Stories from Friday, January 5, 2018

February 5, 1923 - December 28, 2017

“While the challenging economic conditions on the farm continued in 2017, I was extremely encouraged to continue to see farmers experimenting and investing in water quality efforts on their farm. We continue to see Iowans on the farm and in our communities taking on the challenge of improving water quality. ...

It was not a good start to the new year for 427 homes in Cherokee on New Year’s Eve. Sunday night, the power flickered the first time at 5:39 p.m. and came back on, but at 6:30 p.m. residents were left with no power for a little under two hours until it came back on at 8:20 p.m. This outage left many without any heat source for the duration on an evening for which the outside temperature reached record cold, including a reported 26 degrees below zero in Cherokee...

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ethanol plants in Iowa have produced a record amount of the gasoline additive this year, narrowly topping last year’s record. The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, an ethanol trade group, says Iowa’s 43 ethanol plants turned out 4.2 billion gallons of ethanol this year surpassing the 4.1 billion gallons produced in 2016...

On the evening of Sunday December 31, at approximately 10:49 p.m. Officers went to 511 Russell on a report of an intoxicated juvenile.  Upon arrival, officers determined that two 17 year old males and a 16 year old male all from Storm Lake had been drinking alcoholic beverages at the residence. ...

On the afternoon of Sunday December 31, at approximately 1:30 p.m., SLPD officers were called to the 300 block of West 9th Street in a report if an intoxicated person.   Upon arrival officers located the intoxicated person and arrested Jairo Gutierrez Cortes, age 33 of Storm Lake.  Cortez was transported to the Buena Vista County Jail. ...

ACCIDENTS On January 2, at approximately 12:30 p.m., at the intersection of 610th St. and Expansion Blvd. in Storm Lake, an unknown vehicle struck a stop sign owned by the State of Iowa. Total damages were estimated at $150...

Another year is here, which means new adventures and experiences! Whether you are a local looking for a unique outing or a visitor wanting to plan a vacation; the beautiful city of Storm Lake has something for everyone! Here is Storm Lake United’s list of 25 things to explore in 2018...

Keep Iowa Beautiful (KIB) is announcing the winners of the 8th Keep Iowa Beautiful Photography Contest aimed at raising awareness of Iowa's natural and environmental beauty. KIB wants to learn what resonates with Iowans based on the photographs they share through this annual photography contest...

There is a new promoter for the Buena Vista Raceway starting this season as Joe Ciechanowski has taken over the duties from the Buena Vista fair board. Ciechanowski is leasing the raceway after forming his own company in order to handle the operations that come with the raceway...

The Buena Vista County EMS association is requesting $7,500 in funding from the county government for the coming fiscal year, the same amount as the current year. The request was made at a county supervisors meeting this week. According to spokesperson Kurt Reetz, the funds help provide for initial education and continuing training for emergency medical volunteers...

The Storm Lake City Council this week held a public hearing for the 10th and Ontario Stormwater Project. This project is one of the eight funded by the National Disaster Resiliency Grant. The project consists of updating and enhancing portions of the City’s stormwater infrastructure in areas with high flood occurrence and high pollutant loads in the Ontario Street corridor from 6th Street on the south through 10th Street on the north. ...

The Storm Lake business will be moving the internet t-shirt division to the old Bomgaars building at 1628 Lake Avenue in early spring. SSI will also be moving it’s internet sticker and poster division from the current location at 702 Lake Avenue back to the Silk Screen Ink location at 512 Geneseo, also this coming spring...

Four performances remain in the current season at the Rosemary Clausen Center in Holstein. For ticket information, call 712-368-4849 or see rosemaryclausencenter.com. This Saturday, Abbey Road Band takes the stage at 7:30 p.m. The Abbey Road Band, from its beginnings in Rapid City, has become one of the most sought after Beatles tribute bands in the United States. They don’t wear wigs or costumes. This is about substance over appearances...

Coffee with Curators: Share your own historical item will be January 30. Every object has a story to tell, and some of them can tell us about family history. Each month, the curators at the Sanford Museum feature a favorite artifact from their collection to inspire a tabletop discussion of history, archaeology, and culture. However, this month they’re inviting people to bring one special object from home that tells a story of their own history or their family history...

