Stories from Friday, February 8, 2019

Join the Pocahontas and Buena Vista Women, Land, and Legacy Group for an educational presentation Tuesday February 12, 1:30 p.m. at Farm Credit Service Storm Lake. Valerie Weis from Farm Credit Service will present on land rental arrangements. Come learn about what types of land arrangements there are, and which one would work best for someone...

History was made in Cherokee this week when Iowa Food Group began its meat processing operations in the former Tyson Foods Plant. Showing their commitment to Cherokee, the approximately 300,000 square-foot plant was purchased for $2.35 million by IFG last fall...

Thrivent Financial granted The Bridge of Storm Lake $5,000 Tuesday as part of $43 million in grants being distributed nationwide. “The Bridge strives to care and advocate for Storm Lake youth in vulnerable places of life by meeting them where they are, building a supportive community there and providing training toward a more hope-filled future,” said Steve Frank, Iowa Regional Board Member for Thrivent. ...

Greg Hermstad has joined The Sale Barn Realty and Auction in Pocahontas. Based out of Webb, Hermstad will help the business with expanded coverage in Buena Vista and Clay counties. Seen, from, left, are Chad Lynch, auctioneer associate, Hermstad, auctioneer associate, Rick Winegarden, owner, and Jim Malacek, auctioneer associate. / Photo Submitted...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Who will be inside the suit remains unknown but “The Batman” has a release date. Warner Bros. on Wednesday announced that Matt Reeves’ stand-alone Batman film will hit theaters in June 2021. Ben Affleck was previously set to star in the film following his performances in “Justice League” and “Batman v. Superman,” but a new Caped Crusader is to be cast...

The Storm Lake Public Library will show the final film in its Wild Wild West Film Series on Monday, February 11, at 1 p.m.. This month’s film is directed by the Coen brothers and stars Josh Brolin as outlaw, Tom Chaney and Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn, the man who’s hunting him down. Light snacks will be served courtesy of the Friends of the Library...

Karl L. King Municipal Band will perform for the Karl King’s Annual Birthday Concert, 3:30 p.m., Sunday, February 17. The show is at Decker Auditorium at Iowa Central Community College, One Triton Circle in Fort Dodge. Admission is free.

Growing up means never apologizing for who you are, and what you’ve been through. For Kelsea Ballerini, one of country’s new voices, growing up also meant having the courage to put it all – the loss, the love and the highs and lows of life – into song. The result? Unapologetically, Ballerini’s sophomore LP, a collection of songs – all which she wrote or co-wrote, as on her Gold-certified debut The First Time – meant to share her experiences over the past two years like a sonic journal...

The Cherokee Symphony Mid-Winter Concert, the second of this symphony’s 63rd season, will be performed Sunday, February 24, 2019, at the Cherokee Community Center at 4 p. m. A full orchestra, musicians representing 20 communities, will be under the direction of Ted Hallberg, LeMars cellist, orchestra director and music coordinator for the LeMars Community School District...

The Storm Lake High School Jazz Choir performed Monday evening in competition for State judges as groups from around the region sang at SLHS Auditorium. The group earned straight 1 ratings at the Vocal Jazz Festival. / Pilot photos by Dana Larsen

The Storm Lake City Council has approved a one-year lease agreement allowing St. Mary’s to operate Memorial Ballfields, a site owned by the City. As in the past, in lieu of rent, the parochial school will take responsibility for maintaining the fields...

Applications are being accepted for the U.S. Citi zenship Class offered at the Storm Lake Public Library. The eight - week course introduces students to historical and cultural information used on the Naturalization Test. Classes will be held on Tuesdays, beginning February 19 and will meet from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Child care will be avai lable...

There were no activations in 2018 for the Storm Lake Clandestine Lab Team, which includes one Storm Lake Police officer and one Storm Lake firefighter, specially trained for dealing with labs as part of the community’s efforts at drug eradication. The team was formed in 2003 with a federal grant...

More than 100 superintendents representing school districts across the state of Iowa combined forces in Des Moines on Tuesday to rally for legislative support for education. “This event provides an important opportunity for school leaders to have productive conversations with our elected officials about the local impact of diminished funding and what’s needed to maintain quality programming for all of Iowa’s students,” shared Dr. ...

The public is invited to come together for a moment of remembrance in honor of the father and son, Zackary and Blair Newlon, who lost their lives after falling through the ice on Storm Lake January 20. The event will also be a tribute to the first responders and medical staff who rescued and saved the lives of the family’s two young daughters, Sophie and Sydney...

Western Iowa Congressman Steve King made national news again this week after inviting “Diamond,” of the pro-Trump blogsite and popular Fox News guest duo Diamond and Silk, as his guest at the State of the Union address. “Having only one ticket, I invited one of two guests for the State of the Union tonight, Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson, otherwise know as Diamond & Silk. ...

When it comes to tourism, Iowa might not be the first state that comes to mind—even for those that call it home. But Iowa’s fields of opportunity are proving to be a driver of tourism as places across the state are channeling the pride they have in their hometown to put it on full display...

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

In cooperation with the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Homes, Sliefert Funeral Homes, Mahaney Funeral Home and UnityPoint Hospice, they will be sponsoring a seven week grief support group program beginning Monday, March 4, at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home, 1615 W. Milwaukee, in Storm Lake. Brad Smith, a funeral director and certified bereavement facilitator with 32 years of grief counseling experience, will be conducting the group...

The family of Eugene and Lois Johnson invite you to participate in a card shower to celebrate Eugene and Lois’s 70th Wedding Anniversary.  They were married Valentines Day 1949 in Spencer Ia.  Cards of congratulations can reach them at 1305 10th Ave SE, Spencer IA 51301. / Photo Submitted...

