Stories from Wednesday, December 18, 2019

DES MOINES - The Storm Lake Tornado boys swim team took part in the Husky Bear Invitational on Saturday that also featured four other teams. The Tornadoes finished fifth overall as Boone won and Carroll took second. “We only had five swimmers but they put forth an incredible effort,” SL Coach Lindsey Brown said. “They are a really coachable group and they did a great job of applying the things we worked on in practice this week to improve their times.”...

ALTA/MOVILLE/KINGSLEY - The Alta-Aurelia girls basketball team continues to grow this season as they continue to look for their first win. They played three games in four nights over Friday, Saturday and Monday and walked away with losses against Pocahontas Area, Woodbury Central and Kingsley-Pierson...

KINGLSEY - The Alta-Aurelia boys were on the doorstep of getting their third win on Monday night as they took on Kingsley-Pierson. However, the Panthers were able to take a five-point decision over A-A, 55-50. K-P held a slim advantage after the first eight minutes, 12-11. Alta-Aurelia was able to bring the defensive pressure in the second period, holding Kingsley-Pierson to just six points to take a two point edge to halftime, 20-18...

KINGSLEY/HOLSTEIN - The Ridge View girls basketball team came close to a nice upset on Friday night against the No. 11 team in 1A in Kingsley-Pierson. The Raptors had a good lead after the first quarter but the Panthers were able to rally back as Ridge View fell in overtime, 53-49...

The Buena Vista County Soil & Water Conservation District recently presented their 2019 conservation awards. Chairman Brian Waldstein presents the awards to Bernard Arnts and to Robyn, Marlyn and Valerie Hogrefe. Winbreak Of The Year Award was presented to Bernard Arnts of Alta. The Conservation Farmer Of The Year Award was presented to Mitch and Robyn Hogrefe and Marlyn and Valerie Hogrefe for their conservation efforts.

Longtime Iowa Lakes educator Nancy Schoenewe, of Spencer, remembers early memories of lying on the kitchen floor as a child, engrossed in the creation of drawings. After the sun set on her career as an educator, she again is engrossed in illustration, this time as a professional artist. Today, Schoenewe is currently featured as one of the 30 area artists on display as part of Arts on Grand’s “Christmas in the Gallery” exhibit...

Leonard L. Peterson passed away on December 13. He was involved in a motor vehicle accident. Funeral services will take place Wednesday, December 18, at 11 a.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake. Private burial will be in the Newell Cemetery. Visitation took place Tuesday, December 17, at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements...

Roger D. Sievers, age 86, of Storm Lake, died December 15, at Methodist Manor Retirement Community in Storm Lake. Funeral services will take place Wednesday, December 18, at 10:30 a.m. at Grace Lutheran Church in Storm Lake. Burial will be in the Storm Lake Cemetery. Visitation took place Tuesday, December 17, at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements...

Joyce L. Wilson, age 76, of Storm Lake, died on Thursday, December 12, at MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center in Sioux City. Funeral services was held on Monday, December 16, at the United Methodist Church in Storm Lake. Burial was in the Rose Hill Cemetery in Grundy Center. ...

With just under 50 days until the Iowa Caucuses, Amy for America announced details today for Senator Klobuchar’s third bus tour in the Hawkeye state. The “For All of America” bus tour will kick off on Friday, December 20 in Henry County and will include stops in 27 Iowa counties. Two area stops are planned for December 22: a Sac County Meet and Greet at Sac County Cattle Company in Sac City at 5:15 p.m., and an appearance at Sanford Museum in Cherokee at 8:30 p.m...

Tuesday, for the first time in Iowa caucus history, the Iowa Democratic Party announced a new online Early Check-In option for Iowans to sign-up for their precinct caucus before caucus night to help streamline the process. Iowa caucusgoers are required to check in at the door of their precinct caucus, and Early Check-In will allow registered Iowa Democrats to get a head start on the process. ...

