Stories from Thursday, June 15, 2017

Family, teachers and friends are remembering an eastern Iowa teen who reached her goal last week of graduating from high school — just two days before she died after a months-long battle with cancer. Allison Cress, 18, graduated from Hempstead High School in Dubuque on June 3, the Telegraph Herald reported. The feat came after she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, in September a little more than two weeks after starting her senior year...

A fresh paint job on a prominent Sioux City water storage tank will pay homage to a hit 1940s song that that features the city in its title. The city plans to decorate the Singing Hills water tank with the city’s name and notes from “Sioux City Sue,” the 1945 tune by Dick Thomas and Ray Freedman, the Sioux City Journal reported...

A fiscal analysis shows federal grant funding to Iowa would drop by more than $100 million under President Donald Trump’s proposed budget, a move that would force the state to reduce services or find other funding for programs ranging from early education to job training...

Iowa could be the first state in the nation with no health insurance company willing to offer policies on its Affordable Care Act exchange next year unless President Donald Trump’s administration approves a stopgap proposal, Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen said Monday...

Work is progressing rapidly on the Storm Lake High School gym renovation project. The new maple flooring was being nailed down during the early part of this week. Afterward, another crew will come in to sand the flood down, then it will be varnished, and painted with Tornado logos, with a second sealer coat of varnish on top...

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service.  The report is released weekly from April through October. “The dry weather allowed farmers to finish planting, make hay, spray for weeds, and side-dress fertilizer.  Most of the state could use a good soaking rain as the high temperatures and windy conditions have really dried things out and some crops are starting to show some stress as a result,” Northey said.. ...

Fundraising for the 2017 Star Spangled Spectacular, with a theme of “Star Spangled Salute,” is off to a very successful start with over $10,000 received, thanks to many donors sending in their donations early. “We have received quite a few early donations, which is a good thing,” said Josh Newhouse, fundraising chair. “We are very thankful to our donors who sent in their contribution already, and donations of any size will be appreciated.”...

Harlan and Deb Matasovsky of Storm Lake are pleased to announce the engagement and upcoming marriage of their daughter, Katie Matasovsky, to John Rogeles, son of Hiram & Annie Garcia of McKinney, TX. Katie is a 2009 graduate of Storm Lake High School and a 2013 graduate of Morningside College. She is an RN nurse and employed by Baylor, Scott & White-Centennial Medical Center in Frisco, TX...

The Buena Vista County Democrats will hold their monthly meeting on Saturday, June 17 at 9:15 at the Better Day Cafe.

March 5, 1993 - June 8, 2017

January 13, 1923 - June 7, 2017

June 25, 1950 - June 9, 2017

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

It’s Kinderfest weekend in Holstein, with this year’s theme, “Bringing’ the Farm to Town.” The fun starts Thursday at the newly-restored historic State Theater with a free movie, Nickelodeon’s “Barnyard.” at 7 p.m. Free burgers with chips will be offered at 6 by the Ida County Cattlemen’s Associates...

It’s a classic story come to life! Treasure Village Children’s Theatre opens the summer season with Snow White on Tuesday, June 20. The show includes a fun opportunity for seven dwarfs of all ages from the audience to join the fun onstage! Performances of Snow White will be at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday through Saturday, June 20-24 and June 27 - July 1. Snow White will continue on Fridays until July 21. Tickets are $7.00 each for ages 11 and up and children ages 3-10 are $5.50...

Award-winning country music icons Tanya Tucker and John Anderson will perform together for the first time in Sioux City at the Orpheum Theatre on Friday, July 7th at 7:30 p.m. For four decades, Tanya’s sultry voice and vivacious stage presence have helped to make her one of the most admired and respected female vocalists in the country music genre. ...

There’s a roar louder than thunder and lots of leather as the streets of Downtown Sioux City, Iowa fill with motorcycles of every kind.  It’s Awesome Biker Nights, the 18th Anniversary of Northwest Iowa’s premier regional motorcycle event with an attendance of over 25,000!...

Storm Lake Middle School 2nd Semester Honor Roll 5th Grade: Irelyn Ahlers, Presilla Aldaba, Oscar Almaraz, Hailey Anderson, Stephany Arbizu, Kayla Boggs, Jayda Butler, Andrea Carrillo-Morado, Sylvia Castillo, Anoun Chaiyawong, Lizbeth Chavez, Nelly Cortes, Madison Courtright, Megan Courtright, Lillian Dahlhauser, Monica David, Nayeli DeLoera, Landon DeMoss, Bruno Figueroa, Crystal Gomez-Ramirez, Mailee Gonzalez, Fernanda Gonzalez-Lopez, Jden Hadley, Jasmine Ioanis, Maryjane Isaac, Fernanda Japa, Danielle Jepson, Meggie Keller, Benjamin Langner Yarosevich, Tar Ler, Angel Lopez, Aiden Louis, Narissa Lovan, Lizzie Lyman, Francisco Magdeleno, Grant Mai, Lizeth Maldonado, Felipe Manriquez, Luis Martinez, Cole McAtee, Bryon Mejia, Miranda Mills, Yaw Hay Tha Moo, Agustin Morales, Ernesto Morelos, Sahachat Muad-Otton, Brianna Najera, Angelo Negrete, Joanne Ni, Karla Ortega-Hernandez, Thi Ha Phyo, David Praseutsinh, Saby Ramos, Joseph Rice, Arianna Rios, Taylor Ripke, Jaslyn Saengchanpheng, Leslie Salmeron, Alexis Sanabia-Manriquez, Christian Sanchez, Emmanuel Sanchez, Ashlee Sandoval, Keira Satibanchong, Jaiden Sievers, Hershdeep Singh, EhHserMuLar Soe, Lah Soe, Madison Stull, Claire Taylor, Sunny Thao, Brock Turnquist, Saharat Uppahard, Helen Wobbema, Mason Wunder, Amy Yang, Annie Yang, Kristina Yang, Shouacua Yang, Angel Zaragoza-DeLaPaz, Ashley Zelaya-Martinez. ...

Morningside College presented Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degrees and Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degrees to 162 spring graduates during its June 10 graduate commencement ceremony. The Morningside College Graduate Program in Education offers the MAT degree with special education and professional educator tracks. All graduate program in education courses are offered online...

Ag Partners and Alceco are pleased to announce the winners of the 2017 Ag Partners and Alceco FFA Scholarship. Each year, Ag Partners and Alceco offer an FFA scholarship to one high school senior from each FFA chapter in the Ag Partners trade area. Winners are determined by total points based on the career of the FFA participant and participation in four major areas: Supervised agricultural experience projects, community service projects, the local chapter’s cooperative activities and leadership activities.. ...

Twelve youth visited the Sac County Extension and Outreach Office for a full day of vet camp on Monday June 5th. The youth learned about taking care of pets with a very informative talk by Vera Thomas of Early and her dog, Boots. The youth also learned all about the bone structure of a variety of animals, played a game “Are You Smarter Than a Vet?”, rotated between stations that included giving injections, practicing clipping nails, learning about the ear notching system for swine, listening to heart beats and giving prescriptions to animals.. ...