Stories from Monday, July 4, 2016

For the second year, Monsanto Fund has provided $8000 in grant money to Upper Des Moines Opportunity, to improve the services they provide. Upper Des Moines provides food distribution to families in Buena Vista County who have a verified income-based need. Monsanto's donation will be used to improve the layout of the food pantry to improve the efficiency of serving clients...

My radio station has changed formats once again. They used to play the worst pop music from the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s and the first couple of years of the '90s, then they switched to the worst pop music from the '80s, '90s, Aughts and the first couple of years of the teens...

The world is going to the birds. Or at least my little corner of it is. And I think this is just... ducky. Nests surround me. Sometimes in the most unexpected of places. But not always. We have a birdhouse in our backyard. We inherited it from the previous owners (humans, not avian). It's made out of wood and was a dull (and rather drab) brown. It sat in the garden, empty, for more than a decade...

If you've come to the Storm Lake Public Library, you've come to the right place to get your exercise in, according to 23 year old fitness trainer Lesa Turnquist of the BVRMC Fitness Center. Lesa has an exercise video out that she made in conjunction with the library, who is showing it in a designated 'fitness room' to encourage library patrons to take just 15 minutes to get a good workout. ...

This past week the Buena Vista County Attorney's Office was successful in sending four criminals to prison. Their sentences range from two to 10 years in prison on charges including Theft, Domestic Assault, and Possession of a Firearm by a Felon. The inmates are currently incarcerated the Buena Vista County Jail awaiting transport to the Iowa and Medical Classification Center in Oakdale, Iowa...

"We routinely investigate any winning lottery ticket that is for a large amount of money," says Mary Neubauer, Public Relations spokesperson for the Iowa Lottery in Des Moines. "And we strive to insure every ticket is legally purchased, possessed and redeemed."...

On June 18th, hundreds of volunteers pitched in to make the World's Largest Popcorn Ball weighing in at 9,370 pounds - almost five tons of sweet, sticky popcorn - at the Noble Popcorn Plant in Sac City. Since that time the ball has been under wraps (hidden under a tarp to protect it from the weather) as its permanent home was being built at the Sac City Museum complex on Main Street. The ball was too big to fit into any available building...

Flagman Grant Oskvig waves the checkered flag on an IMCA Hobby Stocks heat Wednesday at Buena Vista Raceway in Alta. Action continues every Wednesday through August 17. / Photo by Matt Stubbe, SM Photos

Public Safety Director Mark Prosser has issued Letters of Commendation to two officers and two citizens after a water rescue incident. Honored are Lt. Lundberg and Officer Molina of the SLPD, along with Duane Gerlach and Cheryl Lyon, both of Storm Lake. These two officers and two citizens worked in concert to successfully rescue seven people from Storm Lake, including two children, on June 12, after a boat capsized 200 yards off shore in high winds...

On Friday, June 24, the Sac County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa State Patrol (ISP) conducted a traffic enforcement project on US Highway 20 at N-28 north of Lytton. ISP aircraft checked speeds on US 20 and both directions on N-28. Results have now been released...

McDermott's Carnival tickets for the Buena Vista County Fair are now available at the Pilot-Tribune and the ISU Extension Office in Storm Lake. They will also be available at United Bank of Iowa, Citizen's Community Credit, Albert City Bank, Rembrandt Bank, Sioux Rapids Bank, Security Bank in Storm Lake, and other area banks, or from fair board members. ...

DES MOINES - Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad sasy he has no intention of becoming Donald Trump's running mate. When asked at his weekly news conference whether he'd consider joining a Trump ticket he declined to answer with an emphatic no, but said he didn't want to get into that type of speculation. He says he's honored to serve the people of Iowa and "not intending to be a candidate for national office."...

An Emmet County jury found 19-year-old Lee Christensen guilty of second-degree murder on Friday. Christensen was found guilty of using a gun to intentionally end the life of 19-year-old Thomas Bortvit of Estherville on June 6, 2015. On Thursday, Judge David Lester told the panel they would have five options on their verdict ballot: first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter and not guilty...

"Miss Audrey" Johannsen entertained guests at the Senior Center Monday morning with parlor tricks and a little magic. "These are the kinds of things people did before they had TV," she said. "People used to visit more. Everybody had an Uncle Ollie who would come over and do this kind of thing to entertain the family."...

Senate judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley is pressing the Obama Administration about its failure to use authority provided to it by Congress to hold accountable countries that won't take back their own citizens who have been ordered removed from the United States, which has allowed thousands of criminals to be released into U.S. communities...

Storm Lake Senior Night ends in disappointment, rallies to beat Spencer in thriller On Wednesday night the Tornadoes held Senior Night against Emmetsburg and came out on the wrong end of a 11-4 decision. Emmetsburg got off to a strong start by plating five runs in the first inning thanks to numerous infield errors by the Tornadoes. ...

St. Mary's falls in shoot out against Sioux Central In Peterson the offensive fireworks were on display Wednesday night with the Rebels beating the Panthers 15-9. St. Mary's got on board first thanks to a throwing error that got senior Eric Broich across the plate for a 1-0 lead. In the top of the second St. Mary's would add another run as eighth grader Sam Peters would hit a sac fly to bring in Broich. In the bottom half of the inning, the Rebels would put up six runs to take a 6-2 lead...