Iowa gas prices have fallen 2.3 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.34 to begin the week, while Storm Lake pump prices followed suit. The lowest price Monday in Storm Lake was $2.28, while many stations were at $2.31 per gallon, compared to $2.33 a week ago...

Wellness often begins with employers, and the local Area Education Agency is examining the potential impact in the workplace. Prairie Lakes AEA Chief Jeff Herzberg directed the AEA board at its most recent meeting to study an article on the Surgeon General’s call to employers to ramp up their well-being initiatives...

Three departing City of Storm Lake representatives were honored at Monday’s city council meeting. Bruce Engelmann was applauded for his nine years of leadership as a council member. His term will end at the end of the year. On the final council vote of the night, and the last of Engelmann’s tenure, Mayor Mike Porsch altered the order of the vote to put Engelmann first for a special moment. ...

The Iowa Rock ‘n’ Roll Music Association will present a special Christmas Rock the Roof Concert from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19, at the Majestic Pavilion in Arnolds Park. Featuring live music from the Itty Bitty Boji Band, the evening’s festivities will include an Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest, with the winner of a season Rock the Roof pass to be determined by a panel of judges...

Mandy Barnett is at the top of her game. Whether appearing at the Grand Ole Opry, on the world-famous Ryman Auditorium stage, or with the Nashville Symphony, Mandy brings glamour, flair and incredible talent to her audiences. Ms. Barnett will perform her Heroines of Heartbreak show at the Rosemary Clausen Center in Holstein, Saturday, January 4. ...

On a sultry Sunday summer night 87 years ago, amid the dance band music and amusement park lights, romance quickly turned to panic on the Okoboji shore. Losing their lives that night were a young couple, 22-year-old Esther Rehnstrom of Alta and her date, Carl Christian, 21, of Linn Grove, who had made the fatal decision to experience an excursion on a famous speedboat. The incident remains the worst water tragedy on record in Okoboji history, and to this day is shrouded in mystery...

On Dec. 11, the Spencer Police Department was contacted at 1:30 p.m. in reference to an intoxicated female in the Clay County Courthouse. Officers investigated the complaint and located 49-year-old Dianne Wallwey, of Spencer, in magistrate court. Spencer Police Chief Mark Warburton indicated Wallwey was acting in the capacity as an attorney at the time...

Col. Steven Kremer of Cherokee, Iowa, has been promoted to brigadier general in the Iowa Army National Guard and has been selected to be the Assistant Adjutant General - Readiness. Kremer’s military career includes several levels of command in the Iowa National Guard over the course of 28 years. Most recently, Kremer served as the commander of the 185th Regional Training Institute on Camp Dodge...

Western Iowa Congressman Steve King was pleased after the House of Representatives recently passed the National Defense Authorization Act, which contains a King amendment that cracks down on China’s “pervasive, oppressive, and ever-growing surveillance state.” The NDAA conference report passed the House of Representatives on a vote of 377-48, with Congressman King voting in favor of the legislation...

Hopes for a recreation center in Storm Lake turned away from building a new structure, and toward collaborating with an existing entity like the medical center’s Fitness & Health Center, during a city council priority-setting workshop Monday evening...

Seven “outside agencies” came before the Storm Lake City Council Monday evening, in an annual opportunity to plead their cases for a city funding contribution. Decisions on the city’s funding will be made over the next couple of months as the budget is crafted for the coming fiscal year...

With a blast of the air horn, a Storm Lake fire engine arrived at Upper Des Moines Opportunity Tuesday, with Santa himself riding shotgun. The engine was packed with many boxes of donations for needy families, from Storm Lake Police and firefighters. Just in time this week, generous donors came through to complete the Pilot-Tribune/UDMO ‘Adopt a Family’ program, ensuring that 199 low income families will have a merrier Christmas...

“I have to decide whether to pay my rent and keep my home, or pay for my diabetes medicine and keep my foot.” That was one story related as a parade of mobile home residents and their advocates from around Iowa met with several state senators and representatives Saturday afternoon in Des Moines...