Stories from Thursday, September 1, 2016

Search firm hired to find next president, BVU also to name internal search committee

Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake held an open house Monday for the public to view the progress on its new addition. Over 400 people attended the ribbon cutting and toured the facility. Tours featured the new main entrance, lobby, coffee shop, gift shop, lab, emergency rooms and patient rooms for medical surgical/ICU and obstetric patients...

Storm Lake's Cavanaugh gets first again, this time in Spirit Lake Invitational SPIRIT LAKE - On Tuesday afternoon, Storm Lake senior Dylan Cavanaugh once again took first place in the boys run, making this both times in the first two cross country events he has taken first place...

Tornadoes drop opening match to Gaels STORM LAKE - On Tuesday evening, Storm Lake dropped their first match of the season to St. Edmond of Fort Dodge, three sets to one. The set scores were 23-25, 26-24, 10-25 and 8-25. Junior Hannah Neumann had three kills on the night to go along with a 13-15 serve ratio with three aces. ...

On Saturday, the Beavers of Buena Vista will make the long trip to Mayville, North Dakota to play the Mayville State Comets. The Beavers will look to start off of the right foot and improve upon their 1-9 record from last season. A season ago, the Comets went 5-5 with a 3-4 record in the North Star Athletic Association conference...

Storm Lake goes to Pocahontas Area Friday The 1-0 Storm Lake Tornadoes will travel to Pocahontas on Friday night to face the PAC Indians. The Tornadoes cruised to a 39-14 win in week one against rival Cherokee, while the Indians dropped a 27-6 decision to Bishop Garrigan...

The Buena Vista men's soccer program has 40 players on board this season. More than one fourth of those players are from Storm Lake. A mixture of seniors, juniors and freshmen from Storm Lake help to form the Beaver soccer program this year. Luis Salazar is a senior with the Beavers. During his four year stay at BV, he has found the competition in both practice and in the games a bit more challenging. "I had to step it up more. There are more tackles in college," he said...

What's Jim Patrick doing? So what if he is looking for another job - doesn't everybody? So what's he been doing? He brought goats to town - but beside herbivores herbivoring, he has been seen as an environmental advocate - bringing drainage and water quality improvements to bear in almost every direction. ...

On behalf of the Storm Lake Athletic Department and coaches I would like to thank the Storm Lake Athletic Boosters for all of their hard work and support. Each year the boosters raise between $30,000 - $40,000 to directly support our athletic teams. ...

We thank the community of Storm Lake for their great show of support of our music programs at our 20th annual Beach Party held last week. It may have been our biggest crowd ever! Your support has supplemented our programs for all 20 of the years we've held the event. You have made a difference...

The most powerful man in Iowa paused and leaned on the silver SUV that carts him around the state - to scrape the muck off his well-broken-in hiking boots. For Governor Terry Branstad, water quality has become the issue of the era. His days of late have been spent slogging through wetlands and otherwise exploring the various methods being used to protect the state's outdoor resources...

Two Buena Vista County women were sent to prison on probation violations stemming from child abuse charges. On Monday, August 22, the Buena Vista County District Associate Judge Borth sentenced Sylvia Venegas-Mendoza, age 33, and Lorianna Brantley, age 37, to prison terms not to exceed two years...

About 80 protesters gathered at Pilot Mound near the Farm Progress Show Wednesday to protest the Bakken oil pipeline, waving signs and in at least one case, laying on the ground in a symbolic gesture to block construction. The first arrest was reported by mid afternoon. Another arrest was reported in Lee County Tuesday, where a veteran protester nicknamed "The Hammer of Justice" was arrested while blocking work on the pipeline near Keokuk, playing on an acoustic guitar...

According to Dave Simington, president of the Clay County Fair Board, "A fair that's alive is worth the drive." With the addition of several new attractions, the Clay County Fair is certainly alive and kicking. This year, the fair will be featuring a scavenger hunt. Unlike traditional scavenger hunts, this hunt will be for various 6-foot-tall signs scattered across the fairgrounds. Fair Manager Jeremy Parsons explained how the hunt will be conducted...

Storm Lake St. Mary's School is reporting a 9 percent enrollment increase for the 2016-17 academic year as compared to the previous school year. PreK-12 enrollment is at 320 as of August 30. Classes opened at the local Catholic school Tuesday, Aug. 23...

