Stories from Friday, June 26, 2020

A vacant downtown site that was once a beauty shop, and a pharmacy before that, has been re-invented into Storm Lake’s first Cuban restaurant. “Cafe Havana believes in amazing food that helps bring people together at one table to share and love life,” say the proprietors of the restaurant located at Lake and Railroad. It will feature recipes from Cuba, Puerto Rico and across the Caribbean...

“Practical experience is something you can’t get in a book. It’s something that you have to do,” says Tom Fitzpatrick. It’s an overcast Friday morning out at the Storm Lake Marina – the temps have cooled off somewhat, since a heavy rain made it through the area, the night before, and Tom sits behind his desk, in his office, next to the shop area where some boats are in to get a once-over. ...

Schaller Hose Company’s Fun Day Fundraiser is planned for July 11. Events include a BBQ cook-off at the fire station from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., a show and shine car show from 3-7 p.m., and two concerts. The show and shine includes classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles, antique fire trucks and semi trucks...

Okoboji duo Gary Lambert and David Boon will be on stage at Innspiration Vines & Wines in Linn Grove, Sunday June 28. Showtime is 3 p.m. at the outdoor stage. Boon & Lambert have 40+ combined years of performing, both logging time with Rock a la Carte most recently before they began their acoustic act in 2016. They have opened for the likes of Foghat, Michael W. Smith, Head East, Addison Road and more...

The Jay Clyde Band will perform at Early Crossroads Days, July 18. Showtime is 9 p.m. The Manson-based band has built a following around the region with cover songs including current pop, southern rock, ’80s-‘90s rock and country. The Jay Clyde Band is a combination of several guys who have played in many different bands, and have had many different experiences musically - Cory Waller, Neil Anders, Ronley King, Greg Merritt and Jake Merritt...

The fifth annual Okoboji Blue Water Festival scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 8, at the Green Space in Arnolds Park is the latest event to be postponed until August 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizer Greg Drees discussed the difficulty in making the decision...

C’mon. Everyone knows that when you rent a vacation house online, you read the reviews first. So maybe if Theo and Susanna, the upscale couple in “You Should Have Left,” had read the reviews before renting their lovely getaway house in Wales, just maybe they’d have come across that creepy guy who says in the film, “Some don’t leave.” He doesn’t seem to mean it in a good way...

COVID Recovery Iowa has begun offering virtual support groups for parents, teens and pre-teens. Mandy Gesme, Child and Family Team Lead for COVID Recovery Iowa, said the organization has been getting many requests from parents for activities they can do with their children, and advice for how to help their teenagers through the pandemic...

Buena Vista University’s Strategic Partnerships initiative, aimed at growing businesses while benefiting employees of those enterprises, has aligned with its first Strategic Partner in Pro Cooperative, a full-service cooperative offering a wide range of products and services in agronomy, grain, feed, seed, energy, and more...

Members of the senior class at Storm Lake St. Mary’s took part in a belated graduation ceremony Sunday. Due to COVID-19 concerns, the students who participated had only their parents present in the school gym, and were seated separately, while traditions like the rose ceremony in which grads honor their parents, were observed. / St. Mary’s Schools photos...

Storm Lake (including Little Storm Lake) Storm Lake has a daily limit of 3 walleye, and all 17- to 22-inch walleye must be released; no more than one walleye longer than 22 inches may be taken per day. Black Crappie - Fair: The bite has slowed; use crawlers and minnows on a small jig fished in the marina near the inlet and along the north and east shore of the main lake. ...

The Truesdale All School Reunion for 2020 has been canceled. It is now scheduled for August 7, 2021. If you have questions, call 712-291-0121.

Steve and Janice (Nagengast) Halder will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on June 27. Steve and Janice were married June 27, 1970 at St. Columbkille Catholic Church in Varina. They have 3 children: Nancy (Randy) Robbins, Jeff (Karen) Halder, and Terry (friend Kimberly) Halder. ...

