Stories from Friday, October 23, 2020

It’s once again time to start planning Bomgaars Ladies Night for the Storm Lake Bomgaars Store a night of Festive fun & fall shopping. For the past four years, Bomgaars has held a Ladies Night in the fall/winter. During this one evening, 5% of the total sales has been donated to cancer centers/ hospitals in the communities they serve. The first year they were able to donate over $18,000 to the 21 locations participating, last year, they were able to donate just over $40,015 to 88 locations...

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Economic Development Authority have announced the launch of the new Residential Utility Disruption Prevention Program. The program will provide eligible households with up to $2,000 towards electric, natural gas and water bills if they are at risk of disconnection due to an inability to pay due to a COVID-19 related loss of income. Payments through the program will be made directly to utility providers and applied to the applicant’s account...

A gift from Tyson Foods will provide 80,000 mealsto food insecure Iowans through Beef Up Iowa.  The Beef Up Iowa program is a partnership among Iowa State University, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa Food Bank Association and Iowa’s beef industry organizations, and is an initiative of Gov. Reynolds’ Feeding Iowans Task Force led by Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg. ...

Early Public Library will host Halloween Trunk or Treat, Saturday, October 31, 5:30-7 -p.m. The event will take place on Main Street. Participants who would like to hand out treats should register with the library, to make sure spaces are reserved for everyone. Participants are encouraged to decorate their trunks for the visits from the community’s goblins and fairies...

Blues guitar legend Studebaker John will perform Sunday, Nov. 1, at Byron’s in Pomeroy. Showtime is 5 p.m. Studebaker John Grimaldi was born in an Italian-American section of Chicago and started playing harmonica at age 7. Under the spell of music he heard on Maxwell Street, Chicago’s famed blues melting pot, Grimaldi began performing as Studebaker John and the Hawks in the ‘70s. ...

Anyone who doesn’t think human trafficking is a problem in the small-town Midwest should read J.D. Erickson’s entertaining and enlightening novel, Angels of the Night. Erickson lives in Sioux Falls, S.D. Police and anti-human trafficking activists are beset with a slate of trafficking victims who find themselves embroiled in several ways. Most tragic was the case of Mary Jacinto, a Latina woman whose battered and bruised body was found in a park restroom...

The Cherokee Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce it will be able to host the Children’s Costume Parade this year. Under the advisement of the Cherokee County Public Health Department, they will be taking extra precautions to help control the spread of COVID-19...

Hold the Lutefisk, It’s Beginning to Smell a Lot Like Christmas comedy musical show will appear at the Brown’s Theater in LeMars, Nov. 5-7. Shows are set for Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday at 1:30 and 7, and Saturday at 1:30. When you want an old-fashioned Looney Christmas, you know who to turn to - the musical, merry, menopausal members of the Looney Lutherans! This trio of warm, witty women help the audience enjoy the spirit of the season, the Lutheran way. ...

The Surfin’ Safari Band will appear in the Rock the Roof concert series at the Roof Garden at Arnolds Park, October 29. Showtime is 6 p.m., with the Iowa Rock ’N’ Roll Music Association hosting. Tickets are $10 at the door or pre-order through eventbrite.com. Doors open at 5 p.m. and only 250 people will be admitted...

Storm Lake city officials hope to get credit for water projects they have already done. The current permit for the city’s wastewater operations requires ongoing reductions in nitrates and phosphorus that are likely to require costly retrofitting. Instead, the city is hoping to be one of the first to work with the Iowa DNR in a reduction training program, which is no new it has not yet been announced. ...

Storm Lake Mayor Mike Porsch is calling on citizens to continue their preventative measures against COVID-19. “I know it’s been a really, really long time. It’s easy to get nonchalant,” Porsch said during a council meeting this week. The city is asking residents to wear a mask when in public, social distance when possible, and avoid gathering in large groups...

On Saturday, October 17, at approximately 8:30 p.m., the Storm Lake Police Department located a wanted subject at 1704 Violet Lane in Storm Lake, identified as Reath Yak, age 19 of Storm Lake.  Yak was wanted on multiple Buena Vista County warrants charging him with failure to appear on one count of Theft 2nd, 13 counts of Burglary to a Motor Vehicle and two counts of Operation of a Motor Vehicle Without Owner’s Consent, all Class D Felonies. ...

