Stories from Friday, August 31, 2018

In her college days at Buena Vista University, Sandra Smith, a Spirit Lake area native, crafted a lovable lead as "Sandy" in a memorable campus production of the musical "Grease." A talented biology student as well, she appeared in six other BVU productions, falling in love with the stage in the process...

Situated near the Glacial Trail Scenic Byway, just north of the Little Sioux River, Peterson is brimming with history. The town of slightly more than 300 residents is the site of three museums and five historic structures. This series will highlight three notable destinations open to the public within the city limits: Jim's History Barn, the Fort Peterson Blockhouse and the Christian Kirchner House...

Iowa has the second lowest unemployment rate in the nation, according to July numbers released by Iowa Workforce Development on Friday. The state's unemployment rate dropped to 2.6 percent last month, hitting an 18-year low and tying Iowa with North Dakota for No. 2...

The Trump administration recently announced a new rule that may allow Storm Lake residents to access less expensive options in the individual health insurance market. On August 1, 2018 the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a rule that lengthens the maximum duration for short-term major medical coverage (STMM) for up to 364 days. Previously, this coverage was limited to a 90-day duration...

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach specialist Carol Huneycutt Ehlers has been designated a Certified Housing Counselor by the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education. This is her second national mark of excellence from the association...

Alliant Energy residential customers can purchase landscaping trees for their homes at a deep discount this fall. Customers may reserve up to two trees per address and pick them up at Operation ReLeaf events in Cerro Gordo, Decatur, Hamilton, Linn, Poweshiek, and Winneshiek counties in October...

In the beginning, there were 10. Five bands, two venues, a radio station and a pair of disc jockeys made up the first class of inductees into the Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. This year's ceremony will bring the total to more than 400 inductees. Staples of the induction ceremony will return, but the Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Music Association has also scheduled a few new items this year...

The Knights of Columbus are gearing up for their annual drive for persons with intellectual disabilities. Two long-time supporters of the drive have been announced as honorary co-chairs. Buzz Paterson is the manager of Community First Broadcasting, which runs KAYL and KKIA radio stations. Buzz is a member of the Knights of Columbus and has been involved in a variety of charitable fund-raising activities, including his activities for persons with intellectual disabilities...

Season tickets are on sale for the Storm Lake Community Education 2018-19 Performing Arts Series. All performances will be held at the Storm Lake High School Auditorium. An application form is available online at storm-lake.k12.ia.us or at the Community Education office. For more information, call 732-5711...

Kick off National Library Card Sign-Up Month by visiting the University of Iowa Mobile Museum September 7, located at the municipal parking lot on East Main Street in Cherokee. Library staff as well as staff from the Sanford Museum and Planetarium will be on hand to make this a memorable, educational experience. Hours are 2-5 p.m. Admission is free...

Clean energy company Invenergy plans to develop two 210-megawatt wind farms in the region, with 85 turbines to be erected in Sac County and 81 in Ida County. Together, the developments would produce enough electricity to power around 90,000 homes. The electricity would be sold to Alliant Energy as a final piece to its 1GW wind expansion initiative in Iowa, and could go on line by 2020...

A Storm Lake man who has been in prison for 17 years on a murder conviction, will have to wait a little longer to get an opportunity for a new sentence. The resentencing that was to have been held Wednesday has been pushed back to November 1 in order to accommodate the schedule of a psychologist who is expected to testify on Zarate's current mental status, according to Assistant Buena Vista County Attorney Paul Allen...

Gasoline prices in Iowa have risen 0.9 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.73 to start the week. This compares with the national average that is unchanged versus last week at $2.83 per gallon. Storm Lake prices have bounced around over the past week, spiking to $2.71, falling back as low as $2.61, and ending up in between at most stations...

On the morning of Tuesday, August 28 at approximately 1:00 a.m. the Storm Lake Police Department was dispatched to the 700 block of Russell Street in reference to an assault. Upon arrival police met with the reporting party who alleged that shortly before the call she was at the Midtown Store located at 1100 East 5th Street when she was confronted by her boyfriend identified as BJ John, age 25 of Storm Lake. ...

On the afternoon of Monday, August 27, 2018 at approximately 2:25pm the Storm Lake Police Department was dispatched to 1726 East Milwaukee Avenue #17 in reference to a disturbance. Upon arrival of police they met with the reporting party who alleged that a, Apollo Price, age 38 and Jermaine Ford, age 26 both of Storm Lake were beating on her apartment door and window reportedly attempting to return a key that was stolen from her apartment the previous day. ...

