Stories from Tuesday, July 21, 2020

GALVA - Through this postseason, Ridge View has played some of their best softball and continued to do that on Friday night when they welcomed in the Hinton Blackhawks. A strong sixth inning helped push Ridge View across the finish line and take a 12-2 decision to advance to the 2A-Region 3 championship...

FONDA - It was another quick start for the Newell-Fonda softball team on Friday night when they welcomed in the Audubon Wheelers for a 1A-Region 2 semifinal contest. The Mustangs took an early lead and never really looked back to take an 8-1 victory to advance to the regional final on Monday night...

SIOUX CITY - On paper Friday night, the Storm Lake Tornadoes were underdogs against the #7 Bishop Heelan Crusaders, who had been struck with COVID-19, saw six of their starters remain in quarantine. The green and white played tough and upended the shorthanded Crusaders, 2-0 to advance on in district play...

STORM LAKE - It was the end of the line on Thursday night when the Storm Lake softball team welcomed in the Spencer Tigers in a 4A-Region 1 opening round contest. An early hole was inescapable for the green and white as their rivals downed them by 11, 14-3...

ALTA - It was the first time this season that the Alta-Aurelia and Newell-Fonda baseball teams met up this season and it was in perhaps no bigger situation on Saturday night. The two competed against one another for the right to be the 1A-District 2 champions and to advance to Tuesday night’s Substate Championship contest. The Mustangs were able to hang on to take a 7-5 decision against the Warriors...

Funeral services for Cleone C. Mickelson, 94, of Aurelia will be held at 10:30 a. m. Thursday, July 23, at the St. Paul Lutheran Church in Aurelia with Pastor Derek Evans officiating. Burial will be in the Barnes Township Cemetery in Linn Grove, IA. Visitation will be Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the St. Paul Lutheran Church. The Redig Funeral Home in Aurelia is in charge of arrangements...

Although statewide precipitation was near normal in June, northeast Iowa experienced extra wet conditions while western parts of the state have entered moderate drought, according to the latest Water Summary Update. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows abnormally dry conditions in about 35 percent of the state, with eight west-central counties classified as being in moderate drought...

Approximately 13,000 Iowa State University students have been recognized for outstanding academic achievement by being named to the Spring Semester 2020 Dean’s List. Students named to the Dean’s List must have earned a grade point average of at least 3.50...

An area family is looking for immediate housing, after struggling to find a location that would accept a support animal. The family - a grandmother, daughter and grandson - will be losing its housing in a former rectory after the closing of an area church. They are hoping to find a two or three-bedroom house to rent in the Storm Lake/Alta area...

Alicia Heuton, BSN, RN, CWON, and Amber Shupe, BSN, RN, MSN, employees of Buena Vista Regional Medical Center, have both been awarded a $3,500 scholarship from the Iowa Hospital Education and Research Foundation (IHERF), which is supported by the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA). 62 outstanding students from all over Iowa received assistance this year from the IHERF Health Care Careers Scholarship Program...

LifeServe Blood Center is asking community members to book an appointment to give blood at an upcoming area blood drive. It’s important that eligible community members continue to give blood regularly to ensure the health of the community. There is no substitute for human blood...

The number of women having abortions in Iowa climbed last year, a turnaround that critics blame on the state’s controversial decision to withdraw from a federally funded family planning program. After decades of plummeting abortion numbers, the state last year recorded 3,566 abortions, which is 25% more than the previous year, according to preliminary data from Iowa Department of Public Health...

A bunion on Patti McKenna’s right foot made a simple yoga pose and sleeping difficult. After it became painful to sleep, she decided it was time to see a foot and ankle surgeon. Patti made an appointment with Dr. Jesse Wolfe, Northwest Iowa Bone, Joint & Sports Surgeon, an Outpatient Department of Buena Vista Regional Medical Center. The first thing Patti told Dr. Wolfe was, “I like cute shoes and would like to get back into them.” He chuckled and said he could make that happen...

Senator Joni Ernst and Sec. of Ag Mike Naig visited Marcus last week for the groundbreaking of an upcoming solar install at the MMCRU High School, and also toured a large solar system already installed at Dorr Farms near Marcus. The school project is estimated to save the equivalent of 430 tons of CO2 annually and contribute more than $700,000 in energy savings to the school’s budget over 25 years...

While members of the Shayla Bee Fund organization take a typical midsummer opportunity to catch their collective breath and gear up for the approaching milestone 200th family announcement, the local nonprofit continues to make an impact courtesy of some very generous donations...

