Stories from Friday, September 27, 2019

The Elements in Storm Lake will host a Holiday Design Event, Sunday, October 13, noon-5 p.m. See how The Elements does the holidays. A day of shopping; Santas; samples and treats; and demonstrations, including quickie centerpieces, holiday tables and The Elements’ famous 5-minute tree. Demos begin at 2 p.m. The Elements by K. Sorbe is located at 1701 W. Milwaukee. / Photo submitted...

Hy-Vee is celebrating 50 YEARS in the community of Storm Lake this month. Storm Lake United Coffee is holding a coffee acknowledging this important milestone and welcoming the new store director, Whitney Cunningham, to Storm Lake. / Photo submitted

For the sixth year in a row, Central Bank has been recognized as a Top Workplace in Iowa. “Central Bank takes care of its employees”, “opportunity to grow” and “a good environment to come to work every day” are just a few reasons why their employees find Central Bank a great place to work...

Storm Lake United, Buena Vista Regional Medical Center, and Storm Lake Retail in Action are pleased to announce Sassy Saturday in Storm Lake will be back this year on September 28. Community members can participate by purchasing a BVRMC P.I.N.K. wristband for three dollars. ...

“The Red Planet” will be the October Planetarium Program at Sanford Museum in Cherokee. Mars is our solar system neighbor, and yet, it is still so mysterious. This month in the planetarium, travel to Mars, land on the surface, and learn the basics of the red planet. Staff will also talk about recent discoveries and the possibility of future habitation...

Everyone is invited to travel Iowa’s scenic byways and back roads looking for one-of-a-kind creations. The 16th annual Artisans Road Trip will be held on Saturday, October 12 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., and Sunday, October 13 from Noon – 5 p.m. This year we have 26 artists participating from Estherville down to Storm Lake (and all over in between)! The Artisans Road Trip is a self-guided art studio and gallery tour; free for visitors, the Road Trip is a great way to spend a weekend with friends and family exploring the work of local artists.. ...

The new Roof Garden at Arnolds Park hosts a Fall & Winter concert series that will keep the music flowing past the usual tourism season. The complex was built as a “premier concert venue in the heart of the Iowa Great Lakes,” organizers said, announcing an eclectic lineup including some of the most popular acts to appear in this region...

The O’Brien County Conservation is getting ready to celebrate another holiday in the park this year. Ghosts, princesses and action figures are invited to come out to Mill Creek Park in early October. The Conservation Board is offering free camping to patrons who camp on the nights of October 4 and 5. In exchange, the campers are requested to get into the Halloween spirit by decorating their campsite and handing out candy to trick-or-treaters...

Gamblers should be ready with their $100 bills. Storm Lake St. Mary’s 2019-20 Big Raffle is kicking off this week. Again this year Mary Drey and Ralna McVinua will be co-chairing the fundraising effort the large scale raffle, leading the team to sell 400 yellow $100 raffle tickets from presstime until all are sold or March 21 – whichever comes first...

Buena Vista Regional Medical Center received a Governor’s Volunteer Award from Governor Kim Reynolds and Lt. Governor Adam Gregg during a recent special recognition ceremony. The BVRMC Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) was honored with a 20 Year Group Length of Service award. SHIIP volunteers assists individuals and families with eligibility questions related to Medicare...

Buena Vista University (BVU) introduces Chris Boeckman and Jared Brashears as the co-chairs for its 2019-2020 Community Campaign. Both men have incredibly close ties to the University. Boeckman, the “Voice of the Beavers” for Storm Lake Radio since 1991, is the father of a BVU alumna. Brashears, whose local family ties and commitments stretch back generations, is the husband of a BVU graduate...

In the latest edition of the Storm Lake Taco Tour, eating champ takes down 20 tacos at six eateries

Sherise Gibson-Ellis has filed to run for Storm Lake Board of Education, facing all three incumbents who have filed to run for another term - Dave Skibsted, Emilia Marrouquin and Melea Raveling. In announcing her campaign, Gibson-Ellis said she has a passion for education. ...

The Cherokee Depot is proud to announce they will be sponsoring their 18th Annual Fall Festival on Saturday, September 28, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Join them for free coffee at the Bake Sale. Purchase some of the great homemade goodies to eat in or carry out...

Front Row, L-R: Madge (Brink) Hansen, Gary Larson, Cathi (Croxell) Grinaldi, Rachel (Varenhorst) Schmid, Randy Koskovich, Jon Smith and Kenny Wall. Second Row, L-R: Susan (Peterson) Harrington, Sue (Armstrong) Mesenbrink, Claudia (Olson) Pavlinik, Cindy (Hess) Meyer, Karen (Witt) Guntren, Deanna (Persons) Sinclair, Tracy (Tymeson) Peck, Netti (Smith) Renshaw, JoLee Caskey, Gary Herpst, Nancy (Wolf) Hageman and Trish (Kearney) Moe Third Row, L-R: Ron Davis, Wendell Stief, Todd Ingram, Steve Kendall, Charlie Mac Luepke, Ruth (Chambers) Spooner, Denny Spooner, Sherry (Vilas) Neid, Jaynee (Haack) Young, Terry Stambach, Susan (Shannon) Graves, Chris (Cammack) Harris, Bill Steffen, Joleen (Tillman) Dentlinger, Bob Coatsworth, Sue (Fitch) Swanson, Karie (Eichhorn) Martindale, Bill Strawn, Nancy Sliefert, Pat Puetz and Tom King. ...

