Stories from Friday, March 6, 2020

Spencer Sports Cards & Comics held a grand opening Sunday. The new family-friendly shop at 313 Grand Avenue also features all kinds of non-sports-related cards, collector toys, games, Lego items and more. Hours are Wednesdays 106, Thursdays 1-7, Fridays 1-5, Saturdays 10-5 and Sundays 11-3...

The aviation program at Iowa Lakes Community College is meeting the increasing industry demand for pilots with flying colors. The airplane fleet is receiving a significant update courtesy of higher enrollment levels due to rising demand for pilots in the aviation industry...

Rembrandt Foods employees donated $500.00 to Buena Vista Regional Medical Center’s Cardiac Rehab Department to help them buy a new treadmill. During February, employees raised money through valentine promotions to support heart health for the region. Representing Rembrandt Foods is Amanda Doonan and Ann Sassman. Representing BVRMC’s Cardiac Rehab Department is Sarah Thompson, Kristi Bihrer, and Ali Svendsen. / Photo submitted...

The Live at the Lake concert series for Arnolds Park was announced this week. Enjoy free concerts all season long at the Preservation Plaza next to the amusement park. This year’s series is packed with tribute bands from around the midwest and beyond...

A musician who soared to the top of the charts will headline an important ecological festival in the Iowa Great Lakes. Organizers for the Okoboji Blue Water Festival have booked Boz Scaggs for a return to West Lake Okoboji. His free concert performance will take place Saturday, Aug. 8...

No stranger to the Iowa State Fair Grandstand, rockers, Styx with special guest Tesla will be at the Iowa State Fair Grandstand on Wednesday, August 19, at 8:00 p.m. Tickets range from $25 to $50 and go on sale Friday, March 6, at 10 a.m. First performing hits like “The Grand Illusion,” “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)” and “Come Sail Away” at the Iowa State Fair in 1978, Styx continues to share rock classics with Fairgoers previously joining REO Speedwagon, Foreigner and Def Leppard. ...

The Storm Lake City Council has approved breaks in fees for new construction of both homes and commercial properties. The city will again provide $1 building fees for new single family homes completed by the end of the year. For commercial permits, with fees roughly averaging 3.3 percent of construction costs, the city will newly offer reduced fees of 1.65 percent of construction costs for projects over $10 million. ...

Gov. Kim Reynolds announced appointments to Iowa’s boards and commissions Wednesday.  Two area residents were named. Michelle Grant and Betsy Lenzemeier were both named to the Iowa Autism Council - two of the four members chosen statewide. The appointments are subject to Senate confirmation...

The Buena Vista County Historical Society/Museum is in the process of many changes for the new 2020 year.  The theme for the annual main exhibit will be “Public Defenders,” with items on display relating to police, sheriff, firemen, EMT and military veterans...

October 7, 1928 - February 26, 2020

September 21, 1925 - February 29, 2020

July 14, 1936 - March 1, 2020

August 5, 2003 - February 21, 2020

Benjamin Peters, of Storm Lake, will be one of 64 Wartburg College students to perform at Carnegie Hall on Sunday, March 8, at 8:30 p.m. Lee Nelson, the Patricia R. Zahn Endowed Chair in Choral Conducting, will conduct the National Festival Chorus, which includes the Wartburg Festival Choir, comprising students from Kantorei, St. Elizabeth Chorale and Ritterchor...

Eighty-eight Bomgaars locations held a Ladies’ Night in October where participants received discounts on merchandise and a portion of the sales were pledged back to local cancer centers and hospitals. The Storm Lake Bomgaars store presented Buena Vista Regional Medical Center with a check for $921.47. Storm Lake Bomgaars team members from left to right: Ryan Box, Mary Mix, Ron Thompson, Kirk Collins and Larry Wells presenting the check to BVRMC’s Katie Schwint. /Photo submitted...

Worries about a new virus first detected in China that’s infected tens of thousands of people globally are making a mark on the economy of a nine-state region in the Midwest and Plains. The Mid-American Business Conditions Index sank in February to 52.8 from 57.2 in January, according to a survey report issued Monday...

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said Friday that his organization will continue to discuss ways to minimize problems during the presidential nominating process. The Michigan Advance asked Perez if caucuses should be done away with after myriad problems in Iowa...

A petition aimed at maximizing the sale of the current Okoboji Middle School in Arnolds Park has resulted in fewer dollars for the Okoboji School District in the short term. The district announced Thursday local businessman Neil Slater was the high bidder for the property at $1.1 million. ...

About 130 anglers tried their luck on Storm Lake Saturday in the annual Big Fish Challenge tournament managed by Gone Fishin’ at the Storm Lake Marina. “We had a pretty good turnout and the weather was decent, except for some crazy wind,” said Josh Schwartz of the fishing business. “The catfish and white bass were biting real well. The catfish winner, Jayme Bral, pulled in fish that was almost nine pounds, through a six inch hole - it barely fit.”...

An Iowa State University student from Nemaha was killed Wednesday in Ames when he lost control of his motorcycle and collided with an oncoming Story County SUV. Jonathan D. Pickhinke, 21, passed away at Mary Greeley Medical Center. He was reportedly wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. The SUV driver was not injured...

The Storm Lake City Council has terminated its agreement with developer Shawn Foutch, as the effort to renovate the former South School building into market-rate apartments failed to meet its completion deadline at the end of December, 2019. The deal called for a 10-year tax abatement for the property...

In a small glass case labeled “Marathon” at the Buena Vista County Historical Museum in Storm Lake as this year’s exhibit begins to take shape, is a poster of a muscular warship and a Navy patch worn by those who serve on her. But what does a guided missile destroyer that has spent most of its service life in Japan have to do with a tiny rural Iowa town of 230 people?...

“I have waited to start a family due to the lack of child care… I see how hard it is for families because of the lack of resources.”