The legislature adjourned for the year on Sunday, June 14. This year’s session was definitely different than previous years. While we didn’t get to all the legislation we wanted, we were still able to accomplish a lot in the time we did have. Before we paused the session in March, the Senate passed legislation to lower barriers to some professions, and bring unemployed people back into our workforce and encourage them to build careers for themselves. ...

Saturday Storm Lake Farmers’ Markets will continue to be held from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. in parking lot C across from Valentina’s Market. The first market last Saturday, a test run to see how COVID-19 precautions would work, was a success. Thursday markets began this week and are held from 4-6 p.m. in parking lot C. A few additional vendors are hoping to join in. See the market’s Facebook page for updates on the locally grown produce and baked goods that will be available each week...

On Friday, June 19th, Roland and Cynthia Gerodias of Storm Lake celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary. Sadly later that night, Roland had a major health emergency which resulted in his heart stopping three times before the doctors were able to stabilize him. Roland was transferred to the MICU at the University of Iowa hospitals in Iowa City and placed on a ventilator. According to an update posted this week, he had not yet regained consciousness...

March 27, 1956 - June 16, 2020

March 5, 1953 - June 22, 2020

July 13, 1948 - June 23, 2020

Storm Lake Dean’s List Jaley Butler Cole Keenan Cynthia Leyva Lessly Ortega-Luque Jenifer Sliefert Vanessa Vrieze Storm Lake President’s List Josue Castro Skylar Cole Cooper Dutfield Zachariah Issa Austin Knapp Karina Salazar Jaquez Marlene Zuniga

Kevin Duque of Storm Lake was named to the Wartburg College Winter/May Term Dean’s List. The college recognized 523 students for Winter/May Term. The list honors students who earned a cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 or above in at least five course credits during the terms. Four of the five course credits have to be graded with a traditional letter grade...

The O’Brien County Conservation Board is looking forward to hosting guided/self-guided experiences at our parks this summer. Public programming will be taking on a new look this summer. Join the naturalist for a different kind of outdoor fun. The next event will be geared towards youth and their families; however, all people are invited to attend. “Guess Who” will be held at Douma Park near Sanborn. Meet near the beach to go on a hunt looking for clues for various animals that live near here. Learn about some of their special abilities as well as where they live, what they eat and more. The event will be held on Tuesday, June 30 from 9 until 11 a.m. ...

A recalled bagged salad distributed to a dozen Midwestern states by grocery stores has sickened 122 people in seven states and sent 19 to the hospital, the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. The salad distributed by Hy-Vee, Jewel-Osco and Aldi grocery stores is contaminated with cyclospora, a parasite that can cause diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, and fatigue...

Iowa regulators say they found no workplace safety violations at Tyson Foods’ largest pork processing plant, which employed several people who died after contracting the coronavirus. The Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration closed its inquiry into the Tyson plant in Waterloo earlier this month without sanctioning the meat company...

Before the sun had a chance to shine on the city of Spencer’s downtown district last Monday, Brock Storm — the Spencer High School alumnus and full-time artist — was clad in black and had made peace with the fact that his newest project could land him in serious trouble. ...

This year’s Wood, Wine & Blues, scheduled for August 14-16, will be postponed due to concerns and uncertainty attributed to COVID-19. Storm Lake United leaders will focus efforts and budget on next year’s event, expected to return bigger and better, Lee Dutfield of SLU said...

Buena Vista County’s COVID-19 infection rates have declined, while national numbers reached record levels this week. There are still a lot of questions about the virus to be answered, according to county Public Health Coordinator Pam Bogue. While new case numbers can vary by numbers of people choosing to be tested and when those test results are reported, Bogue said that a key indicator is the number of hospitalizations, which have also declined in the region over the past two weeks...

A statement released Tuesday afternoon from Sioux Rapids Mayor Jim Wise and the city council indicated the city would be investigating a Facebook post alleged to have been generated by Sioux Rapids Police Chief Tim Porter. The mayor and police chief could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday...

Buena Vista University conducted a commencement “unlike any other” in the 129 year history of the institution. Unable to have a ceremony on the campus that has been shut down to COVID-19 concerns, BVU posted a virtual commencement online video Saturday...

Ready Set GROW day care looking for a site in the city, Trepson renovating new location