Stories from Friday, February 1, 2019

King’s Pointe’s restaurant got a facelift this year with a redesign focused on bringing locals back to Regatta throughout the year. With the change, “Regatta Grille” dropped the “Grille” in theme with a more contemporary focus. General Manager Jason Bjerk suggested the idea, paring the title down to make it more conducive with a modern intake...

=The premise for ”Arctic ” is so simple it’s almost silly to describe: Stranded man tries to survive. It’s also been done more than a few times in movies, so it’s understandable if hearing that invokes a yawn. And yet with barely any dialogue, traditional storytelling methods or even a cute pet or inanimate object to help, director Joe Penna and star Mads Mikkelsen have made a riveting and precisely plotted film worthy of other greats in the genre...

The Arthurian legend gets a modern and more youthful spin in ”The Kid Who Would Be King,” a surprisingly delightful film full of action, heart, a crazy-haired Patrick Stewart (as “old” Merlin) and a few genuinely good gags, and it really couldn’t have come at a better time...

The Beach Boys are coming to the Sioux City Orpheum Theatre on Thursday, May 9 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the newly-announced show went on sale February 1, starting at $54.50. You can capsulize most pop music acts by reciting how many hits they’ve had and how many millions of albums they’ve sold. ...

Storm damage on upper Drainage District 34 will be repaired after March thanks to grant funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Damage from the June 6 storm will be covered, with FEMA kicking in 75 percent of the costs for the $112,000 project. The state of Iowa will contribute 10 percent, with the drainage district covering the remaining cost, estimated at $17,833...

Gasoline prices in Iowa have risen 0.5 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.10 to start the week. This compares with the national average that is unchanged versus last week to $2.25. Storm Lake prices remained virtually unchanged, at $1.98 at most stations, the lowest price for this date since 2016...

In its first digital ad campaign of the cycle, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is targeting Rep. Steve King and 24 other “vulnerable House Republicans” for voting against reopening the government. Democrats are seeking to blame the Republican incumbents for putting federal employees into an uncertain financial situation. ...

A Trivia Night fundraiser is planned for Saturday, February 2, 6 - 10 p.m. at the BVU Forum. The event is a fundraiser to benefit the Storm Lake Community School District Foundation. Cost is $10 to participate. For more contact Community Education at 712-732-5711. Happy hour starts at 6 p.m., with activities underway at 7 p.m. Along with the trivia contest there will be a silent auction, 50/50 raffle, and hors d’oeuvres by Sodexo...

Storm Lake Police will host the D.A.R.E. Omelet Breakfast, Sunday, February 10, 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Storm Lake. The public is invited to support Drug Abuse Resistance Education and eat breakfast with some of Storm Lake’s Finest. Admission is $5 per adult, $3 per child, or $15 for a family Preschool and younger children eat free...

The public is invited to St. Mary’s High School’s Pink Out basketball game vs. Emmetsburg Community Schools Friday, Feb. 1 with tipoff at 6 p.m. as part of Catholic Schools Week. Everyone is encouraged to wear pink as our players, drill team, cheerleaders and spectators will be wearing some pink in support of those fighting cancer. ...

Storm Lake St. Mary’s High School inducted four individuals into the Athletic Hall of Fame Friday night during the school’s homecoming festivities. Jim Mech ’56 (dec.), Stacy (Laven ’91) Evans, Eric Wordekemper ‘02 and Wayne Andrews were all inducted. Mech’s niece, Claire (Whitney ’68) Petersen accepted the award on behalf of the Mech family...

August 17, 1958 - January 26, 2019

April 28, 1933 - January 28, 2019

March 4, 1922 - January 29, 2019

October 11, 1932 - January 29, 2019

May 26, 1934 - January 28, 2019

May 21, 1935 - January 27, 2019

Updates from the Storm Lake Police Department, the Buena Vista County Sheriff's Office and the Storm Lake Fire Department.

SPIRIT LAKE – The walleye fishing season on Spirit, East and West Okoboji lakes is open through Feb. 14.  It will close after that date and reopen on May 4. These are the only Iowa lakes that have a closed season for walleye.

PRIMGHAR – Northwest Iowa was well-represented at the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Multi-Regional Awards on Jan. 23 at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake.   Many of the awards were taken home by an ISU Extension and Outreach staff member or volunteer from Northwest Iowa. Awardees were nominated by their colleagues and now go on to be considered for state recognition...

Growing up around Waverly, author and historian Linda McCann became familiar with stories of prisoners of war held in the area during World War II at a young age. McCann came to the realization this history is not widely known while visiting with her granddaughter’s other grandmother during a Christmas celebration in 2017. McCann used that realization for inspiration in her 12th book published by Tandem Publishing Group, “Prisoners of War in Iowa.”...

Area first responders rushed to the Storm Lake Airport Tuesday night as a pilot was forced to make an emergency landing around 8:45 p.m. The plane was a cargo freight liner headed from Omaha to Minneapolis when one of its two engines began to fail and it started to lose altitude, according to airport operators. The Storm Lake Fire Department, county sheriff’s officials, Storm Lake Police and emergency medical personnel were alerted, but the plane was able to land safely before they arrived...

Storm Lake’s property tax levy would decline under the proposed city budget for fiscal 2019-20, from $14.06 per thousand dollars of valuation to $13.84. For the owner of a $100,000 home, tax going toward the City after rollback would be about $777 for the year. This would be the third straight year of levy declines since the recent high of $14.59 in 2016-17...

Every body matters. That’s how the Storm Lake City Council feels, as it prepares a City budget to guide the fiscal year that starts in July. Looking at the Road Use Tax revenue, for example, it notes that available funding is limited by Storm Lake’s Census count - 10,600 in 2010, which local leaders agree was an undercount at the time, and given growth in recent years, a dramatic shortchanging of the real population picture today...

Despite near-record cold, no serious situations were seen in Storm Lake during the sub-Arctic conditions this week, according to police. “Everybody did real well in dealing with the situation,” Public Safety Director Mark Prosser said. “Fortunately we saw calls slow down a little bit on the streets, so a lot of what we were doing was motorist assists and as always, helping with medical calls. ...

With six key values—faith, attitude, determination, confidence, desire and perseverance—Holly Hoffman challenged women to go outside their comfort zone. “Life is about survival. How are you going to do it?” she asked. Through 39 days of clinical starvation in Nicaragua, eating just a quarter cup of rice each day for the chance at winning a million dollars, she revealed how she found what she needed to push her through, and how anyone in America can use it to push through the challenges in their life.. ...

Local outbreaks seen in flu, RVS and norovirus

Last week the regional tournaments for 1A, 2A and 3A were released by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. The St. Mary’s Panthers will be in 1A-Region 1 and will host an opening round game against Twin Lakes Conference for West Bend-Mallard on Feb. 7. The Panthers bested WB-M earlier in the season and will host them again on Feb. 5...

There's a new trend coming through, but this one's not something you acquire--it's being happy with less. "You don't need to move to a smaller home to downsize," said Ann Ahmann, professional organizer and owner of Happy Healthy Home Organization Solutions in Des Moines. "It's just living lighter."...