Stories from Tuesday, January 19, 2016

A tragic death has stunned the Sioux Rapids community. A search on Thursday turned up the body of Brian Tews, 52, who had gone missing on January 8, under the Little Sioux River Bridge. Officials believe Tews had fallen through the ice on a drainage outlet into the river a short distance away. With the temperature well below zero, hypothermia may have set in quickly and Tews apparently become disoriented, crawled under the bridge, and died there...

Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina was in Northwest Iowa last week, visiting Holstein and Denison Tuesday. The Pilot Tribune spoke with her by phone Saturday. We asked her about immigration. "This is an important issue, and we've been talking about it for 25 years. The system is broken, and we need to do three things to fix it...

Twenty-five year old Anthony Bruhl, Storm Lake, was pronounced dead at the scene of a car-semi accident late Friday night near the lighthouse outside Storm Lake on Highway 71. Sheriff's officials say Bruhl's vehicle was northbound on the highway when it collided with the southbound semi tractor trailer. The cause of the accident is still under investigation...

Several Storm Lake Police officers have joined the Run Ranger Run effort to help raise funds for GallantFew, a program to assist military veterans. In Run Ranger Run, teams of up to 10 individuals pledge to walk, run, or bicycle a combined total of 565 miles during the month of February, at the same time raising awareness for issues surrounding veterans' transition from military service to civilian life. This will be the fourth year for the effort...

Monday evening Jim Eliason presented a Climate Change slide show to about 20 attendees at the United Methodist Church, saying man-made production of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is changing the climate of the planet. With temperatures well below freezing and a bitter wind blowing, Eliason began by saying "This isn't the best day to try to convince you global warming is not a good thing!"...

Zach Lenhart, Lexi VanderWoude, Dalton VanderWal, Zach Roling and Katie Lenhart all dressed up as the Scooby Doo gang Monday to begin Homecoming week at St. Mary's. / Photo submitted

A Storm Lake 14-year-old has been arrested after allegedly sending nude photos of herself to a male student, who in turn allegedly harassed the girl after their romance had broken up. Tuesday morning, police were called to Storm Lake High School for a reported case of harassment...

The Pocahontas County Sheriff's Department reports that a Laurens man has been arrested for fraud relating to income tax filings. Robert M. Butler, 51, was charged with four counts of first degree fraudulent practice and one count of ongoing criminal conduct, all felonies. He was booked into the Pocahontas County Jail on $65,000 bond...

The City of Storm Lake will be closing two parking spaces on the north side of West 6th Street by Varenhorst Fabrics (700 Lake Avenue) beginning Friday, January 22, until Monday, February 22, at 5 p.m. The closure is to allow for a dumpster to be placed in the parking spaces to allow for cleaning out the Varenhorst Fabrics building...

After years of preparation, Seasons Center's children's facility -- named Autumn's Center -- is set to begin demolition of the former Twetten's Interior Design facility on East Fifth Street. The project was to begin Monday. "We were ready to go a year ago," said Kim Scorza, executive director of Seasons Center. ...

News & Comment From the Hill State Representative, Aurelia

Dennis Beck of Dell's Garden Center spoke to the Storm Lake Garden Club Thursday afternoon, explaining why Monarch Butterflies are becoming rare, the importance of Iowa to the butterflies, and how residents of Buena Vista County can help. At one point in his presentation, he showed a slide of a maple tree seemingly with leaves that were orange and black. ...

John Reed of Super 8 motel here in Storm Lake went to Pomeroy in 2014 and saw Peter Harper's band play. John bought Harper's live CD, and heard Harper say on one of the tracks, "I wrote this song for special needs kids and the people who help them." Reed contacted the band's manager, and in April of 2015 Harper came to Storm Lake and put on a concert at Faith Hope and Charity for the kids...

Prior to the American Revolution only the wealthy elites ruled nations. When our forefathers setup a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people", the idea that the common man could run a country was shocking and frightened the wealthy elites of the world. ...

Have you talked to Dad this week?" my sister Jane asked me. "He told me that Dr. Sam told him to stop driving." "There's no telling how many innocent lives will be saved." "It's not a joke. How is he going to buy groceries?" "What do you want me to do? I've asked him to come live with us a hundred times. ...

Every single presidential candidate that I've covered in these parts over the past year has prominently blasted the media in their prepared speeches. The strategy is well thought out and far from accidental. The media is unfair to them by reporting their foibles or asking them questions they don't want to answer instead of lobbing them ego-booster softballs...

The Carpenters, Ritchie Valens, the comedy of Second City and everything in between will be enjoyed by Lakes Area residents and visitors of all ages in 2016. A wide variety of acts and outstanding musicians comprise the tentative schedule of live performance shows at the Pearson Lakes Art Center in Okoboji...

CARROLL- Four wins highlighted the weekend trip to the Carroll Kuemper tournament this weekend for the Tornadoes wrestlers. Storm Lake showed that they could compete with a variety of competition as they downed competition from 1A, 2A and 3A schools on Saturday...

