Stories from Thursday, May 5, 2016

The 2016 NWICDA 5th-6th-7th grade Honor Choir was held on Tuesday, April 19th at Le Mars Community High School. The 5th-6th grade choir represented students from over 35 Northwest Iowa school districts and performed under the direction of Ms. Tanya Rosenkranz, of Indian Creek Elementary School in Marion. ...

Dan, Mike, and Justin Noteboom and Pete and Paul Hegg of Noteboom Implement along with Jeff Hultgren, Todd Conover, and Dewayne, Dustin, and Bryce Ricklefs of Hultgren Implement are pleased to announce the merger of their John Deere dealerships in Iowa and South Dakota. The newly merged company will take effect July 31, and will conduct business together as Noteboom Implement...

All Hy-Vee pharmacies throughout the company's eight-state region can now fill pet-specific medications. While Hy-Vee stores have been filling pet medications such as antibiotics and allergy medications for many years, this new service has been expanded to include flea and tick medications, heartworm, NSAIDs and hundreds of other pet medications at affordable prices...

"The support has been overwhelming," says Jenifer Sliefert, new owner of The Legacy Steakhouse, speaking at the ribbon-cutting last Wednesday evening. "The people working in the back have all been great, and I couldn't ask for a better group than the ladies and my gentleman in the front."...

Small fire at Otsego Place On the afternoon of Monday, May 2, at approximately 4:20 p.m., the Storm Lake Fire Department responded to the Otsego Place Apartments located at 520 Otsego Street in reference to a reported fire in the kitchen. Upon arrival of fire fighters they entered the complex and observed where a fire had burned in a ventilation hood above a dish washer where flames had been visible coming from the duct work. ...

October 21, 1928 - May 2, 2016

March 19, 1925 - May 1, 2016

Members of Storm Lake HyNoon Kiwanis clean the beach at Frank Starr park every spring so bathers and swimmers can enjoy it throughout the summer. Event organizer Duane Queen said, "It's amazing how much stuff accumulates here over the winter. After we get it raked into piles, we'll get a tracked vehicle down here to move this debris out. It's satisfying to drive by here in the summer and see people using the beach after we've cleaned it up." / Photo by Chip Hubert...

The Alta-Aurelia girls finished third in a field of six teams at the Royal Coed Relays at Marcus Friday with 114 team points. Sheldon won the team title with 129, followed by Unity Christian at 128. Lily Peterson doubled up with first-place finishes in the 200 meters (27:54), and 400 meters (1:02.53.) Lauren Rohwer won the 800 in 2:32.90...

SL boys golf in two tight meets The Storm Lake boys golf team challenged Spirit Lake Monday in a dual at Brooks golf club. The Indians prevailed in a tight meet, 171 strokes to 175. Eric Masters carded a 39 for Storm Lake to win medalist honors. Also for Storm Lake, Michael Martin shot a 42, Blake Berry a 45, and Ethan James a 49...

The Storm Lake boys soccer team continues to roll over the competition with one of the tightest defenses in the state. On Tuesday, the Tornadoes hit the road to stop a West Sioux, Hawarden team that had previously lost only twice all season, 3-1. Eugenio Rosales and Jose Martinez each recorded a first half goal for Storm Lake. ...

The Storm Lake girls took it to Spencer Tuesday in a home meet won 7-2 by Storm Lake. Stephanie De La Torre, Cindy Vang, Katrina Chaiyawong, Monicka Hill and Destiny Syhavong all won their singles matches against the Tigers. Katrina and Monicka, who have gelled nicely as a doubles team, continued their success with a 10-0 win, and Yolanda and Cindy Vang also recorded a 10-0 doubles win...

The Storm Lake girls soccer team is back to its winning ways, blanking West Sioux, Hawarden 3-0 on the home pitch Tuesday evening. After suffering a couple of mid-season setbacks, the Tornadoes have rebounded with two straight shutout wins (beating Sioux Center 5-0 last week), and have held opponents scoreless four times so far this season...

