Stories from Friday, May 18, 2018

The Alta-Aurelia Community School District’s Board of Directors agreed to send Alta-Aurelia High School’s competing National History Day group to the National History Competition. The group of six qualified to move on to the nationals in part for its presentation at a recent competition on the Judenrat, councils that represented Jewish communities in German-occupied Europe during World War II...

The Alta-Aurelia School District’s Board of Supervisors met Monday to deal with a variety of new business including mission statements, workshop feedback, district goals, superintendent evaluation and new staff hiring. The board approved a working mission statement drafted by parents, staff and community members in a previous meeting. ...

The City of Alta joined cities from across the State of Iowa to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Home Rule Amendment to Iowa’s State Constitution by passing a proclamation stating, “Home Rule is essential to effective and responsive municipal governance in all cities in Iowa,” and that local control “continues to be vital to the health and prosperity of all cities in Iowa.”...

Alta Fire Department invites everyone to our EMS Appreciation Night on Monday, May 21 from 6-8 p.m. to kick off “National EMS Week”.  When you make that 9-1-1 EMS call, our first responders are the “front line” to provide lifesaving services to your call.  The EMT’s ask the public to join in celebrating and recognizing the “front line”...

Erin Lockin, a 2018 graduate of the Alta-Aurelia High School, is the recipient of the Alta Chapter GB P.E.O. Scholarship. Erin was honored at the P.E.O. Spring Brunch on April 21. Erin is the daughter of Brian and Keisha Lockin of Aurelia. Erin was chosen from many applicants from the Alta-Aurelia senior class. She plans to attend the University of Northern Iowa this fall majoring in business...

The Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Iowa Chapter, is pleased to announce the beginning of an Alzheimer’s / Dementia Support group in Alta. The Alta Chapter will begin on May 31st and be held regularly the last Thursday of every month at Trinity Lutheran Church, 401 West 2nd Street in Alta, beginning at 7 p.m...

The following individuals from your area are among 3,400 prospective candidates for degree attending University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee commencement exercises Sunday, May 20, in Milwaukee. UWM is the second largest university in the State of Wisconsin, with approximately 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students...

BV County Supervisor Tom Huseman was the guest speaker this past Tuesday. The county plans to build a new maintenance shed along Radio Road for a cost of $2 million. The new shed will have 12 bays which will allow trucks and other equipment to be stored inside. The County Engineer’s office will be located at this site. This building will take the place of the current Hudson Street site. Currently both Tyson and the railroad may be interested in purchasing the Hudson Street property. ...

Wednesday, May 16th the Alta-Aurelia Trap team traveled to a shoot near Palmer, hosted by the Humboldt Wildcats. Two of the A-A High School squads placed for the A-A team. In first place was the squad of Noah Sundene, Cody Goodwin, Cory Goodwin, Nick Beazley and Wyatt Tuttle...

Rust’s Menswear and Tuxedos, an expansion from Rust’s Western Shed on Lake Avenue, is celebrating its second anniversary this week. Owners Mike and Pam Rust, who have been in business for 33 years, have seen great success with the expansion as Storm Lake’s clothing and fashion needs have changed...

Loews Carpet One Floor & Home, a locally-owned flooring retailer and member of North America’s largest flooring cooperative, is excited to announce the relaunch of its Relax, it’s... Lees® carpet. The flooring retailer’s premier carpet collection, Relax, it’s... Lees, combines performance, value, and style with an industry-best warranty to offer customers a carpet that stands up to everyday life...

Hy-Vee, Inc. announces it is launching Fair Trade CertifiedTM Wildfish Salmon in all 245 of its stores this week, making it the first Midwest retailer to do so. The salmon hails from the pristine waters of Bristol Bay, Alaska, and will be available starting this month. Hy-Vee also offers Fair Trade Certified tuna and scallops...

WheelHouse, a nationally touring Americana band hailing from Madison, Wisconsin, will be part of the musical lineup for this year’s Star Spangled Spectacular celebration July 4. As a full-time working band they perform over 220 shows per year and have garnered attention from national labels. Featuring three and four part harmonies, fiddle and guitar leads, and driving rhythm of the upright bass WheelHouse brings an energy and attitude unique to themselves.  ...

Lorie Line was recently inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame. She joins the ranks with Bob Dylan, Prince and Judy Garland. She will be coming to Nemaha United Methodist Church June 3, thanks to Dave and LuAnn Cook and Russ and Liz Davis, who recently attended one of Lorie’s concerts in her home in Minnesota...

Grateful Dead tribute band Hinterland will perform Saturday at Byron’s in Pomeroy. Showtime is 8 p.m. The Iowa City-based band has been traveling the midwest since 2013, specializing in the 1960s and ‘70s music beloved by Deadheads everywhere. Winterland pulls you back in time to a place where the Dead’s rhythm and blues, folk and country roots were still deeply embedded in their music even as they explored the wild and experimental outer reaches of psychedelic rock. ...

Armando Christian Perez also known as Pitbull is a globally successful musician, performer, business entrepreneur, fashion icon and actor whose career sales have exceeded five million albums and over 60 million singles worldwide. Pitbull has had number one hits in more than 15 countries, his videos have over five billion views, and his social reach matches audiences of some television networks around the world. ...

A groundbreaking ceremony has been scheduled for Saturday, May 19 at 10:30 a.m. at 524 Oates Street, Storm Lake, to initiate the construction of Habitat for Humanity’s newest project, a duplex. The ceremony will be held at the location for the newest build. At the Groundbreaking Ceremony,Habitat will be introducing its two new partner families, Neomi Figueroa and her two children, and Teresa Perez, and her three children. We invite the public to attend...