The Lakeside City Council has decided to appoint a new member, rather than holding a special election, to fill the seat left empty with the death of council member Judy Sievers Aug. 20. The council plans to appoint Karen Iehl of Lakeside to the council during its meeting Sept. 13. Barring a petition to force a special election, she will complete the current term, which expired at the end of 2017. The seat will be up for a vote during the general election in November, 2017...

The Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors invites the community to the dedication of its 14th home in Buena Vista County on September 2, at 12 p.m. The home is located at 1709 Tulip Lane in Storm Lake. The new homeowner and partner family is Anna Pirdor...

The University of Iowa's new state-of-the-art performance space also houses one of the most remarkable pieces of public art anywhere in Iowa. Long before Hancher Auditorium opened, members of the Art in State Buildings Program met to discuss the types of pieces that made sense for such a grand building...

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined Tyson Foods $263,498 for 15 "serious" and two "repeated" workplace safety violations at the company's chicken processing facility in Center, TX, according to a report by Food Safety News...

County Engineer Brandon Billings proposed to the Cherokee County Board of Supervisors at their Aug.23 meeting that new speed limits be established outside of Washta and Quimby. Currently, east bound traffic on C-66 goes from a 55 mph highway speed limit into a school zone with a 15 mph limit...

From University of Iowa student to movie comedy genius, actor leaves a legacy of laughter

The Buena Vista Rally 4 Veterans committee held the first annual golf outing at Lake Creek Golf Course on Saturday, August 27. This year's goal was to raise funds to purchase a service dog for a wounded Iowa veteran. The patriotic day started with the Buena Vista ROTC color guard presenting our nations flag followed by the national anthem. On display was the Afghanistan- Iraq memorial displaying 50 flags with dog tags of 50 Iowa soldiers who have given their lives for their country...

Arlington Place of Pocahontas, an established retirement community located at 101 NE 5th Street in Pocahontas, has begun work on the community's $1 million renovation project. "We are thrilled to be able to provide the public with a floorplan of the remodel of Arlington Place of Pocahontas," shares Allison Law, Senior Housing Management Vice President of Operations. ...

Gain tools and resources to help others define their financial goals, use credit wisely, manage debt effectively and access appropriate community resources with the "Your Money, Your Goals" toolkit from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach on Wednesdays, October 5 and October 12 from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency, 23 East 7th Street, Spencer...

Law enforcement officers will stake themselves atop 18 participating Dunkin' Donuts locations across the state of Iowa on September 9 to help raise money for Special Olympics Iowa (SOIA). "Cop on a Rooftop" is a unique fundraiser where local officers stand on the roof of a local business while volunteers help collect donations at the entrance and drive-thru of the business. You'll be able to get a free coffee coupon from participating Dunkin' Donuts stores when you make a donation to SOIA...

Join us in Galva for a fun crafting night with Ceil Triggs as she teaches the public how to mod podge fresh flowers into beautiful works of art! Participants ages 12 and older will learn how to cut, arrange and mod podge fresh flowers onto a 9 X 12 black canvas at The Meeting Place on Tuesday, September 20th at 6:30 p.m...

Women, are you interested in learning new outdoor activities in a supportive environment? A full slate of activities is on tap for this year's Women in the Outdoors Event sponsored by the National Turkey Federation and the Lyon, O'Brien, Osceola, and Sioux County Conservation Boards...

All summer a random monarch has been floating past. Soon those single butterflies will gather in MASS. Millions of monarchs will be on the move. The O'Brien County Conservation Board is hosting their annual monarch tagging event at Mill Creek Park on Thursday, September 8 beginning at 5 p.m...

Peter Houska, Sr, grew up in rural eastern Iowa in the 1940's. He stayed busy on the farm raising purebred Poland China hogs, milking cows and farming. Pete served in the U.S. Marines from 1950 to 1952. Although he did not grow up active in 4-H, he realized the importance of 4-H when he had children. Five of his six children became involved in 4-H in Sac County. Projects included rabbit and pigs, showing both at the Sac County Fair and the Iowa State Fair...

January 27, 1919 - August 28, 2016

July 22, 1928 - August 29, 2016

December 29, 1928 - August 26, 2016

Vehicle fire On the evening of Sunday, August 28, at approximately 7:09 p.m., the Storm Lake Fire Department responded to the Storm Lake Walmart store in reference to a reported vehicle fire. Upon arrival of fire fighters they determined that a Walmart employee had extinguished the fire which was burning in the engine compartment of a passenger vehicle...