The Storm Lake boys tennis team finished runner-up in the Lakes Conference Tournament held Wednesday at Spencer. The meet had been rescheduled from last Saturday. Results for Storm Lake: #1 Singles - Brett Dewerff, 3rd place (All Conference Honorable Mention). His record for the day was 3-2...

The Buena Vista baseball team swept the weekly Iowa Conference baseball awards. Senior second baseman Neil Marshall was tabbed Position Player of the Week while Jacob Hadaway earned Pitcher of the Week accolades. In four games during the week, Marshall hit .500 with four doubles, a pair of home runs, five RBI and seven runs scored as the Beavers went 4-0 with a pair of victories over both Coe and Luther. ...

The Ridge View girls placed fourth in the Western Valley Conference Meet Monday in Kingsley. Team results: 1. KP-WC 168 2. OA-BCIG 153 3. Lawton-Bronson 87 4. Ridge View 84 5. Maple Valley A-O 64 6. Westwood 12 7. West Monona 11 8. River Valley 2 9. Siouxland Christian 1...

The Storm Lake boys track and field team finished seventh out of eight teams at the Tornado Relays Monday evening, scoring 39 points - 20 of them coming courtesy of throwing specialist Nathan Carlson with first-place heaves in both discus and shot put. Spirit Lake emerged from a skin-tight team points battle with LeMars for the championship. The remaining six teams in the field were separated by only 28 team points...

The Storm Lake girls took two first places in individual events at the Tornado Relays Monday. Team Scoring: 1. LeMars - 142 2. Spencer - 137 3. Sioux Center - 105 4. Cherokee - 77 5. MOC/FV - 52 6. Carroll - 40 7. Storm Lake - 30 Highlights for the Storm Lake girls included steady Jaye Schuelke winning another long jump championship at 16' 1/2". Emma Kenkel trotted out a career best 63.09 to win the 400 meters...

Four area schools took part in the Twin Lakes Conference Track Meet in Manson Tuesday. On the girls' side, Sioux Central finished second as a team with 113.5 points and three event wins, behind champion Pocahontas Area-LM with 152. Alta-Aurelia was fourth with 83.5, Newell-Fonda ninth with 32, and St. Mary's 11th with 8...

* On a scale of 5 popcorn buckets, "The Huntsman: Winter's War" tallies 2 1/2 buckets of bland puffed corn with an occasional spot of butter seasoning throughout. It has some moments, but for the most part it's just kind of like its predecessor and not even the power of Thor can save that. Hemsworth might have been better off lobbying for a spot in "Captain America: Civil War." Running time: 2 hours, 3 minutes. MPAA rating: R.

Rock music groups comprised primarily of musicians ages 21 and younger are invited to compete in the annual statewide Battle of the Bands sponsored and conducted by the Iowa Rock 'n Roll Music Association (IRRMA). The competition is open to bands playing all genres of rock music and is free to enter...

Sioux Central's Annual Fine Arts Night will be held on Tuesday, May 10 with FCS, Visual Arts and Industrial Tech students showcasing their projects completed during this past school year. The High School Concert Band and Mixed Chorus will perform their selections from the State Large Group Music Festival and awards will be presented for Speech, Visual Arts, TAG and Music. Everyone is invited to come early to visit the displays and stay to listen to the musicians...

The Storm Lake City Council has approved a Public Hearing on a proposed development agreement with Storm Lake Development Group LLC for a new commercial building to be constructed. Since 2015, the City has been working with Storm Lake Development Group LLC for commercial development in the Bargloff Urban Renewal Area located at 1515 Lake Avenue...

The Storm Lake City Council has approved a motion authorizing the Civil Service Patrol Officer Hiring Eligibility List for the next one year period. The Civil Service Commission authorized a patrol officer testing which occurred on April 9. The four applicants reflected on the list successfully completed all of the testing components. They are Mohamed Mohamed, Gerardo Bravo, Matthew Weir and Mitchell McDonald...

The Erie Street replacement project is a go. Bids came in about $100,000 lower than expected, and the Storm Lake City Council approved the low bidder for the project Monday. The project goes to Dave Hulstein Excavating of Edgerton, Minn. for $1,044,186.04...

