Stories from Wednesday, December 19, 2018

On the evening of Saturday, December 15, at approximately 11:22 p.m. a Storm Lake Police Officer while on patrol was flagged down by a pedestrian. Police made contact with the pedestrian and identified him as Jorge Melesio-Perez, age 33 of Storm Lake. Police allege that Melesio-Perez was intoxicated and upon taking him into custody found that he was in possession of a homemade knife with an 11.5 inch blade...

Anna “Ann” Bozena (Izrael) Jensen passed away peacefully at her home in Lakeside, on December 18, at the age of 88 years. Cause of death was kidney failure. Memorial services will be held on Saturday, December 22, at 11 a.m. at Storm Lake United Methodist Church. ...

The crystalized tree branches and picturesque snow made for the perfect atmosphere during the Spirit Lake Chamber of Commerce’s weekend event — Santa’s Village. Costumed characters and sleigh bells beckoned visitors toward more than a dozen locations in the downtown area with promises of holiday treats and fun. ...

IOWA CITY — The University of Iowa has banned four fraternity chapters after a two-month investigation spurred by a number of alcohol-related incidents. School officials announced Thursday that Delta Chi, Sigma Nu, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and the UI chapter of Kappa Sigma International Fraternity can no longer operate as student organizations at the university...

Ryan Drey, Storm Lake, is among nearly 1,250 candidates for degrees at the University of Kansas, where degrees are officially confirmed in January, and recipients are invited to participate in commencement in May. Drey has earned a Masters of Science degree in Education...

Meet real scientists and try your hand with activities demonstrating physics, chemistry, biology, and more on Sunday, February 17, 2019 from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. at Sanford Museum & Planetarium, 117 E Willow St, Cherokee, Iowa 51012. Learn more about their careers and different applications of different science. This event is free and open to all ages...

DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg on Wednesday announced that fewer Iowa high school graduates are taking remedial coursework during their first year at Iowa’s community colleges and state universities, a signal that more students are on track to earn a degree or other postsecondary credential...

Laura Anderson’s seventh grade science students at Storm Lake St. Mary’s School are checking out Iowa animal pelts with Buena Vista County Naturalist Katie Struss this week as the students have been studying genetic variation and mutations recently. The students are also enjoying the newly renovated science facilities thanks to a benefactor...

Storm Lake Elementary students recently created colorful masks with a wide array of creative designs. The artwork has been displayed in the showcases in the cafeteria area.

The Newell-Fonda FFA chapter has completed several acts of kindness in this season of giving. FFA members wanted to do something to give back to their community and supporters. Therefore, after brainstorming several project ideas, a community service project to help support the Newell Food Pantry sounded like the perfect fit. ...

After discussions and public concern over snow removal in the downtown area, the Storm Lake City Council has adopted some new policies. The previous policy called for snow removal within 12 to 24 hours. With the city working in the area in the overnight hours, that only allowed about four hours of working time, not enough for a heavy snow or ice situation...

Soul Searchers will be in concert Sunday, January 27, at Bryon’s in Pomeroy. This hard­swinging band from Des Moines plays more than 100 dates a year in Des Moines and neighboring small towns and cities including Ames, Iowa City, Omaha, and Minneapolis. ...

This is one, amazing book. Walking Point by Minnesota author Robert Kunkel is a soldier’s-eye view of the horrors of war and how one year forever changed the life of a Minnesota farm boy. Robert Kunkel grew up on a farm on Pearl Lake in central Minnesota. Far away from the jungles and heat and war in South Vietnam, little did he know how the war would change him. But it did...

You might be forgiven for feeling superhero overload this holiday season. Had enough of, say, of Spider-Man for a while? Well, this may sound nuts, but consider watching not just one web-slinger but five of them in the animated “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” Instead of overload, you’ll be begging for more...

Storm Lake city officials are trying to determine who owns Scout Park. Efforts are currently underway to locate records on the land prior to 1924. At attorney general’s ruling indicates that Storm Lake obtained the property originally through a tax sale, but has a burden of proof to show that the State never owned the property...

“We are excited to begin transforming our fleet with new buses,” said Hugh Lively, executive director of Rides, announcing the organization’s plan to introduce new buses into its current fleet, replacing some of the older models. “The vehicles range from 14 to 20 passengers. ...

The Clay Central-Everly School Board gathered with staff and community members Saturday morning to assess the viability of the Every and Royal buildings to house the entire K-12 student body, if deemed necessary. Officials also set a short-term timeline of decisions necessary to address the long-term future of the district at the elementary in Royal...

A mariachi band played for a recent late-night service at St. Mary’s Church in Storm Lake, coinciding with the Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration.

The ice arena located just northeast of the Bedell Family YMCA in Spirit Lake is about to enter a third phase of construction, according to the Lakes Area Hockey Association. Treasurer Sharon Hoerichs and representative Eric Hoien submitted a funding request and updated the Dickinson County Board of Supervisors on progress at Boji Bay Ice Arena. The association also requested funding in the county’s 2019 budget for Phase III of the project...