RENT will be on production at the Orpheum on Sunday, February 11, at 7:30 p.m. In 1996, an original rock musical by a little-known composer opened on Broadway and forever changed the landscape of American theatre. Two decades later, Jonathan Larson’s RENT continues to speak loudly and defiantly to audiences across generations and all over the world...

Members of the Iowa Economic Development Authority board on Friday announced the state portion of a financial package to help Liberty Diversified International locate its Safco Products plant in Milford. The Newhope, Minnesota company will operate Safco Products in the same south Milford location that formerly housed Polaris, Klaussner Home Furnishings and Stylecraft production lines...

The Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation has collected the results of its annual Business Expansion & Strategic Trends of Iowa survey, and the agency is currently sharing the results with local governments in northwest Iowa. ILCDC conducts surveys with a variety of manufacturers and businesses in Clay, Buena Vista, Emmet and Dickinson counties...

Average retail gasoline prices in Iowa have risen 5.1 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.42/gallon this week. Storm Lake gas prices were $2.28 at many stations. In comparison, prices were averaging $2.60 in Des Moines and almost $2.50 in Omaha...

Iowa received a statewide annual precipitation of 33 inches in 2017, more than two inches less than normal, according to the latest Water Summary Update from the Iowa DNR. The year began with a wetter than normal spring, followed by drier than normal summer and fall months, with the exception of a very wet October...

The Friends of the Storm Lake Public Library group has recently received a $2,000 grant from Walmart, and a pledge for $1,000 from Tyson, to assist its efforts in improvements to the facility and its offerings. Two new “half loungers” have been ordered for the children’s departments. The colorful units are large enough for a parent and a child to share for reading. The facility had recently tested out one of the loungers as a loaner from the company that markets them, and it was heavily used...

The holiday season was a good one for Storm Lake area merchants, according to Storm Lake United CEO Gary Lalone. “We’re hearing nothing but good things from the stores. In general people seemed excited to get out, the weather was reasonable until New Year’s, and I think the mood was mostly optimistic - here and around the country.”...

Women in Denim is pleased to announce that Shannon Latham, of Latham Hi-Tech Seeds will close the 2018 conference scheduled for January 26 and 27. Latham grew up surrounded by agriculture; she was involved in 4H and FFA in her small town of Greene, Iowa. Both of these programs played a role in where she is today with her career...

Both the Storm Lake area and the state of Iowa have seen an early spike in flu cases - “potentially the worst we’ve seen for at least the past three of four years,” says Buena Vista County Public Health Manager Pam Bogue. Most of the cases are influenza A strain. “We often see an increase in cases hit well into January, after people have gotten together for the holidays, but this year it was hitting before the holidays even came around,” Bogue said...

This Christmas will be one Maria Vidal-Jiminez will never forget. The Storm Lake woman and her daughter Arianna, soon to be 4, lost all of their possessions and the life they knew, in a house fire two days before Christmas. The mother and child went had gone to dinner with Arianna’s godparents. ...

The Buena Vista University Board of Trustees has officially approved a $15.1 million renovation of the Harold Walter Siebens School of Business/Siebens Forum. Construction is scheduled to start in May 2018, with a tentative completion date of December 2018...

October 9, 1932 - January 3, 2018

On November 8, former Storm Lake varsity volleyball coach Kim Johnson turned in her resignation to the school board, leaving the Tornadoes without a head coach. Fast forward a month later when freshman volleyball coach Erin Nelson threw her name in the hat, and had her name called to become the newest varsity head coach for the green and white...

MOVILLE - The St. Mary’s girls struggled coming out of the holiday break on Tuesday night against Woodbury Central, dropping an 80-26 decision. The Wildcats jumped on the Panthers in the first frame and never really looked back the entire night, taking the quarter 30-6. ...

MOVILLE - St. Mary’s boy’s basketball coach Nick Landgraf said that missed free throws can come back to haunt you. His words proved to be true on Tuesday night, the Panthers missing 14 of their attempts at the free throw line in a 67-62 loss to Woodbury Central...