Stories from Friday, July 3, 2020

“Romel has been cooking since he was 6, and I started young, because when you have family, you gotta learn how to cook - it’s a given!”

Thunderstruck, America’s best-known AC/DC tribute band, will be performing at Arnolds Park Amusement Park, Saturday, July 18. Showtime is 8 p.m. In its ”Thunder From Down Under” tour, the Louisville, KY band features the songs you know and love from all eras of AC/DC...

The Stone Pier Summer Concert Series gets a belated start with a big show on July 4th. Co-headliners Blue Water Highway and Flying Buffaloes will be joined by local performers Todd Partridge and Chad Ellliot on the outdoor stage at Blackhawk Lake, Lake View. The show begins at 4 p.m...

The Rafter B Bar is hosting Rodeo at the Ranch 2020 in Peterson, Iowa, Thursday through Saturday, July 23-25. Rodeo performances are at 7 p.m. each night. Come out and enjoy an evening of PRCA Rodeo at the beautiful Barnes family ranch. Tickets are on sale now, $10 for Family Night, Thursday (children under 10 years of age get in free) or $15 for Friday and Saturday night shows ($10 for ages 3-14, children under 3 free with an adult)...

Demolition derby action returns to the fair this year, thanks to 449 Productions, an Iowa based company guaranteeing a $5,000 payout for the Alta event, to be held at the BV Raceway track, Saturday, July 11, 5 p.m. The promotion is also scheduled to visit Fonda’s Labor Day celebration later this year...

The Man From the Train, called “truly spectacular” by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, was recommended by a friendly and helpful Social Security Administration staffer who assisted in determining the reason that SSA records indicated I had not been born. Because of a 1963 typing error, my birth state was changed to one where the correct town didn’t appear on the map. I was blissfully unaware of my non-existence until recently reaching retirement age. ...

Brett Dewerff of Storm Lake, is one of 38 Simpson student-athletes named to the spring 2020 American Rivers Conference All-Academic Team. Dewerff is a senior on the men’s tennis team and is majoring in computer science and mathematics. To be eligible for A-R-C All-Academic Team honors, a student-athlete must compete at the varsity level, be at least a sophomore in academic standing with at least one year in residence and attain a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher (on a 4.0 scale)...

Duane and Donna Queen of Storm Lake will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on July 4th. While their anniversary is usually celebrated with a Spectacular event complete with a parade, bands, food vendors and fireworks, this year, their 50th will be more a little different, but certainly memorable!...

Beginning immediately, the Chautauqua Park Shelter House will be available for limited rentals. Reservations will be allowed for alternating sides of the Shelter House to allow for adequate cleaning and disinfection between groups. Reservations can be made by calling City Hall at telephone number 712-732-8000. Parties renting the facility will have access to the facility beginning at 8 a.m. on the day of their rental...

Beginning immediately, the Restroom Facilities in City Parks will be reopening for customer use. At this time, the restrooms will be available for use during the hours of 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. An enhanced cleaning schedule is planned to best serve those using the facilities...

Buena Vista Regional Medical Center has achieved recognition as an Adopter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association’s PATIENT FINANCIAL COMMUNICATIONS BEST PRACTICES®. As a Best Practices Adopter, Buena Vista Regional Medical Center demonstrated that it follows nearly 100 best practices covering all aspects of financial interactions that take place in a variety of care settings...

The Board of Directors of the Northwest Iowa Regional Housing Trust Fund will hold its annual meeting on Thursday, July 16, at 10:30 a.m. via telephone conference. The mission of the NWIRHTF is to promote the creation and preservation of affordable for low to moderate income person residing in Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Lyon, O’Brien, Osceola, and Sioux counties. The funding priority this past year was the financing of home repairs for low to moderate income homeowners...

Corn growers may need to be on the lookout for a common insect pest this year, especially if they’re no longer using a transgenic Bt seed that is resistant. In 2019, about 15% of corn grown in Iowa and 17% grown in the United States did not contain a Bt trait, according to an article by Ashley Dean and Erin Hodgson, extension entomologists with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach...

October 19, 1940 - June 16, 2020

September 15, 1964 - June 21, 2020

June 3, 1933 - June 23, 2020

October 6, 1925 - June 25, 2020

August 11, 1929 - June 28, 2020

December 29, 1926 - June 30, 2020

Elijah Zaiger came to Buena Vista University with much of his focus on baseball. He leaves as a graduate, soon to be commanding a $16-million Blackhawk helicopter for the U.S. Army. A lot can change in four short years. “I came to BVU to play baseball,” says Zaiger, an accomplished prep on the diamond at Audubon High School. “BVU also has a good track record with the Siebens School of Business, so that’s what I was thinking about academically.”...

In the mid-1930s, my parents, A.A. Adams (Vete) and Grace, purchased a farm 12 miles south of Spencer across Highway 71 from the Ditton place, “Goat Hill.” I heard about the possibility of bulldozing the old Goat Hill house. It occurred to me that perhaps I could be the last living person to have known the old man who lived there, Jesse Ditton. ...

Storm Lake St. Mary’s school will return to on-site learning in August, school officials announced this week. The administration has been working to provide a safe environment in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, while maintaining high-quality learning opportunities...

There’s no hiding it — masks are the COVID-19 story of the week, in Iowa and around the nation. Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement has started a #MaskUpIA petition drive asking Gov. Kim Reynolds to require Iowans to wear masks or other face coverings in public. More than 1,500 people have signed the petition since it was posted at midday Tuesday...

A massive number of new COVID-19 recoveries in Buena Vista County this week is due less to a change in the virus situation, and more to the state giving up on contacting confirmed residents. On Monday, a total of 651 recoveries had been reported for the county since the outbreak was first seen here in late March. Twenty-four hours later, the number had jumped to 1,327 (out of 1,695 cases since the outbreak began). By yesterday, the total recovered was reported at over 1,400...

Some suspects are faking COVID symptoms to dodge sentencing.

The Buena Vista County Fair is shaping up to be the one major local celebration that hasn’t had to cancel in the face of COVID-19 concerns this season. In fact, not a single entertainer has begged off from the event, according to Fair Board spokesperson Dana Christen...

For a moment, it looked like the Buena Vista County Fair might have to do without a carnival this year. The show originally booked for the midway was unable to make it, and it was late to find a replacement. Fair leaders contacted Scott Amusements, a Pilot-Mound based family operation. As fate would have it, the Wright County Fair, which the Scotts work every year on the week after the Fourth of July, had canceled a few days before due to COVID-19 concerns...

The fallout from a social media post will mean two weeks’ suspension without pay for Sioux Rapids Police Chief Tim Porter as well as sensitivity training for the chief and the entire Sioux Rapids City Council. Convening a few feet inside the garage door entrance of the city maintenance shop at 100 Front St. ...