Warmer temperatures had many out enjoying the lakefront parks and LakeTrail over the weekend, many of them enjoying a striking, golden sunset on Sunday.

Supervisors voted to purchase and install GPS tracking devices to Buena Vista County’s fleet of maintenance vehicles. Offers from Verizon Wireless waiving an initial $80 activation fee prompted the county to decide to install tracking units on up to 47 of their vehicles, from pickups and dump struck to wheel loaders and motor graders...

Iowa Congressman Steve King is among the Republican party conservatives celebrating the end of the influential conservative magazine “The Weekly Standard,” which has ceased publishing after 23 years. The magazine had criticized King in the past, and a contributing editor recently called him “a stain on public life,” in a Twitter response. ...

Mangold Environmental Testing in Storm Lake has agreed to temporarily stop testing drinking water samples for nitrate, effective December 14, due to potentially inaccurate sample results. According to the Iowa department of Natural Resources, 43 public water supplies have been identified as potentially having inaccurate nitrate sampling results. MET has made arrangements to have nitrate tests performed by another certified laboratory...

Storm Lake school officials say allegations of a conflict during a Storm Lake-Cherokee boy’s basketball game December 11 are unfounded. A Cherokee Chronicle Times report headlined “Storm Lake player threaten Braves” claimed that a Storm Lake player had to be “restrained by school officials from attacking Cherokee players going into their locker room” between halves, calling the event “more of a street fight environment than a high school basketball game.” It claimed the Storm Lake player was “out of control” and unprovoked.. ...

Three children were taken into protective custody after a Storm Lake domestic confrontation where a man used a 7-year-old child to shield himself from a knife attack. Monday night, Storm Lake Police were called to the 300 block of West 7th Street on a report of a domestic assault in progress where a woman was armed with a knife...

Santa’s Castle volunteers are inviting fans of the Storm Lake holiday showplace to keep it in mind as they do their estate planning. “This is the time of year when people often think about giving,” says Ron Hott, president of the Santa’s Castle board...

The Storm Lake City Council has finalized a resolution to sell city-owned property for a new Alliant Energy building. The site, just under 10 acres on Radio Road across from the golf course, is being sold for $120,000. The council earlier approved rezoning of the property to commercial status...

Storm Lake Elementary and Middle School had a friendly competition to see which could raise the most money for a planned Storm Lake Police K9 unit, and donated a total of $1,500.

Five “outside agencies” approached the Storm Lake City Council Monday with requests for funding in the upcoming 2019-2020 budget, including two organizations that have never before requested city money. The requests total more than $44,000. The city will approve, deny, or adjust the funding as the coming fiscal year budget is crafted over the next two months...

HOLSTEIN - The Alta-Aurelia wrestlers were busy on Saturday as they competed in four different duals over the day. The Warriors fell in their first one, against South Central Calhoun, but rebounded with wins over Coon Rapids-Bayard, Sioux City West and Ridge View. Going 3-1 allowed Alta-Aurelia to take second place...

SIOUX RAPIDS - The Sioux Central girls fought hard for all 32 minutes on Friday night against Pocahontas Area. The will to keep battling eventually led to a 44-43 win for the Rebel girls in Twin Lakes Conference play. “I’m really proud of the way our girls hung in there at the end of the game. ...

HOLSTEIN - The Raptor girls entered Friday night’s Western Valley Conference contest on a three game slide but thanks to a strong first quarter, they were able to end their skid with a 63-35 victory over OA-BCIG. “We started a little shaky after our first couple possessions but I thought we settled in real well after that and created turnovers with our press,” RV Coach Brian Bode said. ...

FORT DODGE - The green and white grapplers ran into some strong opposition on Saturday at the Don Miller Invitational which saw a host of teams compete. Storm Lake had a pair of second place finishers to highlight their day. “Saturday was a really loaded tournament for us and a good measuring stick to see where we are at. ...

SCHALLER - The first eight minutes were really the different in the game on Monday night between Ridge View and Manson-NW Webster. Ridge View battled all night against the Cougars, but fell in a five point contest, 59-54. “Give Manson Northwest Webster credit that they came out in the first quarter and shot the three point ball very well. ...

NEWELL - It was raining three pointers in the Newell-Fonda gym on Monday night when the Newell-Fonda Mustangs and OA-BCIG Falcons battled one another. A total of 25 triples from both teams went through the net as the Falcons were able to best the Mustangs, 70-64...

NEWELL - Behind another strong defensive effort and five players scoring in double-figures, the Newell-Fonda girls remained undefeated on Monday night after flexing their muscle against OA-BCIG, 79-22. “We put together another solid defensive performance tonight. Our kids did a great job of limiting OA-BCIG and their looks on offense,” N-F Coach Dick Jungers said...