St. Mary's prom took place last Saturday night. Top, students pose down the staircase at BVU. Left, Emily Heitman shows off her rain boots. Right, Eric Broich and Jacee Benna during Grand March. / Photos by Kari Vanderwoude

Iowa constituents and former supporters of Senator Chuck Grassley launched a new campaign Tuesday with members of MoveOn.org and leading legal voices in Des Moines, urging the Senator to stop refusing to consider President's Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Merrick Garland...

Excitement and pride echoed through the Iowa Great Lakes fisheries netting crew last week. "It is amazing that this male musky is alive and doing well in West Okoboji Lake 25 years later," said Joe Larscheid, chief of the Iowa DNR's Fisheries Bureau...

Proud new parents take their new ducklings out for swimming lessons on Episcopal Creek. / Photo courtesy of Hugh Perry

The City of Lakeside will receive a $91,250 loan for planning and design of sewer system improvements. It is one of 10 Iowa communities that were recently awarded a combined total of $23.5 million in low-interest loans for water quality projects through the State Revolving Fund. ...

The Storm Lake Municipal Band Board held a meeting Wednesday evening in the city hall. The board voted to increase the wages for musicians. The new rate will be $10 for high school students, and $15 for adult members for each performance. Methods of promoting the band were discussed, including the city's Tidbits information page, soloist performing, and posters...

Congressman Steve King has been endorsed by Iowa Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds. In her endorsement, Reynolds said, "Steve King was my Congressman for ten years when Clarke County was in the old Fifth Congressional District, and I'm supporting him this year as I have for the last 14. ...

The City of Storm Lake would like to notify residents that Seneca Street is closed to through traffic from 10th Street to 12th Street. The closure will last for approximately two weeks. Residents that live along Seneca Street will have access to their driveways during the closure...

Five Buena Vista County veterans will be taking part in the upcoming 7th Honor Flight for the area, departing from Fort Dodge to visit the military monuments in Washington, D.C. They are (from left) Harold Redenbaugh, Michael Mummert, Richard Pedersen, Lynn Faust, Martin Wedeking...

Animal Science students at Newell-Fonda High School recently incubated chicken eggs. This allowed students to see the development of a chicken and teach elementary students about this process. Various activities were planned to accommodate the grade levels that came to visit the Ag Room once the chickens were hatched. ...

An RSM US (formerly McGladrey) employee from Iowa (the national firm's home state) has a mission to help change people's lives around the world, and she is on her way to fulfill this mission through RSM's 90-90-9 Pursue Your Passion Program. Part of the firm's 90th anniversary celebration, the program has provided nine winning employees with $10,000 and nine additional PTO days to help fulfill their personal and professional aspirations...

Kiley Miller of the Iowa Great Lakes Corridor Association gave a quarterly report to the Storm Lake City Council this week. Miller said the development organization is planning "fuller" communication with the communities it serves. A decision was recently made to expand the board with one member from either a city council or county board of supervisors from each of the four counties served...

A seven-month investigation into a spree of burglaries and attempted burglaries to businesses in Storm Lake has ended in an arrest. Since September of 2015 21 businesses have been burglarized in Storm Lake. Investigations determine that the method of entry and actions by the suspect were all very similar. Other evidence secured at the scenes led police to believe that all of the burglaries were connected...

Storm Lake St. Mary's School has announced the hiring of veteran educator Cindy Cone as 6-12 principal for the local parochial school. Cone is most well known as a longtime speech coach and educator at Storm Lake High School. Cone earned her undergraduate degree in communications and theatre at the University of Northern Iowa, a master's degree in teaching and school administration from Morningside College and is a graduate of the Iowa Principal's Leadership Academy. ...

Joey Hendericksen and Matt V. (doesn't believe in last names) attracted plenty of attention with their kite boarding antics on Storm Lake off Awaysis Beach Tuesday. Using the force from the kite, they fly across the water at top speed, rocketing into the air 30 feet at times...