He’s Forrest Gump. He’s Mr. Rogers. He’s Woody. But with all the famous titles Tom Hanks has owned, few have fit as snugly and as smoothly as “captain” — whether it’s fending off Somali pirates in “Captain Phillips,” landing a plane on the Hudson in “Sully,” finding his way back to Earth in “Apollo 13,” or commanding WW II troops in “Saving Private Ryan.”...

The Dog Creek Park Campground, near Sutherland, will be bursting with activities each weekend from now through August 15. Campground host, LuCinda Siekman, has planned a variety of activities to encourage park patrons to have fun while camping. On each Saturday, beginning on July 25, activities will be arranged. ...

• Fear, Trump in the White House, 2018, Bob Woodward Many people around the world were shocked when a former reality television star became USA President after he received second place in the popular vote, but gained office based upon the ballots of the Electoral College. Apparently enough voters thought electing a real estate tycoon would be beneficial to our nation’s finances and provide the path to “Make America Great Again.”  ...

The Gary & Dani Show returns to InnSpiration Vines & Wines in Linn Grove for a concert Sunday, July 26, starting at 6:30 p.m. The husband and wife duet team of Gary and Dani Hopkins from Sioux City have been performing together since 2013, offering music from the 1950’s to present...

The Prince Experience will grace the stage at Preservation Plaza in Arnolds Park, Saturday, August 1. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. for this free, all ages show. Since 2002 Gabriel Sanchez has been portraying Prince in his critically acclaimed show The Prince Experience. What started off as a small local theatre production of Purple Rain, has expanded into a full seven-piece soul/R&B band production with over-the-top choreography...

The Buena Vista County Courthouse will reopen to the public at 8 a.m. on July 27, according to the county board of supervisors. “The goal of Buena Vista County government is to serve our citizens as efficiently and safely as possible. The current appointment system is working well, so we are requesting that the public continue to make appointments for driver’s licensing, and passports through the recorder’s offices,” county officials said. The numbers to call for appointments are:...

J.D. Scholten, candidate for Iowa’s 4th congressional district, announced last week that he had raised over $620,000 in the second quarter, including $349,000 since the primary, marking what he says is the best second quarter fundraising record of any Democrat in district history. ...

As a Buena Vista University student, Ida Rogers-Ferguson traveled to Poland, Austria, Germany, Greece, Israel, and the Czech Republic. She made her way to Auschwitz, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem. As winner of the University’s prestigious J. Leslie Rollins Fellowship, she journeyed to the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland, last summer to learn all she could about place-based learning...

Every Friday during the school year, Storm Lake Elementary School (SLES) students line up for High Five Fridays. Community organizations greet students and parents with encouragement and, of course, high fives. “The idea for High Five Fridays came from a class I took in my master’s program,” says Melanie Brashears, guidance counselor at SLES. “My professor had done something similar, and I decided to adapt the idea for our school district.”...

Gov. Kim Reynolds is ordering all Iowa schools to begin the process of “preparing to safely welcome back students and teachers” to the classroom next month. Reynolds said that “the expectation is, especially with core subjects, that over 50 percent of those subjects (will) be offered in the school building.”...

A public referendum updating the Storm Lake Community School District’s revenue purpose statement for state Secure an Advanced Vision for Education Fund (SAVE) revenue was approved at the July 15 Board of Education meeting. School boards across the state must take that action by July 24 in order to put the question on the Sept. 8 school board election ballot...

A statewide council of Iowa civil rights, public health, faith, and labor organizations launched a public petition recently calling on Tyson managers in Storm Lake, Waterloo, Columbus Junction, Perry, and across the state to immediately pay all employees who have missed work due to COVID-19 infection, exposure, symptoms, quarantine, or COVID-19 related child and family medical care - and to maintain COVID-19 related paid leave throughout the pandemic. ...

Following some parent focus group meetings last month, Storm Lake school officials looked at some minor academic year calendar changes during their monthly meeting last week. The normal professional development “no school” days will be removed from dates during the school year, with some of those efforts at the beginning and end of the year instead...

Buena Vista University plans to return to face-to-face classes this fall, with campus closed to all but students and staff, and a host of protective measures in place including required masks. Students will be moving in from August 20-23, with classes starting on Monday, August 24. Fall sports are expected to take place as scheduled, with spectator limitations...

Storm Lake isn’t going to let its collection of chainsaw carvings weather away without a fight. The carvings that grace the parks, lakefront and downtown are beginning to show their age, some dating to 2012. One of the most elaborate, on the shoreline at King’s Pointe, has completely rotted away at the base. A bear-themed piece nearby at the Awaysis lighthouse had to be removed...

A hefty frog basks in the sun in a small pond at Sunrise Pointe Golf Course on a hot July day. / Photo by Dana Larsen