April 19, 1923 - September 20, 2019

August 9, 1969 - September 20, 2019

March 23, 1930 - September 23, 2019

June 17, 1956 - September 19, 2019

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

The Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) released a proposed updated delegate selection plan for the 2020 Iowa Caucuses that fulfills the party’s goals of increasing voter participation and securely expanding accessibility. Significantly expanding on the existing satellite caucus structure, Iowa Democrats will have the opportunity to caucus during extended hours at a venue other than their assigned precinct location on February 3, 2020...

The public artwork, “The Gathering: of Time, of Land, of Many Hands,” has stood tall in Spencer’s East Leach Park for 19 years, but never with so few of its mosaic pieces. Each of the more than 60,000 broken tile pieces were cut and installed by members of the community at the direction of Chicago-based lead artists John Pitman Weber and Nina Smoot-Cain in 2000, but deterioration has led some of the pieces to come apart from the structure...

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Imagine Iowa Great Lakes began work this week to repair the seawall at Arnolds Park. The project will stabilize the foundation of the sidewalk and ultimately serve as a platform for the beautification work led by Imagine Iowa Great Lakes...

Kellie Anderson and Beverly Christiansen are the Honorary Co-Chairpersons for the Knights of Columbus 2019 Drive for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities. Kellie is the Director of Special Education, as well as the Principal of Early Childhood with the Storm Lake Community School District. Beverly has provided leadership for the Storm Lake Special Olympics organization, and is also involved as a teacher in the Special Education department...

“Kids are a big part of my life… pay is not necessarily what kept me in education,” Dick Jungers tells a room full of aspiring teachers at Buena Vista University, when asked about his career. Through his BVU student niece, Newell-Fonda principal and award-winning coach Jungers was asked to share his advice this week, in an event sponsored by the Teachers Inc. group on campus...

Two local voting precinct locations will be changed headed into the Nov. 5 combined city and school election. In Storm Lake, voting has traditionally taken place at the Chautauqua Park Shelterhouse, but without air conditioning, conditions in summer there have been too hot...

6 year old Jayden Lightfoot has never heard a bird sing or any other distinctive sounds in his lifetime. He has had very limited hearing. After a recent visit to BVRMC Specialty Clinic, Jayden now has the gift of hearing, with help from a Cochlear™ Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (Baha©)...

SPENCER - The Newell-Fonda volleyball team went north on Tuesday night and took on the Spencer Tigers. The Mustangs showed some guts against the Tigers, sweeping the night’s match. The set scores were 25-23, 26-24 and 25-17. N-F sophomore Macy Sievers had 10 kills, 10 digs and went 20-for-21 serving with an ace. Senior Megan Morenz had nine kills, junior Ella Larsen eight and freshman Nevaeh Lyman seven. Senior Bethany Greenfield had 27 assists, 14 digs, seven kills and went 14-for-14 serving...

SHELDON - The rain caused some issues on Tuesday night for the cross country meet at Sheldon for the teams involved. Due to the delays, the varsity and junior varsity races were combined as Storm Lake finished eighth in the boys meet and 12th in the girls...

SCHALLER - The Ridge View volleyball team continued their success this season on Tuesday night when they welcomed in Westwood. The Raptors started off quickly and used that to take a three set contest over Westwood with set scores of 25-9, 25-20 and 26-24...

SIOUX RAPIDS - It was a quick night for the Sioux Central volleyball team on Tuesday night when they welcomed in Manson-NW Webster. The Rebels were unkind hosts and swept the Cougars in three sets for their ninth win of the year. The set scores were 25-17, 25-14 and 25-23...

EMMETSBURG - The Alta-Aurelia volleyball team battled on Tuesday night in a road contest against Emmetsburg. They pushed the E-Hawks to the brink but fell in a three set match with set scores of 25-27, 22-25 and 27-29. “What a great match from both teams. We played well in all facets of the game,” A-A Coach Jeannie Henningsen said. “We have had a tough road schedule and some injuries, but our girls put all that aside and played competitive volleyball tonight.”...

STORM LAKE - The young St. Mary’s volleyball team continues to gain experience on the court as they did on Tuesday night when they welcomed in Southeast Valley. The Panthers fought but dropped a three set contest to the Jaguars with set scores of 19-25, 19-25 and 16-25...

STORM LAKE - Not only was it pouring buckets outside on Tuesday night, the Storm Lake spikers made it rain on the Estherville-Lincoln Central Midgets. The green and white were able to earn their second victory of the year, taking a four set match over the Midgets...