Stories from Friday, September 11, 2020

Alta City Council members and residents discussed the possible removal of stop signs on Lake St. and 4th St. during the Sept. 9th city council meeting. In July 2018, the council voted to install stop signs at that intersection to slow traffic due to safety concerns. Some residents supported installation of the signs, but some opposed the decision, saying they are not necessary...

Alta-Aurelia Communtiy School will be having Little Warrior preschool a creative learning program for children who are 3 years old. It will take place four days per week. If interested contact: Contact: Bill Walters, Superintendent Alta-Aurelia Communtiy School...

It’s a scary time for Iowans who are suddenly out of work and struggling to pay their bills. Many have never filed for unemployment before and are unsure how to access community assistance and resources. To help Iowans navigate this crisis, ISU Extension and Outreach’s family finance program specialists are providing one-on-one financial conversations. ...

State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald is announcing updates for College Savings Iowa. Iowa taxpayers who are 529 plan account owners can now use funds to pay for qualified apprenticeship and student loan expenses. “I’m focused on providing more advantages and opportunities to our College Savings Iowa account owners,” said Fitzgerald. “With these updates, Iowa taxpayers can use their 529 investments for even more qualified expenses than before, opening the door for more families to start saving.”...

King’s Pointe Resort in Storm Lake is in the process of interviewing for a new general manager, with some initial interviews taking place last week. Mark Clossey, who has served as manager for one year, recently submitted his resignation. Hie last day will be September 15. ...

Delcias Bakery recently moved from their original downtown location, to a bigger building on North Lake Avenue with a brand new name - Delicias Super Market. A Storm Lake United Ribbon Cutting was held last week to celebrate their new home in the former Otto Furniture site. ...

Two fair favorites will soon be returning to delight area artists and art lovers alike. Arts on Grand is bringing Plein Air at the Fair back for 2020, the twist being unlike last year, the event lasts a single day. Plein Air artists will head to the fairgrounds on Sept. ...

Area favorite Andy Juhl will wrap up the September music schedule at InnSpiration Wines & Vines, Friday, Sept. 28. Showtime is 6:30 p.m. The northwest Iowa singer/songwriter specializes in folk rock/America tunes, his music has been heard on PBS and featured in Billboard Magazine...

Too Drunk To Fish, the trop rock (and sometimes country) band from Sioux Falls, will be in concert at Oct-Tiki-Fest, Saturday, September 26 at The Barefoot Bar, Okoboji. The event combines German food and games with music, 1-5 p.m. Too Drunk plays both as an acoustic duo or full band that plays a lot of Jimmy Buffett, along with Zac Brown, Tom Petty, Simon and Garfunkel, Billy Joel, Johnny Cash and other music that crowds know and love. ...

It’s not hard to draw a straight line from Charles Dickens to Armando Iannucci. In each there’s a passion for human frailty and absurdity, and, above all, a richness of people. Nobody filled pages with a vivid cast of characters like Dickens, so who better to take a shot at “David Copperfield” than the man behind the teeming ensembles of “Veep,” “In the Loop” and “The Death of Stalin”?...

Storm Lake Mayor Mike Porsch is urging the community to keep its guard up against COVID-19 virus. In a brief statement during this week’s city council meeting, Porsch noted that the risk of a spike in cases rises as the school year is underway, and said residents should be diligent in its use of protections “to prevent an upswing in the fall.”...

Six property owners are requesting property tax abatements this season under an existing city incentive program. There are six residential and one commercial abatement requests: 700 Meadow Lane (new home), 94 #5 N Emerald Drive (new townhouse), 94 #6 N Emerald Drive (new townhouse), 94 #7 N Emerald Drive (new townhouse), 94 #8 N Emerald Drive (new townhouse) and 1500 Shoreway (home remodel)...

If you’d like to volunteer your time to help Storm Lake United keep local chainsaw carvinvgs in good shape, please contact SLU at 712-732-3780 or email lee@stormlakeunited.com There will be no cost to volunteers, materials will be provided.

Ridge View High School will celebrate Homecoming with the theme: The Greatest Show on Turf, September 14-18. Events include: • Friday, Sept. 11- Fashion show and announcement of Homecoming court • Sunday, Sept. 13- Decorating hallways: freshmen and sophomores from 1-3, juniors and seniors from 3-6...

A Storm Lake City Council member is expressing concern about expression. During this week’s council meeting, Kevin McKinney addressed his peers about taking care in what they say, when personal statements may be construed to represent the city or the council...

Storm Lake city officials have several meetings planned on current issues. Discussion of snow removal concerns is continuing, and members of the public may attend either of two meetings on Sept. 22. The meetings are at the golf course clubhouse, 7:30 a.m. or 5:30 p.m., and each will last an hour. Input will help the city in policy planning...

Sioux Central volleyball hosted its PinkOut event last week, boasting all pink uniforms. The team worked hard to organize its first such event, where a silent auction raised $465 to donate to Abben Cancer Center. Speaking at the event was Mindy Sylvester, Director of the cancer center, a part of Spencer Hospital. / Photo submittedd...

July 6, 1920 - September 7, 2020

July 3, 1927 - September 7, 2020

September 11, 1924 - September 4, 2020

December 25, 1942 - September 7, 2020

The Bishop’s Fundathon for Catholic Schools will be held Sept. 13. This event is typically held as the Bishop’s Dinner for Catholic Schools; however, because of Covid-19, the diocese transformed it to a virtual event which can be accessed through their website “http://www.scdiocese.org” www.scdiocese.org...

In the early days of COVID-19’s presence in the state, going outdoors became a popular antidote to cabin fever. Now nearly six months in, outdoor recreation has continued its upward trend and especially locally, use on water and trails have seen some of the most growth...

Whether COVID-19, derecho, drought, none are expected to prevent a more typical harvest from kicking off in the area for 2020. Some farmers have been seen out in the fields already for silage harvest, but Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Agronomist Paul Kassel explained there are still a “couple weeks” left before harvest can start in earnest...

Former Buena Vista University President Joshua Merchant has resurfaced in a new position in higher education, named chief of staff for Oakland University, a school of about 19,000 in Rochester, Michigan. In May, Merchant suddenly resigned from his position leading BVU, effective immediately, and left Storm Lake. Neither Merchant or the university offered explanation for the departure. He had been named president in 2017...

Buena Vista County COVID-19 numbers have been unsettled in recent days. The county has seen 42 new cases in the past week, including a dozen cases confirmed Thursday - following a period in which only one new case was reported each on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Before that, there were 27 new cases in a three-day period...

Dr. Brian Lenzmeier receives a pair of emails each morning: the first comes from higher education and details the trends and effects of COVID-19; the second comes from the scientific community and details the trends and effects of COVID-19. Lenzmeier, Interim President serving Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, is also a virologist, one who earned his doctorate in biochemistry at Colorado State University studying a virus that causes leukemia. ...

Why do you vote? Matthew Marroquin, a Buena Vista University student from Storm Lake, is itching to know. Matthew launched a #WhyImVoting campaign over the weekend, challenging people to share on various social media platforms Saturday the reasons they will be going to the polls this November...

“I’ll never stop talking about the benefits of aquatic vegetation - it promotes clean water… It’s what every lake should look like.”