The Newell-Fonda girls basketball team jumped on West Bend-Mallard early to secure a victory at home last Friday. The Mustangs (10-4) used a strong first half to beat the Wolverines 63-23 and lock up their third win in a row. Newell-Fonda head coach Dick Jungers said it was the Mustangs high intensity that was major factor in the win...

Despite a sluggish first half, the Ridge View boys basketball team toppled OA-BCIG at home last Friday. The Raptors (11-1) beat the Falcons 59-46 to claim the Western Valley Conference victory. Ridge View head coach Dale Tokheim noted that it was strong defense early in the contest that kept the Raptors in the game...

The Buena Vista men's basketball team overcame a 14-point second half deficit on Saturday afternoon and forced overtime, but the rally came up short there, as Wartburg College hung on for an 83-80 victory at the Siebens Fieldhouse. Nick Clark led all scorers with 27 points, including four treys, while also dishing out 11 assists for his third double-double of the year. ...

Senior Jasmyn Flynn-Graves scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Jordan Tynes added a career-high 15 points and 10 rebounds for her first career double-double, and the Buena Vista women's basketball held off a late Wartburg rally to finish the upset of the #13 Knights, 83-80...

After dropping its past three games, the Alta-Aurelia boys basketball team snapped its losing streak and beat South Central Calhoun on the road last Friday. The Warriors (6-6) defeated the Titans 65-54 to return to the win column. Alta-Aurelia head coach Chris Abaray said it was a strong defensive effort that led to the victory...

The Sioux Central boys basketball team's woes continued on the court as it lost to on the road against Southeast Valley last Friday. The Rebels (3-10) fell 92-52 to the Warriors for their third loss in a row. For Sioux Central head coach Stephen Tjaden, the defeat boiled down to the Rebels' poor ball control...

A strong second half propelled the Sioux Central girls basketball team to victory on the road against Southeast Valley. The Rebels (7-7) defeated the Warriors 59-41 for their second win in a row. Sioux Central head coach Alan Vasher said it was his team's ability to adjust at the half that led to the win...

Each year, Newell - Fonda High School students participate in Winter Explorium. This is a ten day class similar to J-term in college where students are allowed to focus on one project all day. This year twenty students took part in a project called Something Old, Something New which was co-taught by Mrs. ...

Four seniors from Storm Lake High School participated in the 66th Annual Dorian Honor Choir Festival at Luther College on January 9-11. The directors for the event are on staff at Luther College: Dr. Allen Hightower, Dr. Andrew Last, and Jennaya Robison. ...

The Storm Lake Middle School 6th grade band was honored to have seven students selected to participate in the Strong Foundations Honor Band. This year's festival was held on January 11, and featured two bands of equal ability, with guest directors Jim and Elizabeth Fritz. ...

A Driver Education Registration/Information parent meeting will be held Wednesday, January 27 at the Storm Lake Middle School from 5:30-7 p.m. Registration will begin at 5:30 with a representative from the Department of Transportation giving a presentation at 6 p.m. ...

The total outstanding education loans held by people 65 and older, including debt that financed their own schooling and their children's, grew to $18.2 billion in 2013, the most recent year available from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), from $2.8 billion in 2005. ...

The Peterson Lions Club was recently awarded a $2,500 donation from Ag Partners L.L.C. and CoBank. Ag Partners provided $1,250 to the organization, and CoBank provided a matching grant of $1,250. The money will go toward the purchase of a special digital camera for use in the Iowa KidSight Program. ...

Kindergartners from Storm Lake Elementary traveled to the senior citizens center Monday to present a concert for the Dinner Daters program, part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service efforts throughout the school system. / Photos by Dana Larsen...

The moon is our closest astronomical neighbor. We see it nearly every day, but we often don't give it much thought. The Marvelous Moon in the Afternoon program hosted by the O'Brien County Conservation Board will give you an opportunity to learn more about this celestial satellite. The family friendly program will be held on Sunday, January 24 beginning at 2 p.m. at the Prairie Heritage Center. It will include hands-on demonstrations and interesting information for people of all ages...

Join the O'Brien County Conservation Naturalist for an evening of storytelling. Who's Who in the Sky will be held on Tuesday, February 9 beginning at 7 p.m. at the Prairie Heritage Center. This presentation is the second in a series of programs which highlight topics featured in the special exhibit -- Earth, Moon and Stars -- on display in the lower level of the Prairie Heritage Center until the end of June...

Feeling the winter blahs or got the sniffles already in January? If you are feeling a bit under the weather, please join Molly Pierce Stoos, RN from Homer, Nebraska at The Meeting Place in Galva on Tuesday, February 9th at 6:30 p.m. During the one-hour class, Molly will educate the public on energy and immunity topics, and each participant will make and take home one, four ounce or two, two ounce hand sanitizers. ...

October 27, 1919 - January 13, 2016

Vehicle accident leads to arrest of one person On the evening of Saturday, January 16, at approximately 6:30 p.m., the Storm Lake Police Department was dispatched to East 7th and Hudson Streets in reference to a motor vehicle accident. Responding officers were advised that a white, Ford truck was traveling west on 7th Street and allegedly lost control, striking a blue, Dodge SUV parked in the driveway at 726 Hudson Street. ...

July 13, 1945 - January 13, 2016