...

Ready, Set, Let's Roll! Creek Fest is excited to tell you that Chase Rice will be playing on Friday, July 29th. Get your tickets now. Weekend general admission passes are still just $75, but not for long. Ticket price will go up on November 11th. They are working on even more great artists to be announced soon...

"The Peanuts Movie," a Twentieth Century Fox release, is rated G by the Motion Picture Association of America. Running time: 92 minutes. Three stars out of four.

To honor our nation's veterans, Hy-Vee is encouraging its customers to join its Hy-Vee Homefront initiative and serve the men and women who have served America. The Hy-Vee Homefront initiative is comprised of several company efforts, including complimentary Veterans Day breakfasts at all Hy-Vee stores, Honor Flights and veterans and military member employee recruitment...

"Everything here has a story. My tractor pull helmet is pink, black, green and white, so that's going to be the color of my sign in front," says Keely Ronk, new owner of Outlaw Bar and Grill in Early. And don't let the name fool you, "Outlaw" refers to the tractor pull association she participates in with her father. "It's a huge part of my life," she says...

On Wednesday, October 21, a community reception was held to welcome Dr. Seth Harrer and his family to Buena Vista Regional Medical Center. Dr. Harrer is an orthopaedic surgeon with Northwest Iowa Bone, Joint, and Sports Surgeons and specializes in total joint replacement, knee and shoulder arthroscopy, and general orthopedics. Dr. Harrer and his family, Deanna and Ian, live in Storm Lake...

By DANA LARSEN Pilot-Tribune Editor Storm Laker Mark Huddleston is continuing to work toward hopes of seeing a small homeless shelter established in Storm Lake, which he proposes to call "Mary's House," in honor of the mother of Jesus. Over the past couple of weeks, he has contacted many of the ministers in the area and others to gauge interest in the project...

LARRABEE -- The Iowa landowners who oppose a proposed pipeline to carry North Dakota oil to Illinois hope state regulators will consider their concerns about the project. Rancher Jack Montgomery said that the pipeline Dakota Access has proposed has started to seem like a done deal...

Lisa Schenzel remembers when her older sister taught her the words to "Silver Bells" on car rides over the Gordon Drive viaduct in Sioux City. Learning that Christmas song is the earliest memory Shenzel has of her 17-year-old sister, Maureen Brubaker-Farley, who disappeared 44 years ago on Sept. 21 and was later found dead in Cedar Rapids...

I am compelled to once again turn to the method of an editorial to express my disappointment in the management protocol with regards to the Buena Vista Memorial Cemetery... certainly lacking compassion for the bereaved. Our mom, Alyce Nielson, passed away in early June. ...

You previously ran an item called "Bottled Up Emotion." Some of your readers questioned whether the can and bottle bill should be done away with. Before the can and bottle bill was passed, I lived for a number of years in Boone, Iowa and participated in the annual city-wide clean-up in the spring...

After reading the World Health Organization's conclusion that red meat is probably carcinogenic, my dear wife went to their website to see what other seemingly harmless substances were actually trying to kill us. The WHO has four levels of danger in five categories. ...

Iowans suing Iowans is difficult enough to swallow, but the concept of rewarding such an expensive and some might suggest ultimately fruitless legal entanglement is a bit troubling. Des Moines Water Works, at the urging of its CEO Bill Stowe, has sued Buena Vista, Sac and Calhoun counties over the state of river water flowing downstream to make up part of the metro's drinking water supply. The case has already drug on since March, and probably won't even see a courtroom until next summer...

On October 19, Storm Lake Police Department was contacted by the Utah Bureau of Investigations regarding a traffic stop conducted by the Utah Highway Patrol on October 19, which led to the arrest of three Storm Lake family members. This arrest in Utah involved the seizure of approximately 55 pounds of marijuana along with a handgun. Storm Lake officers then initiated a local investigation involving a Storm Lake residence and three Storm Lake businesses owned and/or managed by the same family...

Second graders starred in the first Storm Lake Elementary "Informance" of the year, performing songs of patriotism, honoring veterans in the full-house crowd, and lofting signs to celebrate the many cultures and native languages that make up the Storm Lake community. The next event will be December 8 with third graders. / Pilot photo by Dana Larsen...

Leaders of the Iowa Lakes Corridor Corporation and Storm Lake United made presentations to the Storm Lake City Council this week. Dick Drahota, chairperson for a local campaign on behalf of the corridor, noted that the organization has had 114 entrepreneurial clients, 29 businesses, 138 created jobs and $5.7 million in business investment to show for its efforts. Five new businesses have been recruited between 2013 and 2015...

Voters replace two SL council incumbents, Lakeside mayor

$30,000 fund drive to begin with approval of non-profit status

Can a tree make you healthier, happier and even protect you from crime? The DNR says yes

July 31, 1927 - October 28, 2015

November 21, 1933 - October 27, 2015

September 16, 1952 - October 27, 2015

February 16, 1945 - October 27, 2015