The Storm Lake Board of Education has set fees for the coming school year. Textbook fees, student activity tickets ($25 or $10 if fundraisers provide enough money to buy down the cost), music and apparel fees will be unchanged. School meals will increase five to ten cents - $2.85 for student lunch, $1.90 for breakfast, and $3.65 for adult lunch and $2.05 for adult breakfast...

A memorial Day picnic will beheld Monday, May 28, by the Buena Vista County Historical Society. Plan on including this annual event in your observance of this day of remembrance. The meal will be held at the museum at 214 West 5th St. Please use the Railroad Street annex entrance...

CHICS Club of Sioux Rapids were delighted when the new cement planters arrived last week and they spent Saturday morning setting thee planters in place in front of the Sioux Rapids Memorial Library. The planters were purchased with a grant from Buena Vista County Community Foundation that CHICS had applied for and received in January. The planters arrived in time for spring planting...

This year’s democratic primary field has been making the rounds in Storm Lake lately. J.D. Scholten’s Winnebago coming to town marks a season of visits from candidates hoping yet again to beat Steve King in the 4th Congressional District. A group of about 20 gathered at Better Day Cafe Tuesday evening to have coffee and ask questions ranging from DACA to small business to Medicare...

WANTED On the afternoon of Tuesday, May 15, at approximately 12:05 p.m. the Storm Lake Police Department responded to 1726 East Milwaukee Avenue #11 in reference to locating a wanted person.Upon arrival police located and arrested Sefton Akin, age 37 of Storm Lake who was wanted out of Emmet County, on a warrant charging him with Failure to Pay Fines reference Felony Domestic Assault. Akin was booked into the Buena Vista County Jail on a $500 bond...

Spring has finally arrived in Northwest Iowa. Colorful flowers are popping up everywhere you look. Come out to the Prairie Heritage Center to check out the wildflowers are in bloom. Meet at the center at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 23. After checking out the prairie flowers, participants will carpool to Wanata Park in Peterson to look for woodland flowers. Join the naturalist for this colorful exploration...

On May 3, the Ridge View FFA’s soil judging team traveled to Sheldon to the Northwest Iowa Community College for Spring Soils. The team consisted of Russell Brummer, Katlyn Wiese, Paige Padavich and Alex Movall. Billy Frazier competed individually. ...

This year’s unusual cold, late spring delayed walleye collection efforts to some of the latest dates in the history of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) walleye season. “Mother Nature presented many challenges this year, but we still met our walleye egg collection goal thanks to the dedication and adaptability of our fisheries staff,” said Jay Rudacille, DNR Warm and Coolwater Fish Culture supervisor at Rathbun...

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, shared the comments he delivered at a high-profile “Hearing on Protecting and Promoting Music Creation for the 21st Century” May 15 with the Pilot-Tribune. A transcript of the comments follows:...

Mike Butterworth is a Spirit Lake native and co-leader of Iowa rock band, The Nadas. The group, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, are being inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and released its 11th studio album, “One Louder” in January. One of the album’s tracks is “Henry James,” written about Butterworth’s son Henry, who is living with autism...

‘Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World’ gets updated release By JOSEPH HOPPER Special to The Pilot A decade after first publishing “Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World,” which has to date sold over 2 million units, author Vicki Myron has spent the last year hard at work to release an updated edition. ...

College sees possibility of needing to move campus in the future Iowa Central Community College leaders are searching for a site for the new Industrial Training Center to be built in Storm Lake, but in the back of their minds is another possibility - that they might one day need space to move the entire campus...

Although the state senate failed to pass a sales tax extension for school infrastructure during the past session, Storm Lake Board of Education felt that it is important to proceed with the scheduled bond issue vote in December to build a new Early Childhood Center...

Three music teachers from Storm Lake High School came to the school board this week to propose an unusual new class - in mariachi music. Mariachi is an important culture form, dating to at least the 18th century in western Mexico. The teachers, and principal Beau Ruleaux, feel that it will fill a “great void in our community” and attract more students to get involved in music...

John Delaney’s visit to Better Day Cafe on Monday morning marked an early beginning to another presidential election cycle. The first presidential candidate for the Democratic Party has thrown his hat in the ring, preaching unification as the winning mantra in his quest to defeat President Trump in 2018...

In a first for the Storm Lake Board of Education, the group’s meeting this week was visited by an athlete from the high school - who isn’t human. Enter “Jenny,” the robot built by the fledgling high school robotics club, which rolled through the administration building, into the middle of the meeting room, where it performed a high-speed spin under the command of the visiting students...

Without a teacher, the Storm Lake High School Building and Trades program may be history. The irony was obvious Wednesday night, as the board of education went to tour this year’s newly completed student-built house, only to face the possibility of ending the program during the board meeting an hour later...

The Buena Vista County Board of Review received 10 petitions for reconsideration of property valuations, in hope of reducing taxes. Six of the petitions this season came from Ag Partners LLC in Alta and Albert City for commercial property, and all were denied. ...

May 16, 2018

DES MOINES - The State track and field meet kicked off on Thursday going from nearly sun up to sun down with the various events of the day. Area teams competed in relay and solo events. St. Mary’s Jake Heitman took part in the long jump with 24 others in 1A, and walked away with 15th place with his best leap coming in at 19-04.5. The winner came from North Linn this year with a best of 22-03.75...

Three Buena Vista baseball players have been recognized by the Iowa Conference baseball coaches for their respective play on the diamond this season by being voted to the All-IIAC Baseball Team as announced by the league office. Junior Peyton Renning was named first team outfield, while freshman Nick Henrichs was a first team utility player. ...

May 17, 2018

Buena Vista freshman catcher Carlee Guyett continues to collect postseason softball recognition honors for her stellar play this season, and now added to that list is a first team All-Midwest Region selection as voted on by members of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA)...