Stories from Wednesday, May 2, 2018

The Iowa Court of Appeals on Wednesday, April 17, threw out the conviction of an Estherville man who fired gunshots and ended the life of a local community college student. The appeals court decision means either the Iowa Supreme Court or a new district court jury may have to review Lee Christensen’s role in the June 2015 death of Thomas Bortvit. ...

Current and former law enforcement leaders from around the United States today called on Congress and the White House to pass the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act. In a letter today to congressional leaders, the Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime & Incarceration warned that focusing solely on prison reform and reentry services will not adequately reduce high incarceration rates, which cost taxpayers $80 billion annually.  The bipartisan Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, led by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), is cosponsored by more than a quarter of the U.S. ...

On the morning of Monday, April 30, at approximately 2:38 a.m. the Storm Lake Police Department was dispatched to Casey’s Central on Flindt Drive for a report of a person slumped over his steering wheel. Upon arrival of police witnesses alleged that the person slumped over his steering wheel had been in the store for approximately 30 minutes and was acting in a suspicious manner. ...

INTOXICATION On the morning of Tuesday May 1, at approximately 12:43 a.m. Storm Lake Police Officers conducted a routine bar check at Mo’s Bar. While inside the establishment officers observed a patron identified as Branigan William age 30 of Storm Lake.

On the morning of Sunday, April 29, at approximately 11:30 a.m. a Storm Lake Police Officer stopped a vehicle in the 500 block of Erie Street for a traffic offense. Upon contacting the occupants of the vehicle police received permission to conduct a consent search of the vehicle...

On the morning of Sunday, April 29, at approximately 2:59 a.m. a Storm Lake Police Officer while on patrol observed a fight in progress in the roadway in the 400 block of Cayuga Street. Police intervened after they allege they observed an adult male take his shirt off and then charge a second adult male and shove the second person in an attempt to instigate a fight. Police took the aggressor into custody and identified him as Halefom Mahari, age 38 of Milan, MO...

On the evening of Monday, April 30, at approximately 7:56 p.m. the Storm Lake Fire Department responded to Arby’s located at 1611 North Lake Avenue in reference to a dumpster fire. Upon arrival of fire fighters they extinguished a fire burning in a dumpster at the rear of the business...

Rodney Pooler, Post Adjutant, of the Storm Lake American Legion Shaeffer Post 115, presented a check to Paul Fullerton, co-chairman of the Buena Vista County Freedom Rock committee for the Freedom Rock. All money that is donated will go towards the painting of the rock, landscaping, lighting, flags and etc. Ray “Bubba” Sorsenson, artist, is scheduled to paint the rock in October, 2018...

Storm Lake city officials canceled two meetings scheduled for Monday. A meeting planned to apply for a housing rehabilitation grant was canceled shortly before it was to begin after it was learned that the city had not done enough resident surveys to qualify. Also, only two residents had applied for the help, far less than city officials had anticipated. Plans are for the city to try to seek the grant again next year...

Now that spring has sprung, the State Historical Society of Iowa’s “Iowa History 101” mobile museum is on the road again, resuming its three-year mission to visit all 99 Iowa counties by the end of next year. The attraction is so far scheduled for one stop in the region, September 20 at the Prairie Heritage Center, rural Peterson, noon-4 p.m...

Washington, D.C. –Ms. Priscilla Robinson of Storm Lake Middle School was nominated for the Harris History Teacher Award by the State Historical Museum of Iowa, administrator of the National History Day program in Iowa. The Harris History Teacher of the Year award is sponsored by James F. Harris and is awarded to one middle and high school teacher annually...

Emerging Nashville solo artists Kasey Tyndall and Lainey Wilson will be appearing in a Storm Lake show later this month. Opening the night will be Fort Dodge native Jessica McClintock. Tickets are on sale now for the concert Sunday, May 27, with music from 6 p.m. to midnight. Advance tickets are available at midwest.securemytix.com...

The Buena Vista University Concert Band, under the direction of Jerry Bertrand, assistant professor of music, will present its annual Spring Concert on Sunday May 13 at 3 p.m. in Schaller Memorial Chapel on the BVU campus.  The Concert Band’s portion of the program will include “The High School Cadets” by John Philip Sousa, “Prelude and Fugue in D Minor” by J. S. Bach, “Psalm 46“ by John Zdechlik, “A Longford Legend” by Robert Sheldon, and “Homestretch Galop” by Karl L. King.   ...

Students at Albert City – Truesdale Elementary have been busy with many activities this spring. Two groups of sixth graders presented projects at District History Day held on the BVU campus March 15. Opera Iowa conducted workshops for grades 3-6 and performed “Jack and the Beanstalk” for all students April 13. Sioux Central Elementary students were in attendance also...

The U.S. Senate has affirmed its support for efforts to end international parental child abduction. In a resolution authored and cosponsored by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the Senate sought to raise public awareness of this tragedy and designated April as ”International Parental Child Abduction Month.” The resolution was adopted unanimously...