Jill Kwikkel, and the late Steve Kwikkel, of Clear Lake, Iowa, announce the engagement of their daughter, Holly Kwikkel, to Jesse Munger, son of Allyson Munger, of Schaller, Iowa, and Leonard and Kelly Munger, of Sibley, Iowa. Holly is a 2010 graduate of Waverly Shell- Rock HIgh School in Waverly, Iowa and a 2012 graduate of Iowa Central Community College, with an Associate’s Degree in Major Photography, and a 2014 Graduate of UNI, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Studio Art. ...

Sac City - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is hosting a series of town hall-style meetings where local staff will provide updates on recently completed hunting seasons, discuss possible changes to hunting rules and regulations, and address other topics as requested...

The Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation is asking for input from area businesses and workers to define where workers are commuting from in Spencer, Estherville, Spirit Lake and Storm Lake. The Corridor is partnering with Iowa Workforce Development and Iowa Economic Development Authority to conduct a laborshed study...

DES MOINES — An Iowa regulatory board won’t let Alliant Energy charge customers who decline to have smart meters used to track how much electricity they use. The Iowa Utility Board voted Wednesday to reject Alliant’s request to charge $15 a month to customers who opt out of the smart meter program. The board told Alliant to file a revised rate request that allows customers to opt out without facing a fee. The board says Alliant already charges customers for meter reading in its current rates...

With temperatures dipping below zero, a student at Buena Vista University does homework pressed against the warmth of the new fire-ring fireplace in a Forum study area. With its new feature, students have taken to calling the area, “The Fire Room.” / Pilot photo by Dana Larsen...

“I loved to write,” said Marjorie Miller, reflecting over her career as a writer and reporter for respected newspapers all over Iowa after celebrating her 102nd birthday in January. Through the good times and the bad, her pencil and can-do attitude kept her moving through an entire career in northwestern Iowa as she wrote for The Sac City Sun, Odebolt Chronicle, Sioux City Journal, Des Moines Register and Pilot-Tribune...

Streets were shut down for hours Tuesday after a suspicious black case was spotted near a gas pump at Star Energy. Late that evening, the case was determined to be no threat, but officials are still looking for information on who left it. Storm Lake Police were called to the site on East 4th Street shortly after 2 p.m., and found a black case sitting between two diesel fuel pumps with no one around it...

An alert police officer’s actions may have prevented another tragedy on frozen Storm Lake this week. While patrolling shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday, an officer spotted a vehicle driving on the sand at Awaysis Beach, off East Lakeshore Drive. The vehicle headed onto the lake ice in the area, coming within about 40 feet of open water. The officer began yelling to the motorist, catching her attention before the vehicle could call through. The driver then drove back to the beach...

Storm Lake St. Mary’s School held their annual Pink Out basketball game to raise funds for the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center Oncology clinic last Friday. Everyone was encouraged to wear pink in support of those fighting cancer. A survivorss walk was also held in honor of the cancer survivors and in honor of those who had succumbed to the disease. ...

A state proposal aims to take back control over regulating public fireworks shooting - at least on the 4th of July holiday. The issue is proving explosive for cities and counties that say the change would strip them of local control by overriding their bans or regulations on shooting fireworks for the holiday...

“We have to reach that 4 percent who would be the swing vote, but we don’t want to get lost in the minority of people who aren’t going to support a project… We need to do what the community wants and needs, and not lose our supporters from the first time.”

COUNCIL BLUFFS – The GK Storm gymnastics teams traveled to the Mid-American Center last weekend (Feb. 1-3) to compete with over 450 other Excel gymnasts at the 2019 River City Classic. Three GK gymnasts came home with top-three all around honors. GK Storm Bronze gymnast Ireland Kennedy was the all-around champion in her age division with a score of 37.725. Ireland placed first on bars (9.550) and beam (9.650), second on vault (9.050) and tied for second on floor (9.475)...

ALTA - It was another slow start for the Alta-Aurelia boys in their regular season home finale on Tuesday night. Turnovers and other miscues led to OA-BCIG getting the early advantage against the Warriors, and the Warrior comeback bid fell short, 64-59 the final score...

STORM LAKE - It was a thriller until the final horn on Tuesday night in the contest between St. Mary’s and West Bend-Mallard. The difference between the two teams was a single free throw as the Panthers were able to end their 17 game skid and take a 49-48 decision...

SIOUX RAPIDS - The Newell-Fonda Mustang girls were able to once again get through the regular season with a single mark in the loss column. They closed out their season with a big road win against Sioux Central, taking a 79-41 decision. “We struggled to get a little flow going as the defenses on both sides played very aggressive. ...

ESTHERVILLE - The Storm Lake girls, down by as many as 20 points on Tuesday night, never gave up in their attempt to make it a game against Estherville-Lincoln Central. However, the hole was just a little too deep as the green and white girls dropped a 60-52 decision to the Midgets...

SIOUX RAPIDS - The Sioux Central Rebels had a never say die attitude on Tuesday night in their regular season finale as they hosted Twin Lakes Conference foe Newell-Fonda. The Mustangs had a lead going to the final quarter and saw it evaporate as the Rebels came back for a 68-64 win, their 18th of the year...

ESTHERVILLE - For the first time in 39 years the Storm Lake Tornadoes can say that they are Lakes Conference Champions on the hardwood. The green and white had to fend off a pesky Estherville-Lincoln Central team on Tuesday night, and get a little help from Western Christian, to get a piece of the conference title. Storm Lake beat the Midgets by five, 66-61, and the Wolfpack did their part by besting LeMars to create a three way split of the conference...