Stories from Monday, February 6, 2017

Storm Lake Police saw a decrease in service calls in 2016 - not because of less crime, but because of a shortage of officers. At the same time, serious crime statistics increased for the second straight year, and child abuse cases rose to a new high...

With new President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans pledging to rapidly dismantle the Affordable Care Act - “Obamacare” - there seems to be concern but not panic in the local medical care community. “We’re mostly hearing from patients who truly don’t know what is going to happen to them, and honestly, at this point we don’t know either,” says Richard Gehrig, director at United Community Health Center in Storm Lake...

Soldiers from Storm Lake, Albert City and Marathon were among more than 80 Iowa Army National Guard Soldiers recently recognized during a patching ceremony held at the Camp Dodge Joint Maneuver Training Center in Johnston, Iowa. This ceremony represents a time-honored tradition, where Iowa citizen-soldiers officially receive the left-shoulder military patch representing their unit of assignment in the Iowa Army National Guard...

Our AVID class was asked to come up with ideas on a service project that we could all participate in. We got in groups of three or four and each came up with different ideas. One of the group’s ideas was to make bracelets to raise up awareness for children with cancer and donate money to the ACCO which stands for the American Childhood Cancer Organization...

Ever since I become vocal on the current Storm Lake garbage controversy by writing letters and speaking up at Storm Lake City Council meetings, I have been approached by numerous people who agree that having mandatory pick-up for all residences and businesses is not the answer...

The Governor, Lt. Governor, and their Party are attacking future (and possibly present) police, fire fighters, public school teachers, city, county, and state employees with their proposed IPERS Task Force and SF 45 bill. See https://legiscan.com/IA/text/SF45/2017...

The roaring ‘20s will come to life at the Spencer Community Theatre Gatsby Gala from 7-11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11. SCT will be transformed into a 1920 speak-easy with music and refreshments reminiscent of the era with flapper-style dressing encouraged. Guests can also expect silent and live auctions throughout the night with all proceeds going toward SCT and Deegan Children’s Theatre’s operating expenses...

Okoboji resident David Thoreson loves to sail. He loves to explore. He loves to take pictures. That combination of skills has led to the release of his second book, "Over the Horizon: Exploring the Edges of a Changing Planet." The impetus for the book came from his sailing adventures. ...

MidAmerican Energy and Alliant Energy IPL’s Commercial New Construction team worked with Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in order to identify “designed-in” energy conservation potential for the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center-Expansion project...

October 11, 1922 - January 29, 2017

March 29, 1927 - January 29, 2017

To help remove impaired drivers from Iowa roadways, AAA and Budweiser are launching Tow to Go across all of Iowa and Nebraska beginning this Super Bowl weekend. Those needing a safe way home can call 855-2TOW2GO anytime between Friday, February 3rd through Monday, February 6th...

Updates from the Storm Lake Police Department, Buena Vista County Sheriff's Office and the Storm Lake Fire Department.

Mandi Dreckman and Aaron Schneider, both of Remsen, announce their engagement. Mandi is daughter of Bill and Karen Steffen, Storm Lake, and the late Chuck Dreckman of Le Mars. Aaron is son of Bruce and Rose Ann Lennon, Akron and Milo and Reta Deeds, Correctionville...

The Storm Lake Public Library celebrated National Puzzle Day with a Puzzle Contest on Saturday, January 28th. Four teams of puzzle enthusiasts competed to see who could assemble the most pieces of identical 1000 piece puzzles in a two-hour time frame. Gift certificates to local restaurants were given as prizes. The contest was generously sponsored by the Friends of the Storm Lake Public Library...

The Storm Lake Public Library will host an adult coloring night from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 9th at the library. Coloring pages, pencils, and refreshments are provided. All interested adults are welcome to participate in an enjoyable, creative evening...

Dover Township, Varina Fire Department and Varina Hometown Pride will be sponsoring a pancake and sausage breakfast on Sunday, February 12 from 8 a.m. until noon. The breakfast will be at St. Columbkille Parish Hall located at 206 1st Street in Varina. This event is a free will donation...

When a couple has a healthy relationship, their family is more likely to be stable and their children have a greater opportunity to flourish, says Dr. David Brown, a human sciences specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. “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 Brown, who specializes in family life issues and is a licensed marriage and family therapist.. ...

The Buena Vista Regional Medical Center Nursing Scholarship Committee will again be accepting scholarship applications during February and March for the 2016-2017 academic year. The annual scholarship award is $1000. Since its inception in 2003, one-hundred one scholarships have been awarded to area nursing students provided entirely by donations to the scholarship program...

This Valentine’s Day you can give a gift that’s literally from the heart: a blood donation. Giving blood with LifeServe Blood Center is one of the quickest, easiest ways to make a meaningful contribution to your community. One blood donation can save the lives of up to three local hospital patients...

Financial aid available for tuition, fees, uniforms and supplies

Surprise, surprise! This is the second surprise test of the BVC Historical Society series of our monthly articles. For regular readers of the series it will be a challenge to your retention of the historical stories published. For those who are occasional readers, or who do not read them at all, the test will provide you with an encapsulated history of some of the county’s more interesting historical stories...

The Storm Lake Early Childhood programs, located at both East Early Childhood Center and Gingerbread are taking applications for the 2016-2017 school year. They currently provide programming for expectant mothers and children birth to age 5. Full-day programming is available for toddlers and children ages 3 to 5. ...

Buena Vista County and all of the surrounding counties are among 88 of the 99 Iowa counties that have notified the Iowa DNR in January that they plan to evaluate construction permit applications and proposed locations for animal confinements by using the master matrix. ...

The recipient of the Women in Denim Inspiration Award was announced at the annual Women in Denim conference held January 27 and 28 at Buena Vista University. Beulah Imming was recognized for her dedication to her family, farm, and community. The 2017 recipient of the Women in Denim Inspiration award is no stranger to hard work. ...

This week the third and last joint House-Senate session of the year was held in the House chamber. The occasion was Brigadier General Timothy Orr’s presentation of the annual State of the National Guard address. General Orr, as Adjutant General, commands the 7,000 soldiers of the Iowa National Guard as well as the two thousand airmen of the Iowa Air Guard...