Buena Vista University hosted the 130th Iowa Academy of Science (IAS) Annual Meeting and the 86th Iowa Junior Academy of Science Symposium on April 20-21.  “I feel particularly honored that BVU was selected to host the 130th Annual Meeting of the Iowa Academy of Science, the oldest existing science association in Iowa,” said Dr. Melinda Coogan, professor of biology at BVU and past president of IAS. ...

A crowd of about 130 runners and walkers turned out for the Hippie Hustle 5K in Storm Lake Sunday afternoon. The event sought to build awareness to sexual assault issues, with all proceeds going to the Centers Against Abuse and Sexual Assault. Buena Vista University students assisted in organizing the event, which began and ended in front of the field house, where colorful messages of support were chalked on the walkways...

A Storm Lake Police officer received minor injuries when an incident at La Parranda Club Saturday night spun out of control and the officer was struck in the head with a bottle. An officer on patrol saw a fight in progress outside the club on Railroad Street Saturday night shortly around 10:40 p.m...

After two attempts to advertise the Storm Lake dredge and other equipment for sale, only one bid could be obtained. A company in Deer Creek, Illinois is offering $85,000 for the dredge boat, booster pump barge, tender boat and some spare parts. Members of the Lake Improvement Commission met Monday, and favored accepting the bid, although it is a fraction of the $600,000 in county funds the dredge cost when it was brought to Storm Lake in 2002. ...

Time in the semi-mythical town of Cottage Park Iowa is measured not in hours and minutes, but in the passing of innings. Baseball isn’t a sport, but a religion. Storm Lake native Tommy Murray, author of the self-published novel “Fathers, Sons and the Holy Ghosts of Baseball,” was the featured speaker for the annual open house at the Buena Vista County Historical Society in Storm Lake Sunday...

The landscape for women, in areas traditionally reserved for men in the rural plains, and towns, of the Midwest, is changing. Women are making their presence known in business, farming, science and industry, and education. We celebrate their accomplishments, but really, we have a way to go in many areas, where women can make lasting change, and impact, in higher-ranking positions of power...

July 26, 1953 - April 30, 2018

STORM LAKE - The Buena Vista men’s tennis team wrapped up its season on Sunday afternoon by hosting the University of Dubuque out on the Buntrock Tennis Courts, but the Spartans would go on to pick up a 9-0 win. BVU was edged 8-5 and 8-4 at both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles before the Spartans won in straight sets throughout singles play...

Four new members, as well as one team, have been selected to be enshrined into the Buena Vista University Athletic Hall of Fame this fall. Jeff Brennan, Don Walls, Jamie Taxted, LuAnn (Thurn) Van Kirk, as well as the 1975 Boot Hill Bowl Championship Football Team, have all been selected for induction this year by the BVU Athletic Hall of Fame Committee...

SPENCER/ESTHERVILLE - The Storm Lake boys tennis team went to the Lakes Conference meet on Saturday and came away with a fourth place finish. Spencer claimed first place followed by LeMars. The number one singles for Storm Lake, Phoung Hoang, took fourth place with a pair of victories. He was able to win his first match of the day against Cherokee’s Cale Pingle. The number two singles player, Kevin Lopez, claimed fifth place with one win against four losses...

SPIRIT LAKE/STORM LAKE - Saturday saw the Storm Lake girl’s tennis team have to move a few players around due to two varsity players not being able to make the trip to the Lakes Conference tournament. The Tornados took a sixth place finish on the day...

FORT DODGE - The Alta-Aurelia girls continue to rack up conference championships, winning their seventh in a row on Monday night at the Twin Lakes Conference meet with a team score of 385. Newell-Fonda was second with 414, Sioux Central fourth with 441 and St. Mary’s 10th with 490...

STORM LAKE - Golfers from the 12 Twin Lakes schools did their best to ignore the wind on Monday to play 18 holes of golf. When the dust settled, the Newell-Fonda Mustangs claimed the crowd with a team score of 359. Alta-Aurelia took second with 386, Sioux Central was 10th with a 446 and St. Mary’s 11th with 456...

LE MARS - The Storm Lake girls, along with the Estherville-Lincoln Central girls, did not have enough players to fill out a full team scorecard and dropped a match to LeMars on Monday night. LeMars shot a 199. Storm Lake was led by Haley Redenbaugh’s 50. Chloe Graft shot a 57 and Lena Soumehto 60...

SPIRIT LAKE - The green and white boys golfers came close to a win. Painfully close. The sixth golfer score reared it’s head as Spirit Lake and Storm Lake both had a 178, but Spirit Lake had the better sixth score to win the day. LeMars took third with a score of 189...

STORM LAKE - On a blustery Monday night, the Storm Lake girls and boys track teams braved the stiff winds to compete in their second home meet of the season, the final tune up before the conference meet on Thursday. The girls claimed sixth place with 46 points, and the boys finished in seventh out of the eight teams, registering 38.33 points. The Spencer girls and LeMars boys were the first place teams...

May 1, 2018