The 1A and 2A district pairings for baseball have been announced. Here are the match-ups for the area squads: RIDGE VIEW: The Raptors (currently 8-13) will start 1A District 2 play on July 12th against Woodbury Central (13-6) at St. Mary's Remsen. ...

The Storm Lake freshman softball team dropped a pair of games recently after their bats went silent. The young Tornadoes fell 10-0 to Emmetsberg and dropped a 13-1 decision to Estherville. Against Emmetsberg the Tornadoes didn't gather a single hit in seven innings. Skylar Cole got the loss going four innings allowing two walks, two hits, two runs and striking out five. Taylor DeMey went the other three allowing seven hits, a walk, eight runs and three strike outs...

Community Education is taking registrations for Storm Lake Youth Football. This is a tackle football program that participates in the BIG 5 youth league. This league is for boys and girls entering 3rd through 6th grade. The season runs from August until October. If you are interested please register at Community Education. The participation cost is $75 and scholarships will be available. If interested please call Joe Kucera at 712-732-5711 or email at jkucera@slcsd.org...

On June 29th, racing once again hit the Buena Vista Raceway in Alta. There were five feature races along with the two heats to see who qualified. Here are the top three from each of the races. Modified 1. Chris Abelson 2. Dustin Smith 3. Jason Briese...

On June 12th several local wrestlers from NW Iowa traveled to Orlando, FL to compete in the Disney Duals. Local Alta-Aurelia wrestler Skylar Solko competed in the 145lb weight class and went 11-3 finishing 4th place overall. Also placing for Team Iowa (White) were Nathan Krueger (Manson NW) who placed 4th at 182 and Tim Buthcher (Manson NW) who won the heavyweight championship going 14-0. ...

Where will Kevin Durant go?

"Ever since we moved here, I thought, 'I should be teaching Tai Chi in the park." Now Mary Beth Andrews is doing just that. Last Saturday was a perfect morning in the park, with temperatures in the seventies, and that famous Storm Lake summer breeze caressing the skin and rustling the leaves in the trees. ...

Some four youth attended the Sac County Extension Peach Jam Workshop on Thursday, June 24th. The youth learned about the differences between jam, jelly and preserves, they learned and demonstrated the water bath canning method, learned the correct resources to use when looking for a canning recipe and left with a couple of jars of peach jam that they made themselves in hopes to exhibit them in the fair and continue to make more jam! Pictured left, Ben Carico of Carnarvon, watched and stirred the peach jam before placing the hot liquid in the jars at the peach jam workshop. ...

Looking for a different twist on getting your feet wet? Join the O'Brien County Naturalist for a creek walk on Saturday, July 9. Meet at the Prairie Heritage Center to carpool to Waterman Creek. Scan the sandbars for treasures. Catch minnows in the cool creek. Skip some rocks!...

The Storm Lake Public Library is offering a line dancing-as-exercise program on Tuesday, July 12th at 5 p.m. Our program will be led by fitness professional, Sherry Connolly. "My passions are motivating and encouraging people to get fit and healthy in a safe manner and inspiring others to dance," says Sherry...

The fourth week of fundraising for the 2015 Star Spangled Spectacular, with a theme of "Freedom, Family, and Fun," reached just shy of $26,000, in the final days leading up to the celebration. "We are still short about $3,500 of our goal of $30,000," said Josh Newhouse, fundraising chair. "We had some major donors this week who were unable to match last year's contribution, so we really could use some additional donations to make up the difference."...

The second adult coloring session will be held at the Senior Center on Monday, July 11. All of the supplies you will need are furnished. If you would rather use an activity page from one of the books - they are available as well. Tables will set up and will be ready for coloring to begin anytime after 10:30. ...

Booths are still available for vendors at the Buena Vista County Fair, July 20-24. Booths may be manned or static or a combination. Booths are inside and $25 for the week. Please send completed form to Deb Jesse, 5412 Hwy 71, Storm Lake.

September 21, 1935 - June 29, 2016

April 10, 1924 - June 25, 2016

The Korean War began 66 years ago. As time has marched on, the young men who served during that time have made the transition back to civilian life. However, their experiences and their memories have played a role in shaping who they are today and how they see the modern world...

Bringing benefits to Iowa families, farmers, and local economies

Anyone who lives with teens often may hear them grumble that they are tired. To lessen the complaints, parents can take steps to help their teens get more sleep, says Dr. David Brown, an Iowa State University Extension and Outreach human sciences specialist...

Are you a professional working with children and families, and would like additional tools to help couples build healthy relationships? "We know that children growing up in a home where there is a healthy, stable couple relationship have fewer behavioral and emotional problems and perform better in school", said Dr. David Brown, a human sciences specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. "That is why healthy couple relationships are so important."...

Free HIV and Hepatitis C testing will be available in Spencer on Thursday, July 7 from 10:30 a.m. -- 1:30 p.m. at the Spencer Medical Arts Building, 116 E. 11th Street, Suite 206. This free and confidential testing is being sponsored by Siouxland Community Health and Spencer Hospital Clay County Public Health...

Tents are hammered into the ground to fend off the sultry afternoon sun, and tables already heaped to capacity with early-season produce, mountains of leafy, impossibly deep green goodness bound for local tables. So fresh you can still smell the rich Iowa dirt on them...