Stories from Tuesday, June 16, 2020

A former Ayrshire city clerk has been charged with second-degree theft after what authorities described as embezzlement from the small city. Alesha Elizabeth Olson is accused of making improper payments totaling a little more than $9,800 while employed as clerk. ...

A power failure aboard the Queen II made a bad situation worse last week. Strong winds swept through the Lakes Area as the local excursion boat was finishing its 7 p.m. cruise of West Lake Okoboji, and the vessel was unable to dock near the State Pier in Arnolds Park to drop off the night’s passengers. ...

Members of the Storm Lake Dollars for Scholars Chapter of Scholarship America are pleased to be able to announce the names of the 70 high school 2020 seniors from Storm Lake High School and Storm Lake St. Mary’s High School who have been awarded scholarships totaling $50,275...

Following Wednesday’s vote by the Iowa State Fair Board to pull the plug on the 2020 Iowa State Fair due to health concerns associated with COVID-19, Clay County Fair manager Jeremy Parsons insisted Clay County Fair plans remain unchanged. Questioned about whether or not the state fair cancelation would sway any decision about the local nine-day September event, he answered simply, “No.”...

Chautauqua Days will be held in Sac City, starting Saturday, June 27, with a sand volleyball tournament and a pickelball tournament, each starting at 8 a.m. at South Park. Call Lance at 515-520-0237 to join the fun. On Saturday, July 4, there will be a color run at the fairgrounds starting at 8 a.m. A farmer’s market will be held at Monument Square, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. A car show will begin at 9 a.m. at the courthouse parking lot. The Sac City Museum will be open from noon-4 p.m...

HickTown Mafia, a five-piece, southern Minnesota-based, country and rock party band will be on stage at Barefoot Bar in Okoboji, Friday, June 19, 7-11 p.m. HickTown averages over 70 shows a year, bringing the party to bars, casinos, street dances/city celebrations, weddings/private events, and festivals...

No movie that features Judi Dench as a fairy who says “Get the four-leaf clover out of here” can be all bad, but the big-budget adaptation of Eoin Colfer’s “Artemis Fowl” tests that truism. The movie debut of “Artemis Fowl,” which has grown into a best-selling series of eight young-adult novels over the last two decades, has been long in coming. First acquired in 2001, it’s gone through endless development, false-starts and release delays...

Byron’s in Pomeroy will host Marbin, a progressive jazz-rock band based in Chicago, IL, with a unique story that stands out in today’s music world. The band combines the talents of two musicians from Israel with two native Chicago players. The show is Sunday, July 12, starting at 5 p.m...

Dr. Tanner Morris graduated from Spencer High School in 2014. He then pursued his career in chiropractic while studying Exercise Science at Buena Vista University. After two years of undergraduate study and an early acceptance into the chiropractic program, he attended and completed his Doctorate of Chiropractic from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 2020. ...

“Reduce” and “reuse” are words often used in our economy today. Buena Vista Regional Medical Center is doing their part to be economically responsible with the purchase of a new “remounted” ambulance. “Remounting consists of a used patient compartment that has outlived its original chassis platform and has been mounted on a new chassis for a renewed life cycle,” explains Robert Shontz, Ambulance Manager. ...

Donald Howard Christy, the son of Howard and Helen (Kay) Christy, was born April 2, 1931 in Storm Lake, Iowa. Don grew up with his grandparents, Ferdinand and Nora Kay, and their son, Harold on their farm north of Truesdale, Iowa, where he attended school and graduated...

Ethan James Lindsay, the son of James and Grace (Mott) Lindsay was born August 19, 1928 in Newell. His childhood years were spent in the Newell area where he attended Newell High School. After high school Ethan began his lifelong career in farming...

Buena Vista University congratulates over 500 students who were named to the Spring 2020 Dean’s List. The following local students who earned the honor are: • Savannah Adkins of Storm Lake • Brenden Barrera of Alta • Tessa Baxter of Storm Lake • Bradley Brown of Storm Lake...

Jenny Almanza headed to Storm Lake High School recently for the first time in weeks. She donned a green cap and gown and posed for a graduation photo. “I’ve missed school,” says Almanza. “I miss my favorite class, chemistry, and I miss not having my senior tennis season. We were dismissed from school for COVID-19 one day before my senior tennis season began.”...

Buena Vista County “hasn’t turned a corner yet,” Public Health Coordinator Pam Bogue said Monday. With the high number of COVID-19 cases locally, she would like to see state officials announce that the county should be an exception to the rapid reopening of the state...

Storm Lake native Jill Kestel has been named as 2020 Woman of the year by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Nebraska. Jill raised over $121,000 for blood cancer research over a recent 10-week period. Jill herself was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia at age 15, during her freshman year as a student at St. Mary’s...

During challenging times, we tend to turn to find comfort in the arts, namely music. For live music buffs, any musicians playing gigs these days, have been either live streaming, or putting video up on You Tube, or their websites. Slowly, as businesses, and events, start to open back up, following social protocol and precautions, people are finding the need to safely gather to listen to area musicians. ...

The Buena Vista County Fair is “moving ahead in a very modified fashion,” while about half the state’s county fairs have canceled for the summer, and the State Fair has called it quits, taking an estimated $30 million loss. “We are excited to announce that the 2020 Buena Vista County Fair will proceed with events, shows, entertainment and vendors. There will be modifications made to many aspects of the fair to reduce capacity and to allow more open-air venues,” says Nicol Kleespies, of Iowa State University Extension and 4H.. ...