Iowa's pheasant hunters can expect to find more birds this fall when they head to the fields, predict state wildlife experts. That forecast is based on the recently completed statewide population survey of pheasants, quail, partridge, cottontail rabbits and jackrabbits...

__Spencer native and longtime Republican remembers fallen senator__

The Buena Vista County 4-H Program would like to thank the Buena Vista County Pork Producers for their generous donation to the 2018 Buena Vista Fair. The Pork Producers provided shovels, panels, and brooms for the swine building. Hog Slat also matched the number of panels the Pork Producers purchased, together they made a large contribution to the Buena Vista County 4-H program. ...

__College under construction__

November 24, 1961 - August 23, 2018

November 15, 1941 - August 23, 2018

April 13, 1956 - August 26, 2018

Fun, and a good attitude, describes Kim Walsh, a breast cancer survivor from Alta. Kim has been cancer free for 9+ years. This December it will be 10 years. Kim recalls the day she had her annual mammogram and was called in to discuss something that was seen on the scan back in December of 2008. ...

SIOUX CITY - The Storm Lake High School girls’ swim team competed for the first time this season at the Pentathlon event at Sioux City West on Tuesday, August 28. The other participating teams were host Sioux City Metro, Council Bluffs Abe Lincoln and Spencer...

SPIRIT LAKE - The Storm Lake cross country teams completed at the Spirit Lake Invitational on Tuesday night. The Tornado boys took fifth place, and the girls had enough runners to field a team and finish eight out of the eight teams running. “I thought we really raced well last night across the board. ...

Slow start puts Tornadoes in a hole to open year STORM LAKE - The season opener didn’t go quite as planned for Storm Lake as they fell in a two set hole and were unable to rebound, bowing in four sets to the St. Edmond Gaels on Tuesday night, three sets to one. The set scores were 17-25, 16-25, 25-17 and 20-25...

Volunteers demonstrate how an old-fashioned plow would have been used (with a tractor.)

Petitions are making their way around Alta, asking for signatures of residents looking to remove Wes Bunjes from City Council and Al Clark from the mayor's seat. A copy of the petition says "We believe that [Wes Bunjes and Al Clark] violated city codes and we want unbiased representation in our local government. This can be achieved by building a stronger community when we eliminate bullying tactics and personal vendettas. Please sign this petition to show your support in this action."...

The majority of the scientific community has long been united in their assessment that the world and the United States weather patterns are changing. The most recent data released by the Climate Science Special Report for Iowa, and discussions with climate experts, confirm that the state, and northwest Iowa in particular, have become hotter and wetter with more frequent bouts of intense heat and rainfall. The trends are projected to continue into the future...

Storm Lake St. Mary's School dedicated and blessed their new high school science room last Friday morning -- just a year after dedicated a brand new middle school science room thanks to the generosity of benefactor Joe Nemmers. The Bernard SMHS '40 and June (Beck) Christenson Science Room was completed renovated with new flooring, LED lighting, cabinetry, floor drain, air conditioning, new countertops and laminate on existing lab stations and new lab stools and student tables to match the lab stations and custom cabinetry. ...

New 3D guns, firearms that can be produced by anyone with a 3D printer and the blueprints, could pose a threat to the streets of Storm Lake, says Director Mark Prosser of Storm Lake's Department of Public Safety. A federal judge in Seattle issued a preliminary injunction in July blocking the manufacturer of the blueprints, Texas-based Defense Distributed, from distributing them online for now. Iowa is one of 19 states suing to permanently block online distribution...

Two years after its multi-million-dollar facility expansion, Buena Vista Regional Medical Center continues to see an evolution in medical care. "We've been in the new facilities for two years, and people have hopefully gotten used to where to go now," said CEO Rob Colerick. A newly completed oncology center has also been well-received and has added convenience for cancer patients...

STORM LAKE - The 2018 season kicked off for the Buena Vista Beaver football team on Thursday night as they welcomed in the Hamline Pipers in the second straight Community Night. With a rowdy student section and some big plays on both sides of the ball, the Beavers…...

NEWELL - The Newell-Fonda Mustangs knew they were in for a battle on Friday night against the high octane offense of Coon Rapids-Bayard. Thanks to a pair of interceptions and a couple of big stops, the Mustangs were able to pick up their second win of the year, taking a 37-26 decision from the Crusaders...

STORM LAKE - For Class A Alta-Aurelia, challenging 3A neighbor Storm Lake might have seemed ambitious, but the two squads put on a rock-em sock-em affair that came down to the final series. Storm Lake held on for a 13-6 win, aided by a controversial call that took a Warrior TD off the board...