Members of the public are invited to listen as faith, business, law enforcement and community leaders from around Iowa discuss the need for immigration reform during a free virtual conference Friday, Oct. 30. A number of the panelists are from Storm Lake and surrounding communities. The Zoom webinar will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude by 1 p.m. Registrations may be made at www.nwciowa.edu/immigration-forum...

Paxtons Jewelry held their annual Pink Rocktober Balloon Bash and Cake Dig on Saturday, October 10 during Sassy Saturday. Proceeds benefit BVRMC P.i.n.k., a program designed to help women with financial barriers have access to mammography services. Gary and Rhonda Ringgenberg presented a check for $1000 to Katie Schwint, BVRMC Executive Director of Community Development. /Photo submitted...

October is Manufacturing Month, and the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation (Corridor) is celebrating by featuring women in manufacturing across the region. From assembly workers to HR Managers and many in between, Corridor staff asked some of the area’s female manufacturing stars to share their experience in manufacturing. Their stories are being shared on the Corridor’s website, social media and newsletter through the end of the month...

April 16, 1925 - October 17, 2020

Extreme weather isn’t confined to any one season. That’s especially true in the Central Plains, where both tornadoes and major blizzards have been known to occur in the fall. Whether it’s extreme cold or maximum heat, taking time to prepare for those atypical occurrences can help lessen the toll it takes on animals and property...

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and Secretary of State Paul Pate are encouraging Iowa FFA members and young alumni to take an active role in the 2020 election by helping to staff polling locations. Polling places around the state rely on precinct election officials to help ensure the election runs smoothly. ...

Valero, which operates the Valero Renewables-Albert City ethanol plant and is a leader in providing reliable, affordable and sustainable energy, is donating $3,936 to the Albert City Ambulance Crew. The donation will be used to purchase safety equipment , including Air Max Helmets, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 as well as tools that can quickly and safely sanitize an entire ambulance after calls. Pictured: Scott and Julie Olson of the Albert City Ambulance Crew. /Contributed...

Congratulations to Storm Lake’s newest patrol officer Thomas Lane. Thomas was sworn in October 21 by Mayor Porsch. /SLPD Photo

The Clay County Board of Supervisors convened for their regular meeting Tuesday morning and in a unanimous motion, accepted with regret the resignation of Clay County Attorney Kristi Busse effective at noon that day. “I appreciate your faith in me, ... ...

In their first televised debate, the candidates for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District offered divergent views on management of the COVID-19 pandemic and immigration policy. Republican Randy Feenstra and Democrat J.D. Scholten also disagreed about social issues like civil unions for same-sex couples during the debate, which was pre-taped and broadcast on Wednesday by WHO-TV and KCAU...

Time to summon your inner Clark Griswold. Christmas is coming to the Buena Vista County Fairgrounds. The fair board is planning a new fundraiser event to celebrate the season, Holiday Hootenanny. “Basically, we realized that a lot of traditional holiday stuff is being shut down in this pandemic year, and we wanted people to still be able to get out and celebrate and enjoy the lights and decor of the season,” said fair board spokesperson Dana Christen...

Storm Lake City Council members grappled with a local business owner’s request for alternative parking arrangements this week. Delicias Bakery and Grocery recently opened on North Lake Avenue, in a building that had long been vacant. But the traffic to the popular business has caused issues, reportedly including an accident, as cars try to enter and leave a very small frontage area close to busy four-lane North Lake...

“Shocked,” was the term Superintendent Stacey Cole used to describe the Storm Lake School’s newly certified enrollment for fall 2020, which shows an increase of 82 students. It isn’t the increase that shocks, as the district has been growing steadily for a number of years, but the fact that such growth comes in the midst of a pandemic, when many districts are bleeding student numbers with families choosing to home school...

Buena Vista County officials are scrambling to find a large enough location for off-site jury trials, to meet Supreme Court directives that people be kept six-feet separated during the justice process due to COVID-19 concerns. While the courtrooms at the courthouse can likely be used to conduct most trials, capacity would only be about 20 people with the prescribed distancing. Jury selection often involves a pool of 60 people, plus court personnel...

In its second week hosting a new TestIowa COVID-19 testing station, Buena Vista Regional Medical Center is “slowly working out the kinks” of the new role. The medical center stepped forward to host testing when the site that had operated at the golf course parking lot was scheduled to close down in early October...

Once a BVU ball boy, he now chases an NBA championship