Stories from Monday, March 18, 2019

SIOUX CITY — A magistrate says critical letters a Sioux City schoolteacher sent to her superintendent and others are free speech, not harassment. The Sioux City Journal reports that Woodbury County Magistrate Jessica Noll dismissed the six counts of misdemeanor harassment filed against West Middle School teacher Julie Fischer. Fischer had been placed on paid leave last summer after she was charged...

DES MOINES — Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed into law a bill designed to prosecute people who get hired at a farm in order to work undercover to report on animal living conditions. The bill was approved by the Senate and House on Tuesday and signed into law by Reynolds on Thursday. It creates a trespass charge for undercover investigators...

On Friday, March 8, the annual GRiT Conference was held at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake. One-hundred youth from Storm Lake, Storm Lake St. Mary’s, and Fort Dodge school districts came together for a day of Getting Real Together through leadership, college exploration and cultural awareness. Nationally renowned author Angela Duckwall’s work also provided a philosophical foundation for this event in her definition of grit as perseverance and passion for long-term goals...

On the afternoon of Thursday, March 14, at approximately 12:46 p.m. a Storm Lake Police Officer stopped a vehicle in the 1500 block of East Lakeshore Drive for a traffic offense. Upon contacting the driver identified as Everardo Manriquez Mendoza, age 24 of Storm Lake police learned that his driving privileges had allegedly been barred in the State of Iowa. Police took Manriquez Mendoza into custody...

Applications are now being accepted for the 2019 Spring Grant Cycle. The application form can be downloaded from the foundation’s web page at www.bvcountyfoundation.com or requested by email at bvcfoundation@gmail.com. The deadline for turning in applications in the Spring 2019 round of grants is 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 21...

Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation recently for the State of Iowa in response to flooding and severe weather beginning March 13th and continuing. Late last week, she activated Iowa’s State Emergency Operations Center to coordinate the response to Iowa’s flooding...

Dakota Access Pipeline has released information related to its 2018 annual property tax payments in Iowa, with $1.4 million paid to Buena Vista County. In 2018, more than $18 million was paid to 18 counties across the state. Iowa is expected to receive $25 million for property taxes in 2019. These revenues help fund roads, schools, libraries, law enforcement agencies, and community programs...

In an historic move, the Iowa HIV and Hepatitis Community Planning Group (CPG) voted on February 14, 2019, to support the passage of Senate File 125, to establish syringe services programs in Iowa.  The sharing of syringes and drug injection equipment is a route of transmission of blood-borne viruses, such as HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C; and can cause endocarditis, a bacterial infection of the heart’s inner lining. ...

Cherokee Regional Medical Center (CRMC) is excited to announce that 3D mammography is now available through the CRMC Radiology Department. Utilizing Hologic’s Genius™ 3D Mammography™ system, CRMC now offers advanced breast tomosynthesis technology. Genius exams are clinically proven to increase the detection of breast cancers, while also decreasing the number of women asked to return for additional testing...

Community representatives with the local Healthy Hometown Initiative want to see cities in Dickinson County adopt a broader approach to smoking and other tobacco use in public areas. The initiative is the successor to Wellmark Insurance’s Blue Zones campaign, and dozens of Lakes Area figures have been working alongside Wellmark for several months to brainstorm ways the community can improve its overall health — specifically through the initiative’s three-pronged approach, “Eat Well, Move More, Feel Better.” The Feel Better Committee hopes to have appointments on the books with most of the local government agencies soon, and discuss a potential transition to nicotine-free ordinances, rather than smoke-free ordinances, by July.. ...

The Newell-Fonda Education Association has accepted the Board of Education’s counter-offer in staff contract negations. After one proposal and a counterproposal, Newell-Fonda teachers have settled for a $725 base salary increase across the board, a 3.5 percent raise...

According to Buena Vista County Sheriff Kory Elston, an arrest has been made following a report of child abuse in the town of Alta. On March 5 the Buena Vista County Sheriff’s office received a report of a belated incident at a residence in Alta. The allegations stated that a 3 year old child had received minor injuries from the mother’s ex-boyfriend approximately three weeks prior. ...

Four professors have been selected as finalists for Buena Vista University’s 2019 George Wythe Award for Excellence in Teaching. They are: • Dr. Nathan Backman, associate professor of computer science • Dr. Calle Friesen, associate professor of education...

Iowa farmland values fell by nearly 3 percent over the past year, in part because of President Donald Trump’s trade disputes with China and other countries, according to a new report. The Iowa Chapter of the Realtors Land Institute found that the 2.7 percent decline occurred despite the federal government’s trade bailout program for farmers hurt by foreign retaliation against Trump’s tariffs, as well as limited land and higher yields in some parts of Iowa...

Buena Vista University is welcoming Argosy University students looking to complete bachelor’s and master’s degrees after the school announced its permanent closing of several locations - including Argosy University Twin Cities. The Higher Learning Commission informed BVU that the University met requirements to serve as a teach-out option for displaced Argosy students this week. ...

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources investigated a claim last week that manure runoff was reaching Storm Lake. DNR staff traced runoff to manure application on fields at Don Jackson’s Pike Farms cattle feedlot, 930 630th St., Storm Lake. Runoff from the surface-applied solid manure traveled half a mile into South Cove, entering the lake a quarter mile east of South Cove Park. ...

A proposal for a community garden project will need to soon get a “yay” or “nay.” A member of a Storm Lake High School ecology class that has proposed the idea met with the Storm Lake Mayor’s Committee on Parks, Trails and urban Forestry last week to explain the plan...

In Storm Lake, three immigrants act as the bridge between law enforcement and the people it serves, giving our majority-minority community something they may not have had when they came to America: a friend in the law. “I help the community understand the law,” said Pom Kavan, a Laotian community service officer at Storm Lake Police Department. ...

Plans for Storm Lake Proud week continue to evolve as Mayor Mike Porsch discussed his idea with the Mayor’s Committee on Parks, Trails and Urban Forestry recently. Storm Lake Proud week, tentatively set for April 29-May 5, would focus on cleaning up the parks and beaches in the city, but can also reach out to the downtown and neighborhoods for projects...

For Spencer native Casey Muessigmann, the recording artist whose motto is “dream big, live big,” 2019 is shaping up to be a giant year. In addition to a calendar full of gigs to play, a new album in the works and a wedding to plan, he has taken on philanthropy too. Last week he headlined a benefit concert to aid citizens of Marshalltown as the city recovers from the devastation caused by an EF3 tornado in 2018...

Auditions for Buena Vista Community Theatre’s production of Shrek The Musical will be held on Thursday, April 11 and Friday, April 12, 6 - 8 p.m., and Saturday, August 12, 1 - 3 p.m. Stage Director Tessa Baxter and Music Director Corbet Butler are looking for adults and teens to bring this adventure to life. This show has very few roles for kids, however kids under 12 can join the cast if they have a parent involved in the show...

It is said that music has the power to bring people together, and crowds at the Stone Pier Concert experience at Lake View would agree. Aside from the audience, people can find volunteers on the grill, community members serving meals and even members of the local volunteer Fire Department operating the official Concert Series Burger Boat to bring food to listeners on Black Hawk Lake...

STORM LAKE - Friday night hosted one of the busiest indoor track meets of the year as Buena Vista University hosted their Elite meet with 35 teams competing in the event. The Storm Lake boys and girls, Ridge View girls and Alta-Aurelia boys all took part in the meet, the final tune-up before the outdoor season begins in a week...