Stories from Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Buena Vista County Conservation Board Director Greg Johnson announced recently that Buena Vista County Conservation Board managed restrooms and shower houses will reopen on June 26th throughout the County. Shower houses along with modern restrooms in the campground areas will reopen with elevated cleaning procedures and schedules. ...

Earl “Wes” Brock, age 88, of Storm Lake, died Wednesday, June 24, at his home in Storm Lake. Private family graveside service will take place at the Buena Vista Memorial Park Cemetery in Storm Lake with full military rites by the Alta VFW. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements...

Jon Smith, Age 79 of Sac City, passed away on Monday, June 22, at Loring Hospital in Sac City. Jon Allen Smith was born on August 20, 1940, to Parents Donald and Olena (Miller) Smith in Carroll. He was baptized and confirmed at the First Christian Church in Sac City. ...

Amusement park visitors are used to instructions near the thrill rides like “keep your hands and feet inside at all times” and “must be this tall to ride.” Now, add “wear a mask” and “keep your distance” to the directives. Arnolds Park Amusement Park celebrated opening day 2.0 on Friday...

Storm Lake Community School District Foundation announces the awarding of twelve classroom educator incentive grants in the Storm Lake District for the 2020-2021 school year. The foundation is funding $10,000 worth of classroom grants to support needed efforts of classroom teachers. These grants were announced by Mike Porsch, Executive Director of the Foundation...

Two St. Mary’s players and a coach take a knee in support of Black Lives Matter during the National Anthem at a recent game. / Pilot photo by Craig Shultz

By THOMAS BEAUMONT Special to The Pilot The families of three workers who died after contracting the coronavirus in an Iowa meat plant outbreak sued Tyson Foods and its top executives Thursday, saying the company knowingly put employees at risk and lied to keep them on the job...

The U.S. House passed a sweeping police reform package Thursday night in response to massive civil unrest over police brutality. The package cleared the chamber largely along partisan lines, with 236 lawmakers (mostly Democrats) voting for it and 181 lawmakers (180 Republicans and one Independent) voting against it. Three Republicans sided with Democrats in backing the bill — Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Fred Upton of Michigan and Will Hurd of Texas...

Buoys Bar & Grill at the Storm Lake Marina is back in the live music game, after seeing its early season shows canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. Celebrating the 4th of July at Buoys will be a concert with the Fat City All-Stars, starting at 8 p.m. The Mankato-based lineup of Dale Wolters, Mark Kurseth, Tommy Harroun, Skyler Osborn and Steve Bracht specializes in classic rock, country rock and ‘80s hair band metal...

The Treasure Village cast and crew invites its audience to have a jungle adventure as “Jungle Book” opens at Treasure Village on June 30. Mowgli the man-cub is raised in the jungle by friends like Baloo the Bear and Bagheera the Panther. Audiences will help Mowgli outwit Shere Khan, the man-hating Tiger...

Is it summer? It looks like the season so far - people are out either boating, fishing, running, playing hoops, softball, or getting together for cookouts. So, while it has the feel of summer, so far, it’s been kind of weird. School has been out for quite some time, a lot of upheaval has been going on in the country, and oh, by the way, there’s a virus causing a global pandemic...

UnityPoint Health – Fort Dodge will begin to ease some visitor restrictions throughout care areas and for some services. As the number of COVID restrictions begin to lift across Iowa, UnityPoint Health-Fort Dodge believes we have the appropriate safety measures in place to keep our patients and staff safe, while easing some of our visitor restrictions...

The future of the marijuana decriminalization dialog may come from the cities up, instead of the state down. Last week, the Des Moines City Council unanimously approved creation of a task force to study decriminalization of marijuana in the capital city. The task force is to provide recommendations to the council by Oct. 1. Three city council members sponsored the resolution, which was included in a proposal to ban racial profiling by Des Moines police...

Iowa Central Community College has unveiled a reopening plan for the fall semester at its campuses in Fort Dodge, Storm Lake, and Webster City. “The college’s approach lays out a decision to create the safest environments for learning and teaching possible. ...

The Iowa Department of Education released its Reopening Guidance for Schools late last week, announcing that schools districts across the state could begin offering school-related activities July 1. Storm Lake Superintendent of Schools Stacey Cole responded with an open letter, saying the local district would begin planning and soon will announce when various activities will resume...

Veronica King was 15 months into her first Peace Corps assignment, teaching English to children in rural Thailand, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. “We got orders from Peace Corps to evacuate, a process that began March 12,” says King, a 2016 Buena Vista University graduate. “I got on a bus to Bangkok, and figured out how to get home, flying from there to Japan to Texas and on to Iowa. I then self-quarantined when I got home.”...

Storm Lakers may be noticing mysterious painted polished rocks popping up in hiding places around town. The artist, who prefers to remain anonymous, says the project began in January for a couple who were wintering out of state. “We find it fun and relaxing,” they told the Pilot-Tribune. “Since we try to walk 3+ miles every day we began hiding them immediately. Enjoy.”...

“Be Patient. Be Kind,” advises a sign at the Storm Lake Farmers Market, which held its first Thursday event last week. Five vendors set up shop with a variety of goods, as the market begins to return to more normal conditions, although with many precautions for shoppers of fresh fare. ...

The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University will recognize 12 Iowa individuals and groups with awards for exceptional character in July. The community of Storm Lake will receive the 2020 Community of Character Award. Mike Porsch, Storm Lake mayor, acknowledges the importance of this award to the community. ...